Vegan Pets

When Maggie Moon was still alive, people often asked, “Is your dog vegan too?”  I have heard of people putting their dogs and cats on a vegan diet, but I can’t help think that just because it may be healthier for humans to eat a plant-based diet, dogs and cats are carnivores!  If you’re not too sure that you’re meant to eat (mostly or all) plants, and dogs and cats are meant to eat meat, just open your mouth and look at your teeth in the mirror and then look at your dog or cat’s teeth.  Compare both to a lion’s teeth. As they say on Sesame Street … one of these things is not like the other! 

Here are some more differences between carnivores and herbivores:

·     A carnivore’s teeth show evidence of their need to tear and rip apart their dinner

·     Their night vision (the time of day they generally hunt) is superb

·     Their intestines are very short, allowing their bowel to take out the needed protein and quickly rid the acidic meat from their body in hours.  (This explains why humans who eat meat are many times more likely to get colon cancer than vegetarians – the acidic meat sits in their intestines and basically ferments before it’s eliminated three days later. Colon cancer among vegetarians is almost nonexistent.)

·     They have long, sharp and strong claws which help them to capture and kill their dinner

·     Their hearing is acute – a cat accustomed to hunting can hear a mouse across a field.

·     They can run like the wind, allowing them to chase down their dinner. 

Compare all this to a cow, an elephant, or a buffalo.  All are big strong creatures … but they aren’t made to eat meat.  Which are you most similar to – a carnivore or an herbivore?  Which is Fluffy or Fido most like?

"People eat meat and think they will become strong as an ox, forgetting that the ox eats grass."  - Pino Caruso, Italian Actor

I know many vegans may shun me for saying this, but if you have a dog or cat, remember that they are carnivores.  They are not meant to eat an all-plant diet, just like humans, cows or elephants are not meant to eat an all-meat diet.  You may choose to find a cruelty-free (as much as it can be cruelty-free) pet food provider, but for the health of your pet, do not force them to be vegan.  It’s simply not their nature.

If you have ideas for cruelty-free pet food, please post below!