Vets have advised against non-meat and non-dairy diets for domestic pets despite the increasing popularity of a vegan product designed to cover cats' and dogs' dietary needs.
Vegan Pet was developed by a Victorian health food maker to include the essential nutrients cats and dogs would miss out on in a vegan diet.
Derived from entirely non-dairy and non-meat sources and designed with the help of a Murdoch University professor, studies have shown it can provide the short-term dietary needs of domestic pets.
It is sold in Queensland at the ethical alternative pet food store Complete Pet Company in Keperra. Owner and operator Jenny Golsby says vegan and vegetarian pet foods are becoming more popular as pet owners search out ethical alternatives to mainstream pet food.
Despite the product's growing popularity and dietary provisions, veterinarians still hold concerns a non-meat diet could harm domestic animals, especially cats.
Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association president David Neck said he would immediately advise owners against feeding their animals an exclusively non-meat and non-dairy diet.
Dr Neck was particularly concerned with how a non-meat diet could provide carnivores, such as cats, "a complete and satisfying" meal.
"Millions of years of evolution have dictated what is best to go into these animals, and [some pet owners] trying to change that in the course of one generation does not make sense to me," he said.
"It really is a concept I struggle to come to terms with, that you would take what is the natural diet of such an animal and alter it in such a radical way.
"I can tell you from my experience with cats and dogs they don't have any ethics about where their food source is derived from.
"If a vegan pet owner is making that decision on behalf of a pet that they own, they should perhaps consider the reasons they have that pet."
Vegan Pet creator Sandy Anderson said she understood the concern veterinarians had with animals being fed vegan food.
Her decision to develop dry food and tinned food products was motivated by the concerns she had seeing her friends feed their animals vegan food not designed for pets.
"I realised the animals weren't getting everything they needed having studied a basic nutrition course," Ms Anderson said.
"So what I did then, for their good, was try and find out whether you can have vegan cat food [with the proper nutrients]."
Ms Anderson developed the products with the help of Nick Costa, head of biochemistry and nutrition at Murdoch University's School of Veterinary and Biomedical Science, ensuring the food met the needs for complete and balanced diet, according to the dietary requirements tabled by the Association of American Feed Control Officials.
The food passed tests for short-term effects, palpability and digestibility.
Concerned with the quality of pet food sold by mainstream distributors, Ms Anderson said the proof of the food's suitability for animals was in their reaction to it.
"Some animals have been on it for eight or nine years and they are still thriving on it," she said.
"People say that cats are carnivore and they should be fed meat, which they should.
"But my theory is if you can feed an equivalent that the cat enjoys equally and it supplies everyone of those nutrients in the meat source, what harm is being done?"
Professor Costa said long-term studies needed to be conducted on the product and he personally believed a meat diet was preferable for cats.
But he said the product was a viable alternative for people wanting to feed their animal a vegan diet.
"What it does do, through Sandy's efforts, is for those people who are vegans, and who eschew red meat completely, and meat products generally, then this gives them an alternative that has complete and balanced nutrient profile that has been partially tested in terms of digestibility and palatability," Professor Costa said.
"What it hasn't been tested for is long-term trials, where you can see if it is affecting reproduction long term, heart function long term, through taurine, or whether it is affecting visual processes long term.
"But in support of the food it has been going a decade and if those systems were problematic Sandy would have heard from people who had been suing it by now."
Dr Neck believes there is another solution for animal lovers keen to feed their animals a vegan diet.
"If you're a vegan, and you have ethical concerns about feeding animal-derived protein to your pet, well I could probably recommend a rabbit or a guinea pig as a pet, that you can source their nutrients from," he said.
"Rather than make ethical choices for an animal."
Hmmm, well I know one thing about my cat, there is nothing that gets him more excited than fresh chicken or tuna he gets once a week. He'll eat the dry processed food happily - but he'll only go into kittty paroxyms of joy over meat. But I do wonder if the vegan option has a less offensive kitty litter odour, I might try it for a while to see (but he'll still get his chicken)
Source
Vegan Pet was developed by a Victorian health food maker to include the essential nutrients cats and dogs would miss out on in a vegan diet.
