Anyone need help on what to feed their pet(s)?

I answered a question in the forum and thought I'd post a separate Q&A. I hope to help anyone who is a pet guardian! :)

When I became vegetarian, I did alot of research. Feeding dogs/cats vegan/vegetarian diet (strictly) is going against their natural diet. They are carnivores and have the teeth to prove it. BUT, I did come across something WONDERFUL.

My yorkie had AWFUL skin problems and would bite and scratch until he created sores. His breath was awful, too. I researched the Raw food diet and do that now. If you're not cool with preparing raw meat (which I absolutely am not!), you can buy it pre-made and frozen. The best brand is made by Nature's Variety (they are organic and cruelty-free. They do not use factory farms/sick animals/etc). I now have 2 dogs and I simply cannot afford a 100% raw diet (it is extremely expensive), so I do one meal a day raw and the second meal dry. The exception with this dry food is that it's completely wheat and gluten free. I found out that this was the problem to his itching! Cured it after a few weeks! There are several companies that make organic and cruelty free dry food: Nature's Variety, Timberwolf, etc.

Posted Answers

A: Ah ha! Thanks for the post. :0) Answer by ...cokaru... Sat, 04/05/2008 - 12:36am — ...cokaru...

A: Thanks for posting this topic. While I am open to understanding the nutrition behind the vegan cat diets, I haven't found the existing information to be compelling, and may even be dangerously misrepresentational. Unfortunately, general nutritional info for cats is lacking, however there is substantial evidence that grains such as wheat/gluten are detrimental to cats' kidneys. Dry food is horrible for cats- they require wet food and if given dry they will experience chronic low-level dehydration. Please read these sites for more information: http://www.catinfo.org/zorans_article.pdf www.catinfo.org http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/784/Patrick06.html www.catinfo.org As I said, if I found compelling, positive, and nutritionally accurate info about vegan diets for cats I'd be more than happy to change my mind. Answer by sassafras Sun, 03/23/2008 - 6:51pm — sassafras

A: Meat is inherently cruel. I feed my 6 cats vegan and they're doing wonderfully. It's no biggie to feed dogs vegan either. Answer by dagdasamildanc Thu, 03/13/2008 - 10:23pm — dagdasamildanc