What do you feed your companion animal?

[nibbler]

What do you feed your cat? Or dog? Or ferret?

I am going to get alot of negative comments, but I don't make my carnivorous pet vegan.
So I guess I am a hypocrite. My cat eats a mix of High quality canned food(from the vet) and raw meat.

My dog eats TOTW Dog food. Dry & canned. I don't have a ferret.

*Technically* the dog & cat are family pets.

For my own pets( my piggies) as in, they are my children, not every one who resides in my household. Are Vegan, and are meant to be. They eat no animal products whatsoever.


What do you feed your carnivore?

[VeganFromHell]

Dried kibble ad lib for the cats with tinned meat now and then during the day. Dogs have dried food only as one of them gets ill on tinned meat. Both will get meat from the reduced section too as something extra.

I can't afford to feed my companion animals vegan (I'm on benefits) and I don't have the know how either. I have no problem with those who do feed them vegan as long as they know what they are doing and the vets are happy the animals are healthy.

[KaliMama]

The book Vegan Dogs: Compassionate Nutrition is a great resource. It's free to download (though you can donate) and includes a really basic good recipe. Feeding dogs a homemade vegan diet is very affordable. So is Natural Balance Vegetarian Formula kibble.

There are a number of threads here about feeding cats and dogs. And rats!

[downwithapathy]

This list is enormous, but I just compiled it (for myself), so I'll share!

Some of these threads are very old, but there's probably some great information buried there. Also, it's very likely that I missed a few.

Related Threads (in no particular order):


Vegan companion animals?

Veg*an Pet Food Big List

Vegan Dogs - Questions, advice, recipes, tips...

Vegan Pet Food

Vegan Cat Food

Pet Food

Vegan Dog Treats


What brands of pet food are NOT tested on animals?

Companion Animal Nutrition

vegan dog food testimonials, please

Experiences with Evolution Cat Food

Problems With Evolution Cat Food

how can I persuade my parents to feed animals veg food?

Sharing my vegan dog treat recipes

Dog Chews and Kong Stuffers

Cat Treats

How To Grade Dog Food

Supplements For Companion Animals

Raw Pets

The Cat That Ate Tofu

Taurine: the vegan cat issue

Vegan Pet Costs

What did the hairy one in your care eat today?

Vegan animal companion food recipes

Online vegan dog bakery and gift shop

Puppy Help

greyhounds and veggie diet

Dog Birthday Cake

Analysis of Vegan Cat Food

Vegan Fish Food

Vegan Cat Food Recipe

Cat Got Your Fish?

We use Vegecat!

Allergy Sensitive Dog Food

I'm off the farmer's market with the grandmama! I'll post my own response when I get back.

[bluedawg]

Originally Posted by KaliMama

There are a number of threads here about feeding cats and dogs. And rats!

totally, in case you're interested in reading a whooooole lot of stuff.

but if you just wanted quick and short answers, mine is:

my dog is vegan, my cats are not.

maia greyhound eats evolution kibble, along with some bits of various vegan canned foods at breakfast (we mix a couple spoonfuls in with her kibble, and we rotate kinds).

avery and finley kitties eat wellness kibble, indoor formula.

[Kat]

Fei Fei is vegan, she eats Ami cat food for her daily meals, which is fully formulated with taurine and protein and all that good stuff.

For a rare treat, I give her some organic canned cat food from the grocery store; I forget the brand name, but it's a vegan cat food that is chock full of fruits and vegetables. It's advertised as a side dish, though, and rightly so, because it doesn't have the right amounts of nutrients in it. Fei loves the stuff, though. I wish I could give it to her every day because she goes nuts for it. As a compromise, my room mate bought some powdered supplement so that we can make her own wet food sometimes using our own ingredients.

[nibbler]

Where do you buy it? It is probably called lick your chops, vegetarian formula. I see it in my natural food store.

[Kat]

I think that might actually be it! I remember the ingredient list is really weird (tomato, avocado, blueberries)....I get it at Loblaw's grocery store.

[nibbler]

I generally see it at rainbow foods, or loblaws.

I'm pretty sure you have to special order ami though.

The more wet food for your cat the better, cats who are fed an all dry diet, are always at least slightly dehydrated.

Also, many vets think cats should eat all dry, but most vets are not very educated on nutrition.

[downwithapathy]

I won't use so much space this time.

My two dogs are fed mostly vegan. They do get some nonvegan odds and ends from relatives of mine.

My girls eat mostly kibble. The three available to me locally are Avoderm, Nature's Recipe, and Natural Balance (also FarmStand Selects, but it breaks the bank and is tested on animals anyway), and I tend to rotate through the different options. I also buy canned food from the same companies. I use it mostly as a Kong-stuffer (highly recommended, whether your dogs are vegan or not).

Prior to moving here, my dog Zoe ate Natural Balance, Ami, Natural Life, PetGuard, Wenaewe, and V-Dog kibbles (all vegetarian) at different times. She was also fed Avoderm, PetGuard, Evolution, and Evanger's canned food on a semi-regular basis.

Both of my dogs have readily accepted and enjoyed all of the vegetarian foods I've given them. I usually supplement their diets with Taurine and L-Carnitine, even when the food I'm feeding contains them. I also provide omega-3 supplementation, but that's unrelated to the vegan diet.

My ex's cat was fed humanely tested (not tested on lab animals but rather pets in home environments) meat-based food but given sample-sized packages of vegetarian food on occasion (Ami, Evolution, VegeCat, Evanger's and Benevo). She always seemed to like the vegetarian food, but neither my ex-partner nor I ever felt confident that a long-term vegetarian diet would be appropriate for her.

[downwithapathy]

Some st00pid reading spree made me find a few more threads. I swear I'm not telling anyone to read these. It's like a poorly formatted index! I'll stop now.
Amusing Story..., Obligate Carnivore, Pets, Vegetarian Cat Study

I've read (or at least referenced) a whole bunch of canine health books, and it seems more than not say carefully planned vegetarian diets are fine for dogs. Most are not so accepting of vegetarian diets for cats. I don't know all of the physiological differences/why such a line has been drawn by so many (but it definitely has--every PetSmart/Petco/PetSupermarket in the US sells multiple brands of vegan dog food--vegan cat food is much more difficult to find), but it seems the bulk of it is 1. vegetarian cats are at increased risk of urinary tract issues 2. Taurine is nonessential for most dogs but is absolutely essential for cats. 3. While neither dogs nor cats have salivary amylase, a dog's pancreas produces a whole lot more than a cat's. I wholly respect and support those who feed vegan cat food (taurine can be supplemented--urinary ph can be monitored and controlled), but my lack of confidence in this issue is part of why I don't have a cat.

[Miso Vegan]

Like bluedawg, my greyhound is vegan (AmiDog) but the cats are not (some prescription thing for preventing kidney stones).

[gladcow]

my dogs are vegan (mini dachshund and rottie mix). my cat is not.

[QrkyMoon]

I debated for a while about making my cats vegan and in the end decided against it for health reasons. I currently am feeding them Acana which is grain-free. If they're going to be carnivorous, might as well go the whole way! (JK, they tend to vomit a lot on other foods and this is the first one, even among other grain-free foods, where someone isn't vomiting daily.)