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
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.
Edited at 2012-05-02 01:35 am (UTC)
He used to be on Science Diet, but I switched it to Wellness Core. I really like the stuff. It's pretty highly recommended and the ingredients look good, no random by-product meat listed, grain-free. On the downside, it smells fishy as hell so your cat's breath may be super foul after eating it. He also eats a lot less of it, so consequently, the regurgitation after eating dry food has gone down almost entirely.
I'm sure there are better/other alternatives out there, Wellness Core just seemed to be a good balance of price/ingredients.
Edited at 2012-05-02 01:51 am (UTC)
I paid about $16/case for Fancy Feast. For all the gravy and carbs and such in that, they were getting sick. Ounce for ounce, between coupons from the manufacturer and sales, I pay about the same or less for the good stuff than I did for the 'cheap' stuff. It might take a little more work to get it, if you go the deal-hunting route. I think of it this way: time hunting for good cat food, or time and suffering for vet care. If money isn't an issue, you can get any of this stuff at Petco or Petsmart.
They have wilderness, grain free, regular and sensitive stomach lines alongside their canned foods.
If you happen to be in the Western Washington area, look up the Mud Bay stores. They have LOTS of samples of the different cat foods they are more than willing to give out to people. If you aren't, check around for locally owned pet stores; places like Petsmart and Petco aren't so great about stuff like that, but local stores sometimes are better. If you can get samples, you can try out a few things to see what your kitties like best :)
Got a lot of promising candidates out of the answers for my boy -- thanks, everyone. :)
http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.co
We also use their wet food. When we rescued our latest cat, she came home that was noticeably rougher than our other one. She was also missing hair from when she had fleas that had never grown back. The shelter had her eating Purina for the past month. Not sure what the previous owners used. Since we started her on C&P her coat has become MUCH more silky to the touch, and some of her missing hair has even started to grow back. :)
Plus, smaller amount for nutritional and caloric requirements means they just don't go through it as fast.
would you mind telling me which companies?
Two of mine, as I mentioned, are incredibly allergic to fish and wheat. Even the vet couldn't figure out why one pulled out her fur- it was up to me to figure it out. Cat allergies are tricky. By now, I can pretty much tell you if your cat is susceptible to certain common conditions by their habits; pulling out fur can be nervousness, or it can be allergies to something. Others will get crystals in their urine, swollen faces, scabs, a million symptoms. I KNOW which of my cats had allergies.
Meow Mix had them ALL in bleeding blisters all over their faces and heads within an hour of eating. ALL of them. Vomiting everywhere. A few months later, a friend I hadn't talked to in awhile said his cat was really sick, but he couldn't afford a vet. Turns out, he was feeding the baby Meow Mix. Stop the food, the sickness stopped.
I mail Meow Mix about it. Their response? Not our problem! Your cats must be allergic. It's common to have allergies. Take him to the vet.
... How about a hearty FUCK YOU. NO, this is not a common allergy. This is half a dozen cats at LEAST, in two different homes, having the SAME symptoms after eating your food, with no other health issues. So much for responsibility on their behalf.
The other two are Hartz (anything they make; especially flea products) and Science Diet/Prescription Diet. Look at the ingredients. For the cats with allergies, the vets had me give them this: http://www.hillspet.com/products/sd-fel
Their food is practically poison. It's like a human eating a diet of Cheerios, expecting to be healthy because "look at the other nutrient levels! It's got proteins and stuff!" Yeah, but it's still 40 freaking percent CARBS. For a CAT. Which I expect in 1) dry food, and 2) cheap food... but not in something supposedly so healthy and expensive for them. If I'm going to pay that much, there had better be some real substance.
I acknowledge that while I do have very nutritionally-balanced recipes for cat food, I do not have the energy or equipment to properly make it. Therefore, my cats will get occasional cat-safe 'treat' meals made of chicken, bone powder, taurine, beef, and a little psyllium husk for fiber, etc etc. One of them (I kid you not) demands scrambled eggs if he sees the carton in the fridge. And he CHECKS for that carton! So I still have to give in and buy commercially-made food. For $35 a case, I can get Innova, or Evos 99% meat cat food. Or Wellness, who I know at least had the decency to e-mail me when they had a bad batch, and recalled ALL of the food just to be safe. No confusing customers with lot numbers and specific lines, etc, etc. Just bring it in for a known-good batch. No questions asked. All have affordable options that are low-carb, wheat-and-fish free, for about the same price as Fancy Feast, ounce for ounce.
It isn't perfect; I can't say those chickens or turkeys were free-range, or that everything in it is organically-raised. But I know it's way better than just about anything else they could have. And I make effort to buy them good snack foods that I make from organic pumpkin, beef or chicken, and other things that they love and that are safe for them. I check approximate vitamin counts so they never go without. Once you get in the habit, it's pretty easy, and it's relatively cheap. But if I HAVE to buy commercial, I stick to that boycott list. Never again will they earn my money if I can help it!
We live in Northern California, and prefer to go with dry food. Any recommendations for something with more meat that won't turn our cats into butterballs?