Can I feed a cat purely on a vegetarian diet? Can one buy or cook vegetarian catfood?
Answers:
For goodness' sake.DON'T force your cat to live by your human preferences! That's all fine & dandy if you don't want to eat meat, but a cat is pure carnivore.they need meat to LIVE. They don't eat vegetables (outside of a little grass chewing) so don't ever feed them vegetables! Assuming you don't eat meat because you care about animals, then just consider that denying a cat it's necessary diet can be considered abuse. If you care, feed it properly!
I wouldn't advise it. Cat's are meateaters and need protein from meat.
Remember. a cat is not a very loyal animal, if you are not feeding it correctly it will go in search of it's own food and if it finds another house that will feed it. it will leave you.
yes i think you can, but why would you? Are you vegetarian yourself? Most cat foods have all the nutriants already added for a healthy cat.
absolutely not!!!! cats need protein and lots of it. If they don't get enough they can go blind. It is very dangerous.
Cats are carnivores, they need meat. I have a friend who's a vegan -- no meat, no animal products, not even honey -- and even he feeds his cats meat. Dogs are omnivores, they can make it on a vegetarian/low meat diet, but not cats.
Cats are PREDATORS, they eat meat. If you want to cause nutritional problems for your cat and shorten it's life then go ahead. Personally I think if you can't let a cat be a cat then don't get one.
Cats are carnivores - they only eat meat. Some cat foods come with peas or other veggies in them, but the amount is very tiny, probably just enough for essential nutrients to be provided.
Cats need meat to survive - put it on a vegetarian diet and it'll go somewhere else where it will get meat.
I knew someone who did. They cooked marmit flavoured food for their cat. However, I have to say, cats' bodies are designed for meat eating and I think it isn't good to impose your views on an animal. You don't know what it will do to its body long term.
Why don't you think that it will kill mice and birds anyway, buy the stuff in a can and hold your nose?
dry cat food is based on corn, wheat and oats. that alone is vegetarian. but the problem is only dry will make a cat fat, unhealthy and die early. this is because a cats body is not designed for such products nor can they digest them well. in turn they end up with health issues.
a cats body is designed for meat and only meat. no human food, no human meat (as in from deli) as this is all preserved or has a high salt content. again a cat cannot digest salt and causes major health issues.
the best thing to do is just feed them canned cat food. normal size can.1/4 of it in the morning, 1/4 at night, keep it in fridge once opened. otherwise you can leave out no more than 1 cup of dry as a snacking item.
one of the cat water fountains is a good investment as well. cats prefer running water, its why they like sinks, bathtubs, facets, etc as this is running water. just a water bowl becomes stale within 2 hours and is not pleasing to a cat. in turn they don't drink enough water and later get urinary track problems.
No. Cats are naturally carnivores. They want meat, they crave meat, they NEED meat. That's like expecting a cheetah to eat carrots.
Cats are built to eat meat and some plants. To put a cat on a pure veggie diet might not be a good idea. They need the proteins and other nutrients that is in the cat food that is derived from other animals. You should ask your local vet about changing your cat's food and about the pros and cons. I dont think they make vegetarian food for cats because they need the nutrients that only comes from other animals. There is a possibility your cat could become weak and unhealthy without these nutrients. Again, talk to your local vet.
Trying to make her/his food yourself wouldn't be a good choice. Cats have a variety of things they CANT eat. Not because they don't like it but because it will poison them. Cats have a very sensitive digestive system so you also have to think about he/she might not be able to literally digest it.
it would be kind of cruel to deprive your cat of meat. they need protein to be healthy. I'm sure you don't want to harm your cat. if your not happy with handling meat products feed your cat a complete dry food like iams.
you may find that if you don't give your cat protein he will kill more birds and mice than usual to compensate or could leave you for someone who will feed him meat. cats tend to do that.
I'm sure you don't want to wake up to find dead animals on your doorstep or worse in your house if you have a cat flap.
it must be really hard for you to handle this if your vegetarian but it is important he gets his balance right. good luck. i hope you cope well x
no cats need meat in there diet, they don't need vegitable
You should get a house rabbit if meat bothers you - they hop around looking cute, can be housetrained and you can share your carrots. Please don't enforce your lifestyle (I'm making assumptions, I know - but I doubt you're a raging carnivore wanting your cat to eat veggies) on an animal that has no say in the matter and is not biologically designed to process cellulose and would therefore become malnourished and unhappy.
