Why?

[Dennis1234567]

Why do some people feed their pets vegitarian food? I think it's cruel, and owners who feed their pets this stuff should be put in jail and barred from ever keeping pets again.

[Susie]

Erm, that is a tad harsh, methinks.

Personally I think it is misguided if the creature in question is usually carniverous but some people must find it very hard feeding meat to their pets if they are vegetarian through principle themselves.

[Paul mabbott]

We never gave our Rabbit or gerbil meat, they seemed quite happy .....

Originally Posted by Dennis1234567

Why do some people feed their pets vegitarian food? I think it's cruel, and owners who feed their pets this stuff should be put in jail and barred from ever keeping pets again.

[Dennis1234567]

But have you ever given a cat or dog vegitarian food? I was surfing the net for information on winter feeding some of the local wildlife and kept finding websites for cat and dog veggi food. It made me mad

[Susie]

Come on Dennis, spit it out, boy. Why did this make you so upset? In the grand scheme of animal cruelty it isn't up there with using dogs as shark bait or some of the other nasty things that go on.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

We never gave our Rabbit or gerbil meat, they seemed quite happy .....

I gave my hamster a cricket once or rather I attaced my cricket house - which was largely earth to the hamster cage so the hamster sould have a good dig around - it never occured to me she would eat the crickets but she did - with relish!!! Obviously part of the natural diet!
Felt bad about the crickets though....... I only had two adults left andshe ate them both before I could stop her!

[matt_xyz]

I think Dennis has gone to have a lie down in a darkened room....

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Susie

Come on Dennis, spit it out, boy. Why did this make you so upset? In the grand scheme of animal cruelty it isn't up there with using dogs as shark bait or some of the other nasty things that go on.

Or killing whales for cat food ....

[Susie]

LMAO - Yeah, okay Paul, good point.

[Alan]

It’s a valid ethical question, it just depends how it’s phrased:

If you have a carnivorous pet, should you feed it vegetable based products? And/or if you’re not prepared to give them their ‘natural’ food, should you keep them at all?

[matt_xyz]

It is a valid question, although it's worth bearing in mind that meat-based pet food bears little resemblance to what a wild dog or cat would have eaten. As such their diets are very much unnatural as it is. Plus the actual existence of domesticated dogs and cats is entirely unnatural and so too are the lifestyles that they lead.

If a vet could guarantee to me that a vegatarian based diet was healthy for a cat or dog (and contained the necessary vitamin supplements etc) and if the animal enjoyed the food then I don't think I would have a problem with that. However, I don't know whether vegatarian pet food is in fact healthy for dogs or cats.

Matt

[Jon]

Originally Posted by matt_xyz

It is a valid question, although it's worth bearing in mind that meat-based pet food bears little resemblance to what a wild dog or cat would have eaten. As such their diets are very much unnatural as it is. Plus the actual existence of domesticated dogs and cats is entirely unnatural and so too are the lifestyles that they lead.

If a vet could guarantee to me that a vegatarian based diet was healthy for a cat or dog (and contained the necessary vitamin supplements etc) and if the animal enjoyed the food then I don't think I would have a problem with that. However, I don't know whether vegatarian pet food is in fact healthy for dogs or cats.

Matt

And what's more it gives them really bad wind!!

Jon

[glsammy]

I believe it's perfectly healthy. With our Alsatian, at one stage our Vet put our dog onto a pure vegetarian diet, as there was too much protein in the normal canned food, and was causing no end of digestive problems. The Vegetarian diet sorted it out, plus the dog loved it.

[Dorcas]

my folks had a rhodesian ridgeback that just loved dry meal biscuity sort of thing

the jack russell my dad's got now loves freshly cooked chicken (yes she is spoilt)

both emit silent killers!!

but would suspect cats and dogs chemistry make up is geared towards being carniverous

[Paul mabbott]

I've never voluntarily had a pet (they tend to arrive with wives, I find) but have had some experience. To state the blooming obvious - cats and dogs are different animals!

I don't see why a 'house' cat couldn't be weaned onto a vegetable protein diet of appropriate texture and flavour - ensuring that it was well dosed with appropriate vitamins: as in human vegetarian food. I suspect that an 'outdoor' cat would not stay vegetarian very long because they'd be out eating the wildlife ....