Derived from entirely non-dairy and non-meat sources and designed with the help of a Murdoch University professor, studies have shown it can provide the short-term dietary needs of domestic pets.
It is sold in Queensland at the ethical alternative pet food store Complete Pet Company in Keperra. Owner and operator Jenny Golsby says vegan and vegetarian pet foods are becoming more popular as pet owners search out ethical alternatives to mainstream pet food.
Despite the product's growing popularity and dietary provisions, veterinarians still hold concerns a non-meat diet could harm domestic animals, especially cats.
Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association president David Neck said he would immediately advise owners against feeding their animals an exclusively non-meat and non-dairy diet.
Dr Neck was particularly concerned with how a non-meat diet could provide carnivores, such as cats, "a complete and satisfying" meal.
"Millions of years of evolution have dictated what is best to go into these animals, and [some pet owners] trying to change that in the course of one generation does not make sense to me," he said.
"It really is a concept I struggle to come to terms with, that you would take what is the natural diet of such an animal and alter it in such a radical way.
"I can tell you from my experience with cats and dogs they don't have any ethics about where their food source is derived from.
"If a vegan pet owner is making that decision on behalf of a pet that they own, they should perhaps consider the reasons they have that pet."
Vegan Pet creator Sandy Anderson said she understood the concern veterinarians had with animals being fed vegan food.
Her decision to develop dry food and tinned food products was motivated by the concerns she had seeing her friends feed their animals vegan food not designed for pets.
"I realised the animals weren't getting everything they needed having studied a basic nutrition course," Ms Anderson said.
"So what I did then, for their good, was try and find out whether you can have vegan cat food [with the proper nutrients]."
Ms Anderson developed the products with the help of Nick Costa, head of biochemistry and nutrition at Murdoch University's School of Veterinary and Biomedical Science, ensuring the food met the needs for complete and balanced diet, according to the dietary requirements tabled by the Association of American Feed Control Officials.
The food passed tests for short-term effects, palpability and digestibility.
Concerned with the quality of pet food sold by mainstream distributors, Ms Anderson said the proof of the food's suitability for animals was in their reaction to it.
"Some animals have been on it for eight or nine years and they are still thriving on it," she said.
"People say that cats are carnivore and they should be fed meat, which they should.
"But my theory is if you can feed an equivalent that the cat enjoys equally and it supplies everyone of those nutrients in the meat source, what harm is being done?"
Professor Costa said long-term studies needed to be conducted on the product and he personally believed a meat diet was preferable for cats.
But he said the product was a viable alternative for people wanting to feed their animal a vegan diet.
"What it does do, through Sandy's efforts, is for those people who are vegans, and who eschew red meat completely, and meat products generally, then this gives them an alternative that has complete and balanced nutrient profile that has been partially tested in terms of digestibility and palatability," Professor Costa said.
"What it hasn't been tested for is long-term trials, where you can see if it is affecting reproduction long term, heart function long term, through taurine, or whether it is affecting visual processes long term.
"But in support of the food it has been going a decade and if those systems were problematic Sandy would have heard from people who had been suing it by now."
Dr Neck believes there is another solution for animal lovers keen to feed their animals a vegan diet.
"If you're a vegan, and you have ethical concerns about feeding animal-derived protein to your pet, well I could probably recommend a rabbit or a guinea pig as a pet, that you can source their nutrients from," he said.
"Rather than make ethical choices for an animal."
Hmmm, well I know one thing about my cat, there is nothing that gets him more excited than fresh chicken or tuna he gets once a week. He'll eat the dry processed food happily - but he'll only go into kittty paroxyms of joy over meat. But I do wonder if the vegan option has a less offensive kitty litter odour, I might try it for a while to see (but he'll still get his chicken)
Source
That said, I feel really torn about this - I completely understand ethical questions like how the animals lived and died (and whether they should even die at all for this). On the other hand, animals like cats are different from people and have different dietary requirements, and surely it's also not treating them well if they're not being fed properly? I wish we knew more.
cats ARE carnivores - they eat other animals in the wild. for them to thrive they need animal protein
I mean, if we're talking "this is not their natural food!" don't we just need to give them fresh animals, if we can't let them hunt theirselves?
