Vegan Cats?

The thought of feeding cats vegan food seems to be a controversial one, for some people. I have to admit, I was resistant to it for a long time, as I worried that it might compromise the health of my two male adult cats, Bandit and Arki.

But then I started to look into it and came across Veganpet which is an Australian company. Their website provides information on what cats and dogs need in their diets and how their products measure up.
For cats, there is both dry and wet food available.
I have started my two cats on the dry food by mixing it in with their current meat based one.  They LOVE it! I am confident that I will be able to eventually have them on just vegan dry food soon. I am making the change a gradual one, as to not upset their digestive tracts. That tends to happen to a lot of cats when their food is changed - be it vegan or animal based. As for the wet food, it was not as readily accepted by Arki. Both would eat it if was given with their regular meat wet food. If given just the vegan wet food, Arki would not eat it. As a result, I have decided to only feed them the vegan wet (along with their meat based one) now and then.

As for treats, there are cat treats available. My two like happierpets cat treats. (They also do dog treats and are also an Australian company.) With biccies such as Catnip cookies, Cheezy Biccies, Tasty Tempeh Treats and Pumpkin Treats, I am almost tempted to try them myself. (Just kidding!) They are homemade and including fresh organic fruits and vegetables. Their products contain no artificial colours, flavours, preservatives, or fillers.

So why am I doing this? Well, I have been accused by the unenlightened, that I am trying to 'make myself feel better' by 'forcing' my cats to be vegans. Not true. What I am trying to do is lessen their reliance on meat products for the sake of the animals being used and abused in factory farms. This isn't about making me 'feel better' but about doing the right thing by animals and by the environment. I have also been accused of being 'cruel' by giving them vegan cat food. Little do they realize that my cats (but especially Bandit) will BEG to eat vegetables, rice, and tofu! So long as the vegan food I give them contains the amino acids  (eg; Taurine) and  Fatty Acids they require to stay healthy, I hardly think I am being 'cruel'.


Even though it seems that I will not be successful in making them totally vegan, I am happy that I will be able to at least reduce their intake of animal products.
Both Veganpet and happierpet products are available from PAWS