Do you buy meat products for your pets?

I totally 100% agree with MymoonMyman. I have 2 cats and they love their meat. For me not to give it to them because I don't eat meat isn't fair. They are meant to eat meat and I'm not going to change that for them.

I asked my vet about this and she was very against it. I actually already had an idea that she would be, and I have to say I agreed with her. I have two cats, and I personally do no feel that they are meant to be vegan. Unlike humans they have a different digestive system, and their teeth are obviously meant to eat 'meat' If other people on here are feeding their cats vegan diets, that's great and I am glad it works for you. I just can't do it and feel okay about it, unlike humans, I strongly feel that cats are not naturally meant to be vegan. I have heard that dogs are a different story and that they can live on a vegan diet more easily, but don't know enough about it.

I still buy soft canned for my cats. I feel very guilty about it. If I could find convincing scientific evidence that a vegan diet was healthy for cats who are truly hard-wired for animal protein, I would do it. It's a shame with all the people out there who are trying it they can't come up with some convincing studies (if you know of any other than the websites that are selling it - please let me know).

So far I've read that vegan diets can be dangerous for cats prone to urinary tract infections (urinary blockages are common in male cats especially) so it's something to be aware of. Vegecat even has this disclaimer on their website (http://www.vegancats.com/pages/1007/FAQ.htm#1070)and says an all meat diet may be necessary for some cats. (Also, three years ago some vets had two vegan cat foods analyzed and they were deficient in required nutrients. The companies claimed it was just the batch, and said they were going to fix their quality control, so hopefully they have.

Also, wheat and corn are common "allergens" in cats and most of the vegan cat foods seem to be high in these. At the very least they should be low in carbs if possible, but there is evidence that plant protein is hard on cats' kidneys.

I can't speak for dogs...but I have heard dogs can be fine on vegan diets since they are omnivores. I think it's always important to REALLY research what you feed them, no matter what. I have a hard time just going by what a website says.

P.S. I did find a survey of people who had their cats on Evolution and what problems they were having. Most were UTI's, many experienced severe weight loss, were begging for human food, and several got sick and died of "unexplained" causes. See: http://veganrepresent.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6748

I have two dogs and I get them three different kinds of vegetarian dry food(AvoDerm, Natural Balance, Natures Recipe) and two different kinds of vegetarian wet(AvoDerm, Natures Recipe). Pet Guard also makes an organic vegan wet food and a non-organic vegetarian wet food. They are healthy and happy! As far as treats go, there are a ton of veggie and peanut butter treats that are vegetarian...buddy biscuits say vegan on them I believe.