www.VegePets.info
The facts about meat-based and
vegetarian cat and dog diets
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Meet us and many more of our healthy vegetarian friends at www.VegePet.com and www.VeganCats.com.
Be sure to browse our stories!
Hazards posed by meat-based diets
The health hazards of commercial meat-based pet foods
are extensive, and difficult to avoid. They may include slaughterhouse waste
products; 4-D meat (from dead, dying, diseased or disabled animals); old or
spoiled supermarket meat; large numbers of rendered dogs and cats from animal
shelters; old restaurant grease, complete with high concentrations of dangerous
free radicals and trans fatty acids; damaged or spoiled fish, complete with
dangerous levels of mercury, PCBs and other toxins; pathogenic bacteria,
protozoa, viruses, fungi and prions, and their associated endotoxins and
mycotoxins; hormone and antibiotic residues; and dangerous preservatives. The
combined results are rendered so delicious to cats and dogs by the addition of
‘digest’ - a soup of partially dissolved chicken entrails - that more than 95%
of companion animals subsist primarily on commercial meat-based diets.
Unsurprisingly, diseases described in the scientific literature following
long-term maintenance of cats and dogs on commercial meat-based diets include
kidney, liver, heart, neurologic, eye, muscoloskeletal and skin diseases,
bleeding disorders, birth defects, immunocompromisation and infectious diseases.
As a practicing veterinarian I agree that so-called degenerative diseases such
as cancer, kidney, liver and heart failure are far more common than they should
be, and that many are likely to be exacerbated or directly caused by the numerous
hazardous ingredients of commercial meat-based cat and dog diets.
Vegetarian diets: a healthy alternative
On the other hand,
studies and numerous case reports have shown
that nutritionally sound vegetarian companion animal diets appear to be associated
with the following health benefits: increased overall health and vitality,
decreased incidences of cancer, infections, hypothyroidism, ectoparasites
(fleas, ticks, lice and mites), improved coat condition, allergy control, weight
control, arthritis regression, diabetes regression and cataract resolution.
Although reports of animals that have been harmed by nutritionally inadequate
vegetarian (and meat-based) diets do exist, these are of little scientific
relevance to an examination of the viability of nutritionally sound vegetarian
diets. There is no scientific reason why a diet
comprised only of plant, mineral and synthetically-based ingredients cannot be
formulated to meet all of the palatability, nutritional and bioavailability
needs of the species for which they are intended. In fact, several
commercially-available vegan (no animal product) pet diets claim to do so, and
have jointly supported a healthy population of thousands of vegan cats, dogs and
ferrets (who are also naturally carnivorous) for many years.
The number of people who have become vegetarian for the sake of the animals, the environment, or their health, is very large (see www.VeganOutreach.org if you’re still unconvinced of the merits of vegetarianism for you and the world around you). The amount of good this has done is barely calculable. Yet most of these caring people nevertheless continue to feed their companion animals meat-based diets, in many cases causing as much harm as if they themselves ate meat (the average medium-sized dog or three cats consumes roughly the same quantity of meat as a human). They choose to do so out of fear of adverse health consequences of vegetarian companion animal diets, and ignorance of how these might be avoided.
www.VegePets.info: a quick
overview
www.VegePets.info was created
following extensive research, including a review of the relevant biomedical
literature, in order to assist animal guardians, animal carers and
veterinary personnel who wish to gain a sounder understanding of the health and
nutritional issues associated with meat-based and vegetarian companion animal
diets. Included are:
■ detailed summaries of the health and nutritional implications of feeding both
meat-based and vegetarian companion animal diets;
■ advice on smoothly transitioning
cats and dogs onto vegetarian diets;
■ advice on
safeguarding the health of vegetarian companion animals - particularly cats;
■ links to suppliers of vegetarian pet foods and nutritional supplements.
Important news!
In 2006 the first study of the long-term
health status of cats maintained on a nutritionally-sound vegetarian diets was
published in a leading veterinary journal. Most were clinically healthy, barring
minor blood value changes in three cats who were fed partly on table scraps.
Download the study
(400 kb) or visit the study website
Outreach
If you support the aims of www.VegePets.info, please consider:
Linking to my banner
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or downloading and
distributing my leaflet
(257 kb), flyer
(145 kb) or published article
(3 pages, 1.16 mb).
Thank you!
Acknowledgements
James Peden, author of Vegetarian Cats & Dogs (1999), literally spent months researching
numerous invaluable references for the articles on this website. I am
particularly grateful to James, and also to Jed Gillen, author of Obligate
Carnivore (2003), for their invaluable assistance.
Andrew Knight
BSc., BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS
Veterinarian