Cats must eat meat. If they are deprived of it they can develop severe medical problems including blindness and other complications. Do you see cats in the wild eating just vegetables or grasses? They are hunters of meat naturally and to ensure optimal health, they need the protein and other nutritional components of meat.
NO
no, you cant, cats need a high meat level in their diet or they may die.
Your only option would be to feed the cat dry food but this can affect a cats kidneys if eaten a lot.
Kind of a consistent thread through all these answers, no?
I am a veg but I feed meaty cat food to the cat; I heard it has to do with enzymes which will attack the stomach wall if they don't get meat to process.
Next thing, a cat food get from vet called Hill's Science Diet. It's good, and can sustain a cat just on its own. It's a dry pellet so be sure to give plenty water but it's non-smelly and not offensive to the veg person. Proper stuff it is.
No! Cats need an amino acid called Taurine which is only found in meat.
There used to be a 'vegetarian taurine supplement' but it turned out to be a con; it was actually dried powdered pigs liver.
Without taurine your cat will get sick then die. Even making your own meat based cat food isn't recommended; commercial cat food has high levels of taurine added. Please don't try this.
http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/ta.
http://www.petcaretips.net/cat_taurine.h.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=t.
I don't think it would be a good idea. Would you consider fish. Cats need protein to stay healthy and if they don't get it from their food they will go out and kill something instead. or maybe go and find another person who will offer them a carnivore diet. The only meat I eat is chicken and my cat will only eat fish. Basically they choose. You could buy GoCat pouches which have vegetables attached. But it is still fish or meat
Im sure you could but it would be unfair on the cat. They are carnivours and need to eat meat.
No. Cats require meat in their diets as their digestive systems cannot extract protein from vegetation.
If you have an ethical objection to using canned food then you can cook for them using organic and free range farming foods.
dont know whether you can buy vegatarian cat food,i suppose you could feed them this diet,dogs can eat vegartarian food now a days so i dont see why cats cant.my cats always ate meat though remember cats and dogs are carnivores not herbivores lol
NO!!!
cats are obligate carnivores. They NEED the taurine in meat.
By all means eat the diet that YOU want to eat, but don't inflict it on your pet.
If it bothers you feeding meat to a pet, then get a naturally herbivorous pet.
Avoid all food made by Iams.
NO! cats NEED meat!
Cats are Carnivores! This would be very unhealthy for your cat. I do not recomend it. If you suspect that your cat is having problems digesting a meat based food, then take it to the vet. If you just think eating meat is wrong, place your cat in a home where it can be given proper food (MEAT) and get a bird or rabbit that doesn't eat meat!
cats are meateaters you shouldn't deprive them of this. they need the nutrients that are in thier food. i am myself a vegetarian but i wouldnt try to make my cat one.
only if you want to kill the cat. You can feed dogs vegetarian food but not cats.
There are certain enzymes present in meat that a cat needs to live so keep your cat on meat.
Nope.
Cats are obligate carnivores. That means that they need meat to survive.
Why?
Because their bodies cannot produce elements that herbivores and omnivores can - mainly, taurine. So they need the supply of those elements - from the meat of other animals.
(I have heard that at least one lady claimed her cats were vegetaians. But she had to give them supplements - and guess what, they were made by processing meat!)
Also, cats do not process properly carbohydrates - they don't get nutrition out of that food component, but convert most of it to fat, which isn't good.
For a healthy cat, best choice is whole pray food model. I used to be squeamish too, somewhat, but if I'm responsible for my cat, I'd better keep my cat well.
No im afraid you cant, cats are meat eaters and need it to function properly. You can have a vegetarian dog but not a cat.
I mean this answer in the nicest possible way. But I have never heard of anything more ridiculous in my life. Cats are carnivores, they go out and hunt meat, mice, birds etc. My cat regularly brings in mice and birds. Do you think that if you try to make it eat veggie things that it will bring you a carrot back. you are obviously a vegetarian yourself. That's your belief, you cannot impose that on a meat eating animal. Maybe a cat is not for you, go and buy a rabbit!
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