My cats are omnivores, but they have the strangest addiction to grated carrots… o_O

please give me those cat

awesome or cruel for not giving it it’s own choice in the matter?

I’ve read both can live long and relatively healthy on vegan diets but I think it is easier for a dog. Just thinking of what our families dog and cats eat makes it obvious. Our dog eats almost everything and anything when the only things our cats eat are meat and dairy.

I agree with @FAR I could never force a cat to adopt a lifestyle that nature didn’t intend for it, just the same as if I had a pet snake (not that I’d own an exotic pet) I wouldn’t cease to feed it insects, chicks, mice etc.
Cat’s aren’t built to be herbivores, we can’t use the humans aren’t designed to eat meat argument then ignore the biological fact our animal companions are biologically designed to be carnivores, it would be hypocritical.
If you own a pet that’s a carnivore then unfortunately you should be prepared to bite the bullet, take responsibility for your pet and feed it the correct diet.

Veterinary Nutritionists advice against cats being fed vegetarian and vegan diets.

Cat’s cannot make their own taurine, by feeding a cat a vegan diet you are putting your cats health at risk. A lack of taurine in a cats diet can cause cardiomyopathy, eye problems, growth failure, reproductive failure, liver disease… etc etc etc

Vegetables take 12 hours to digest but a dog only has an 8 hour track. Do the math. It is why dogs only eat grass when they are having an upset stomach. Cat’s are much the same, only they obviously have even shorter digestive tracts.

Dogs do not produce the digestive enzymes needed to break down carbohydrates.

Cat’s AND dogs cannot produce their own vitamin D and A. The vitamin D they require is D3 which comes from animal sources (NOT D2 which if from plants).

Cats are adapted to eat relatively small amounts of highly digestible, energy-dense food, with an optimal level of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. Proteins derived from vegetables are much less easily digested, lack many of the vitamins, minerals and micronutrients that are necessary for complete absorbtion and must be consumed in much greater quantities to obtain sufficient energy for healthy functioning.

I know some people turn to nutritional supplements when feeding their animals a vegan diet however I see nothing ethical about feeding your animal chemicals.

I’ll probably get a lot of flack especially off of peta2 staff for saying all this, and I’ll probably just have posts after this post going ‘Oh but look at this study! ’ as I know peta has their vegan animal food campaign. But you can’t change fact.
PETA did a survey and found 82% of dogs that had been vegan for five years or more were in good health, HOWEVER the study, however, also found that vegetarian dogs may be more prone to urinary tract infections as well as a form of heart disease known as dilated cardiomyopathy, which can be caused by a deficiency of the amino acids L-carnitine or taurine.

Cats and dogs are NOT vegans. You can’t claim to love your pet if you are risking its health and denying it it’s correct diet. It’s ultimately at the end of the day animal abuse.

http://www.thewholedog.org/artcarnivores.html

But hey ho, just my opinion…

Yeah my cat is an omnivore. I wouldn’t try switching her diet because I know cat’s can’t break down taurine in plants. Taurine deficiencies can lead to blindness, which in my book would be considered cruel.

Cat’s shouldn’t be vegan (just saying for anyone who reads this). Unlike dogs who can live quite well off a vegan diet since they are only omnivores (well it is debated but they are more so than cats) but domestic cats are carnivores so it isn’t suggested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWPJplB1txU

A cat who loves fruit, veggies, and especially yellow melon!