Dogs, however, clearly can live on vegetarian diets. They are pretty much omnivores in my experience. I knew two farm dogs that lived entirely on vegetables unless there was a piece of particularly fatty meat or gristle left over from a meal. I recall that there are vitamins in dog biscuits to avoid any deficiencies?

So, I have no problem with people administering vegetarian diets if it's done with consideration. If, on the other hand, carnivorous humans are giving their cats/dogs trimmings or waste from their own meals, then that's okay. After all, both of these animals are creations of humans so why shouldn't humans further adapt them to whatever diet they wish?

What I would ask is that pet owners should give serious consideration to the effect that their pets have on wildlife, the environment and farming-fishery practices ....

Originally Posted by matt_xyz

It is a valid question, although it's worth bearing in mind that meat-based pet food bears little resemblance to what a wild dog or cat would have eaten. As such their diets are very much unnatural as it is. Plus the actual existence of domesticated dogs and cats is entirely unnatural and so too are the lifestyles that they lead.
If a vet could guarantee to me that a vegatarian based diet was healthy for a cat or dog (and contained the necessary vitamin supplements etc) and if the animal enjoyed the food then I don't think I would have a problem with that. However, I don't know whether vegatarian pet food is in fact healthy for dogs or cats.
Matt

[smartie]

Wives???? How many have you got at present, Paul?

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by smartie

Wives???? How many have you got at present, Paul?

I always find it's best to have one at a time. Otherwise you get too many pets in the house ...

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

I gave my hamster a cricket once or rather I attaced my cricket house - which was largely earth to the hamster cage so the hamster sould have a good dig around - it never occured to me she would eat the crickets but she did - with relish!!! Obviously part of the natural diet!
Felt bad about the crickets though....... I only had two adults left andshe ate them both before I could stop her!

My Hamster likes bacon although I don't think that she could eat more than one little piggie at a time. I will add that if I were to offer my hamster chocolate she would ignore anything else on offer as would my late departed (from this world) "wild" mouse.

I will add that I agree with Dennis on this one, although I would favour horse whipping rather than prison for the offenders.

[Dennis1234567]

Originally Posted by Susie

Come on Dennis, spit it out, boy. Why did this make you so upset? In the grand scheme of animal cruelty it isn't up there with using dogs as shark bait or some of the other nasty things that go on.

I can understand people not eating anything that has had a face on it, and its a view i respect. To go out and buy a meat eater knowing they can't feed it meat suggest buying the animal was done without thinking it through. Buying the animal means buying the whole package.

[Susie]

What if they became vegetarian after buying the pet?

[Dennis1234567]

Dr. Robert K. Wayne, (canid biologist and molecular geneticist with UCLA) did some genetic research on dogs at the DNA level. He found that the domesticated dog originated from Canis Lupus - the grey wolf. The DNA link is so strong that they are still able to cross bread with them. Because of that research biologists changed the name of the household pooch from Canis Familiaris to Canis Lupus in 1993. The domesticated dog started out as a wolf before we played god, and we played god with the selective breading of wolves about ten to fifteen thousand years ago.

Domesticated dogs have always been, and always will be meat eaters, unless it's bred with a Rabbit

[Boddie]

Do chickens eat cheese?

[speckled wood]

Originally Posted by Boddie

Do chickens eat cheese?

Ice Cream, Fingers, anything!

[Paul mabbott]

Wouldn't deny anything in your first para but the second part .... wolves are certainly primarily carnivores but can survive on more or less anything. Dogs are domesticated and can adapt to most foods. Because wolves are mainly carnivorous in natural environments doesn't mean that dogs are/must be/should be carnivorous in cultivation. As you say, dogs have been artificially selected - the rules of nature do not apply.
Unless you want to regress them into wolves? Which I'm not sure would be a good thing in London ....

Originally Posted by Dennis1234567

Dr. Robert K. Wayne, (canid biologist and molecular geneticist with UCLA) did some genetic research on dogs at the DNA level. He found that the domesticated dog originated from Canis Lupus - the grey wolf. The DNA link is so strong that they are still able to cross bread with them. Because of that research biologists changed the name of the household pooch from Canis Familiaris to Canis Lupus in 1993. The domesticated dog started out as a wolf before we played god, and we played god with the selective breading of wolves about ten to fifteen thousand years ago.

Domesticated dogs have always been, and always will be meat eaters, unless it's bred with a Rabbit

[Dennis1234567]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

Unless you want to regress them into wolves? Which I'm not sure would be a good thing in London ....

We both know the answer to that one.