# Black cat needs adopting GreaterManchester -those on benefit,veggies,+witches welcome



## PJCroad&Chico (Jan 21, 2011)

Never mind, I'm able to keep him after all


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## fuzzymum (Nov 29, 2010)




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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

PLEASE tell me you are not planning to make a cat vegetarian. The lack of Taurine will eventually send the cat blind. Cats are obligate carnivores.

Liz


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## PJCroad&Chico (Jan 21, 2011)

lizward said:


> PLEASE tell me you are not planning to make a cat vegetarian. The lack of Taurine will eventually send the cat blind. Cats are obligate carnivores.
> 
> Liz


I'm not (I was gonna offer him the choice but couldn't easily afford to as vegetarian cat food is expensive) but there is actually vegetarian cat food with enough nutrients. But if you're concerned, why not save the cat by taking him off me?


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Why would you want him to be adopted by a witch???????????


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## fuzzymum (Nov 29, 2010)

PJCroad&Chico said:


> I'm not (I was gonna offer him the choice but couldn't easily afford to as vegetarian cat food is expensive) but there is actually vegetarian cat food with enough nutrients. But if you're concerned, *why not save the cat by taking him off me?*


what a thing to say! I have to say I find this all very odd


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## Guest (Nov 24, 2011)

I'm confused


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

PJCroad&Chico said:


> I'm not (I was gonna offer him the choice but couldn't easily afford to as vegetarian cat food is expensive) but there is actually vegetarian cat food with enough nutrients.


Really, what is the brand name?



> But if you're concerned, why not save the cat by taking him off me?


Because I already have too many cats. Try a rescue, if you don't want this cat any more.

liz


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## Cloudygirl (Jan 9, 2011)

lizward said:


> Really, what is the brand name?
> 
> Because I already have too many cats. Try a rescue, if you don't want this cat any more.
> 
> liz


Vegan Cat Food - Vegan Dog Food - Vegan Animal Products - VeganCats.com

but no I havent tried it don't approve despite being veggie myself


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Oh my, where in that list of ingredients is there actually ANYTHING that cats can process and digest???? Feed this and you are on a hiding to a very, very sick cat! No mention of taurine, and 90% carbs which cats can't digest? Why, oh, why? If you don't agree with a cat eating meat DON"T HAVE A CAT!


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## Cloudygirl (Jan 9, 2011)

spid said:


> Oh my, where in that list of ingredients is there actually ANYTHING that cats can process and digest???? Feed this and you are on a hiding to a very, very sick cat! No mention of taurine, and 90% carbs which cats can't digest? Why, oh, why? If you don't agree with a cat eating meat DON"T HAVE A CAT!


I agree totally. I read about it a while ago through this PETA article

Meatless Meals for Dogs and Cats | PETA.org

it also says that



> James Peden, author of Vegetarian Cats & Dogs, developed Vegepet supplements to add to vegetarian and vegan recipes. They are nutritionally balanced and also come in special formulas for kittens, puppies, and lactating cats and dogs.
> 
> Cats are often more finicky than dogs, and their nutritional requirements are more complicated. Cats need a considerable amount of vitamin A, which they cannot biosynthesize from carotene, as dogs and humans do. Insufficient amounts may cause loss of hearing as well as problems with skin, bones, and intestinal and reproductive systems. Cats also need taurine. A feline lacking taurine can lose eyesight and could develop cardiomyopathy. Commercial pet-food companies often add taurine obtained from mollusks. James Peden found vegetarian sources of both taurine and vitamin A, plus arachidonic acid, another essential feline nutrient. He then developed veterinarian-approved supplements Vegecat and Vegekit to add to his recipes.


personally I think I'll stick to feeding meat.

My cats do try and steal quorn when I cook it and lettuce and basically everything because they are sods but if I gave them a plate of quorn or a plate of meat I know which they'd eat without a shadow of a doubt.


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## IndysMamma (Jan 15, 2009)

vegan/vegitarian cat foods can lead to a weird mix of malnutrition related illnesses and obesity related illnesses because of the lack of correct proteins and amino acids but excessive carbohydrates which simply became fat as the cat simply cannot process them

I hope to whatever deities are listening that someone can take this poor lad and give him a responsible home as soon as possible, I simply cannot fit anyone else in or I'd take him in a heartbeat but unless I get a bigger house 4 cats is my limit for happy territory/space away from each other


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## PJCroad&Chico (Jan 21, 2011)

To clarify: he eats meat. As long as it was safe and had all the nutrients, I was going to offer him the choice so it would be his choice, but I could never afford to anyway. And even if I offered him the choice and he chose meat, I would have respected his decision and stuck to meat.


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## memmarmite (May 28, 2010)

OP, I hope your kitty finds a good home soon. Apologies for the threadjack that is to follow, I know you feed him meat, this is just a general comment about the whole veg cats thing...

The Beard and I attend a fair few of the vegan food fairs that go on and have seen vegan cat and dog foods sold at many of them. We are both vegan, it's a lifestyle that we love, and when we first talked about getting a cat we did look into the veg-based cat foods on the market. We have, however, gone in completely the other direction with a high meat/grain-free diet and some raw meat.

The thought behind this was that we would never in a million years impose a carnivorous diet on a herbivore; why on earth would we consider imposing a herbivorous diet on a carnivore? It just seems all wrong. Humans are omnivores, we are designed to be adaptable and opportunistic, which means we can live quite comfortably on a wide variety of different diets. Cats do not have this going for them. Even with the correct nutrients added in, the difficulty in processing the food itself (seeing as it is NOT what the feline digestive system is designed to handle) means that the bioavailability of such nutrients is poor.

I don't like that the only evidence in favour of veg cat food is strictly anecdotal. It makes me feel quite uncomfortable that people are using this to make dietary choices for their pets. "I feed my cat such-and-such and she's not ill" (yet) does NOT equate to hard evidence.

*tl;dr:* Vegans who push veggie cat food make a bad name for us all. Furthermore, PETA are knobs. I'm taking my ranting hat off now, kthx.


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## PJCroad&Chico (Jan 21, 2011)

memmarmite said:


> OP, I hope your kitty finds a good home soon. Apologies for the threadjack that is to follow, I know you feed him meat, this is just a general comment about the whole veg cats thing...
> 
> The Beard and I attend a fair few of the vegan food fairs that go on and have seen vegan cat and dog foods sold at many of them. We are both vegan, it's a lifestyle that we love, and when we first talked about getting a cat we did look into the veg-based cat foods on the market. We have, however, gone in completely the other direction with a high meat/grain-free diet and some raw meat.
> 
> ...


I agree about PETA. They even end up annoying vegans.

Also I was never going to impose any vegetarian food on my cat, even if there was proper evidence for something with proper nutrients. I would have given him the choice, and if he'd had gone for the meat (as cats generally do, though he did once lick a mess tin that had had pasta and pasta sauce in it), respected his decision and carried on feeding him meat.


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