Veg*n dog food?

I'm not sure what I think of enforcing vegetarianism on dogs and cats, and don't really have enough knowledge or experience to make a proper judgement. I don't think I'll ever have a dog or cat anyway, but I think if I was interested, the thought of having to feed it meat would really put me off.

Dogs are essentially omnivorous, so technically can get what they need from a vegetarian diet, whereas with cats (who are carnivorous) it can cause them lots of health problems. There are quite a few vegetarian and vegan pet foods out there for both and I'm sure some are better than others.

I guess that seeing as pet food usually has the grimmest and lowest quality meat in it that has been rejected by every other food manufacturer, there might not actually be as much meat-sourced nutrition as it as people like to believe anyway!

I know that there are Dog and cat foods out there that contain no animal products...I read an article on Alicia Silverstone and she feeds her dogs all natural food-with no animal ingredients. So I Know that it's possible to feed your dog vegan, but I'm not sure if it's ever been tested and proven to be benifical to them or not...

I would personally never try it with my pets. Especially cats. They can go blind because of not having meat. And personally just because I am going veggie doesn't mean I want to make my cats and dogs go veggie. To me that is cruel. I would never advise it. If you are worried that your pet food doesn't contain real meat. Talk to your vet. We special order are cat and dog food, and it is all natural with real meat. Or another option is a health food store. You can buy cat and dog food from there too. Like for example an all natural health food store near me is called Trader Joes. And they sell dog and cat food. They are just not meant to go veggie.

Doesn't it make you appreciate guinea pigs all the more when you realize they are pure vegans and their poop smells just fine and other animals don't have to die to keep them? I love guinea pigs.

Me too cavyspirit, I love guinea pigs!

Here is a useful link for all of you: https://www.helpinganimals.com/h-vegcat-meals.html
from https://www.helpinganimals.com/

lol! i LOVE my piggies!

Biologically speaking (and from my vet tech point of view), it is much better to feed holistic, but omnivourous diets to dogs and more carnivorous diets to cats. I have never seen even the most devoted vegetarian feeding a healthy vegetarian diet to either. They just aren't built for it, and it can (as has been mentioned) kill your cat or be seriously detrimental (especially to the heart) to the dog.

Some foods I recommend for those who want to feed quality, biologically apropriate foods to dogs and cats are:

NDF (Natural Diet Foundation), ala Wendy Volhard (dogs only)
PHD/Viand
Solid Gold/Hund N Flocken/I think it's Katz N Flocken
BARF (Bones and Raw Food, Biologically Appropriate Raw Food), ala Ian Billinghurst
The Ultimate Diet, ala Kymythy Schultze
Fargo/Far More (raw meat product)
Wellness (esp. non chicken based formulas) by Old Mother Hubbard


as far as prescription diets (for specific veterinary problems), I always choose IVD

There are a ton of holistic foods out there, but you need to do research on ingredients, etc. Many of them are substandard. I think I've listed some of the best quality ones.

Josephine, are you a vet?

Actually, if you see in my post and my profile, I am a Registered Veterinary Technician.

So, no, I'm not a vet.

ok. i just wanted to know because your previous post sounded so informational and knowledgable!

That's because she is and probably knows more than a lot of vets anyway--especially about cavies!

piggylover101 said:

I would personally never try it with my pets. Especially cats. They can go blind because of not having meat. And personally just because I am going veggie doesn't mean I want to make my cats and dogs go veggie. To me that is cruel. I would never advise it. If you are worried that your pet food doesn't contain real meat. Talk to your vet. We special order are cat and dog food, and it is all natural with real meat. Or another option is a health food store. You can buy cat and dog food from there too. Like for example an all natural health food store near me is called Trader Joes. And they sell dog and cat food. They are just not meant to go veggie.

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We also feed our cats all natural food. It is Organic.

oh... okay. i will look into that.

thank you everyone

Thanks very much, Josephine!