I had a cat and I fed it meat but as a vegan I felt very very bad about it. Saving one animal and then spending money on the meat industry for that animal does feel shit.
There is the potassium and phosphorus pollution from kept chicken etc etc. So if I use a vegan option for a little bit for the cat, I might consider it. But my cat is not going to go off meat entirely. He loves it too much, I'd feel horrible to deny him something he clearly loves.
I have two cats that are severely allergic to wheat. As in, they eat a few mouthfuls of normal cat food, and their faces swell up so badly their noses split. One is diabetic, and has been for about ten years. From starch-filled cat food.
Cats will DIE without animal-based taurine, B-complex, and protein in their diets, and PLENTY of it. For every 3lbs of meat it eats, it needs around 2000mg of taurine. Most human supplements for a day are less than half of that. And it's not like you can just add taurine to whatever vegan foods you feed it; without the animal protein, a cat can't digest the taurine. Deficiency is a horrifying thing to witness; anyone who has worked in an animal shelter can tell you. They go blind, they can't walk, they wheeze because they can't breathe, their hearts fail. It's torture. It's cruel. And the worst part? You usually can't tell a cat is malnourished in some ways... until it's too late for them. That's why when last year, Wellness food found that a few lots of their adult wet food didn't have enough taurine in the batch, they recalled ALL batches- not just the affected lots.
If you decide not to feed yourself what biology dictates, that's fine; YOU have free will. The animal is DEPENDENT on you. It has no choice. If you will not feed your pets what they need by design, do not have that pet. You don't deserve them.
Edited at 2012-05-02 12:56 am (UTC)
Sure, a lot of animals feel better after getting away from commercial cat food. Cheap companies often use "meat" sources like roadkill and other euthanized animals. I'd feel better too after not eating that! The problem isn't animals eating meat. They are SUPPOSED to eat meat. The problem is that we're feeding them poison! If you want your pet to be healthy, you need to do some digging and figure out where the sources of their food are coming from. That bag says Made in America, but the food might be produced in China (ie, the melamine deaths). It says "animal by-product", but that could be rancid remains of butcher floor birds, or in some cases, other cats and dogs. Dry foods have to include fat- but fat gets rancid fast, now doesn't it? Yet, that bag has probably been on the shelves for MONTHS, between the delivery trucks, warehouses, and the grocery store. And you wonder why they're sick from it?
Do your best to feed them better food. Do your best to make sure they have 'clean' food. DEMAND clean food for them. Call the companies you use. Write to them. Boycott them. I refuse to buy from at LEAST three companies because of their shitty practices. Meow Mix is on my most-hated list for good reason.
It IS possible to ethically raise food for our animals. It IS possible to not have chickens in 1'x1' cages for their entire lives. It IS possible for it to be made illegal to use substandard 'meat products' in their food. It IS possible to be humane about feeding them. Veganism is not the way to go about it.
Also, roughly half the synthetic taurine in the world is manufactured in China. Considering China's record on producing toxic products, would you want to feed your pet a product that has a 50/50 shot of being produced by a source that can't even be trusted not to produce toxic baby formula?
This isn't simply "oh, China bad!" this is in response to them having seriously fucked up this type of product previously. and if the key component is in any way NOT correctly synthesized or not as potent as it should be, this has very high odds of causing death in animals that ate it. Its not simply the risk of their being a problem, but that if there IS a problem, it will be a DEADLY problem.
Crummy clothes are unlikely to kill me. Electronics might have some elevated risk of fire, but not every failure will be deadly. But with taurine, if there IS a failure... that's a deadly one for cats.
If you are concerned about the sourcing of the meat you feed your pet, there is always the option to do your research and then begin to feed a raw or home-made diet that consists of animal products from local sources that you've evaluated as ethical producers. Or you could not own carnivores.
Idk, I occasionally decide to randomly start surfing for vegan/vegetarian cat options (because I'm a masochistic moron) and it just gets my blood boiling.