What about our companions?

Written by: Michelle Filed under: Animals, Food

baby-dog-580x380 Should our dog and cat companions be vegan as well? This debate seems to be never ending in the vegan world because being the animal lovers that we are, we want what is best for our furry friends. I haven’t had to come to a conclusion because for now, I have a bird who loves to eat tofu (Seriously). However, I plan to adopt a dog in the near future. So, what should I do? From doing the research, it seems that dogs can receive the appropriate nutrients from a vegan diet since they are omnivorous. But, cats are carnivores and the transition over to a vegan diet must be slow and made with caution. If cats don’t have taurine in their diet then they could go blind or suffer heart disease. Pangea offers a supplement for both dog and cats (Vegedog and Vegecat, respectively), which includes all the necessary vitamins and minerals. You can also buy directly from the Vegepet company. Bark! has an extensive supply of natural and organic dog and cat food, which is a much better option than commercial brands. Natures Recipe (Which can be found at Petco and Petsmart locations) carry vegan dog food but not vegan cat food. Of course, there is always Vegan Cats which offers both vegan dog and cat food. My conclusion to the debate? Do whatever it takes to make your companion happy and healthy, whether that be with a vegan diet or not. What do you think? What are your personal experiences with having a vegan dog and/or cat?

Poll: Vegan Pets?

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 at 6:25 pm and is filed under Animals, Food. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

Support DC Vegan

Consider making a donation to DC Vegan. With your support you can help us grow and continue our work. All donations go directly to DC Vegan. DC Vegan is a not for profit site (not an offical 501c3) dedicated to spreading and supporting Veganism and Animal Rights. To see our supporters visit the offical donation page.

2 Responses to “What about our companions?”

Amber McDonald says:

August 9, 2009 at 6:50 pm

Nice post, Michelle. I know some dogs who are crazy about veggies, but my dog can’t stand them. He will literally suck the cheese out of the center of an olive off a pizza and then spit the olive out. Give him a carrot and he leave you a nicely chewed pile, but won’t eat a bite. I tried out some vegan dog food and he wouldn’t touch it. Obviously, I’m not going to starve the poor bean, so non-vegan it is. For what it’s worth (not much, I know), I buy him organic food and free range chicken treats.

Reply
Michelle says:

August 11, 2009 at 3:57 pm

Thanks, Amber! That’s funny about your dog. The dog that I grew up with was picky about what he ate. Not that I can blame him. When I do adopt a dog, I will try out different stuff to see what he/she likes then go from there. I’m looking forward to having a running companion.

I have a very heated debate going on on my FB about this topic. Yikes!

Reply