veganpets - Profile (original) (raw)

on 4 October 2003 (#1367956)

This is a community for people who are feeding (or planning to feed) their cats and dogs a veg*n diet. It is a newer, more moderated vegancats, and the same main rule applies:

This matter is NOT open for debate. Go somewhere else if that's what you want to do. We've all read, discussed, and debated this choice, which means that any It ain't natural! posts are unwelcome and are screened so only the moderator will ever see them. AKA there's no point commenting/posting. You might also check out vegandebate if you feel the need to debate the issue. If you are here to ask friendly questions, feel free! We welcome questions.

A few FAQs:

Q: What about taurine?
A: If you look on your grocery store shelves, the canned cat food is supplemented with synthetic taurine as the natural taurine is washed away in the rendering process. Synthetic taurine is used in vegan cat food. Nutrients are what cats need, the form they come in is not so much the issue.

Q: Cats are carnivores, how can you feed them as herbivores?
A: I'll send you back to that grocery store shelf. Pick up that same can of cat food. What do you see listed as ingredients? Shocked to see vegetables and grains there? Cats have been eating as omnivores for decades now. In the same way that humans can be herbivores, cats can. As I stated previously, it is the nutrients (and the enjoyment of eating) that matters, not the form.

Q: Don't you feel bad forcing your cat/dog/etc to eat vegan?
A: Essentially, no matter what we feed our cats, we are forcing that decision on them. So long as they like to eat what we put in front of them, and it serves their nutritional interests, we are forcing them as much with a vegan diet as with an omnivorous one.

An article you may want to check out:

The Cat That Ate Tofu (from AlterNet.org)

A book you definitely want to read:

Obligate Carnivore by Jed Gillen

Cat food:
http://www.downbound.com/ (Canada, $10 flat rate shipping)
http://vegancats.com/ (USA, ships internationally)
http://www.veggiepets.com/ (UK)
http://www.veganpet.com.au/ (Australia)

Cat resources:
http://catsinternational.org/ (non-profit society articles dealing with cat issues)

Other Vegan-Related LiveJournal Communities:
animal_rights, isitveg, starting_vegan, veganpeople, vegancooking , vegan_singles, vegan_talk, vegantravel, veganhaven, veganism, veganwomen, vegetarian, veggie_grocery, without_cruelty, veganfiberart

(Thanks to papasfritas for the above.)

other communities to check out are vegpromo and vegantravel. both communities have gigantic lists of other veg*n communities listed on each respective profile page.

If you need to contact the mods, please email veganpets.lj@gmail.com, or make a post at veganmods and someone will come to help.

animal health, animal rights, cat health, chemistry, companion animals, cruelty-free, dog health, enzymes, ethics, harm-free, health, it ain't natural, jed gillen, kittens, obligate carnivore, organic, puppies, taurine, vegan, vegan cats, vegan dogs, vegan people, veganism, vegetarian, vegetarianism