A non-vegan cat food 30-day trial
We adopted our three cats off the streets of Brooklyn. Sisters Sid and Zora have been vegan since they joined us in November 2005, and Snow has been vegan since she arrived in February 2008. So, that's two cats who have been vegan for nearly 3 1/2 years, and one who's been vegan for just over a year. So far, the only issue we've run into with their diet has been Sid's getting crystal formations which required a change in diet to fix. (We switched from AmiCat kibble to wet, homemade VegeCat pH.)
Today though, we've had to begin an experiment: 30 days of non-vegan food. It's the first time we've bought animal products in years and it feels wrong to be supporting the animal farming industry. Just wrong. I do not like that our fridge and our dishes are touching this stuff. I don't like knowing the suffering that went into these products. But we're doing this, consciously and openly - because it's best for our cats.
Here's why: All three cats came from the same area in Brooklyn and were feral kittens, but since we took them in several years apart, Snow is probably unrelated to Sid and Zora, so a genetic cause is unlikely to be responsible for what appear to be inflammation-related immune responses in all three cats:
None of these issues has ever (to our knowledge) found to be associated with a vegan diet, or with an alkaline diet, or with vegetable proteins, being fed to a cat. They could all be totally unrelated, due to each cat's genetic makeup. It's possible that switching to wet food from dry food has resulted in less natural teeth cleaning. Or, it could be related to their eating vegan food, which is why we're doing this trial, with our veterinarian's oversight.
Anyone who lives with cats knows that cats, just like humans, have their share of weird little health problems over the years; our vets have always known that our cats are vegan and yet they've seen these other issues as being unrelated to diet. It's unlikely that their diet is the cause of the problems in question, but a 30-day trial on different food can help us to eliminate diet as a factor and, we hope, give us a renewed confidence that a vegan diet is the best choice for our cat friends.
I intend to blog along the way so that others can learn from this experience. I never thought we'd do this but here we are, so hopefully others can get something out of it, too. If anyone out there has seen similar problems (inflammation-related immune responses, allergies, or gingivitis...) in their vegan cat friends, please comment here or message me. Thanks, and peace.
Today though, we've had to begin an experiment: 30 days of non-vegan food. It's the first time we've bought animal products in years and it feels wrong to be supporting the animal farming industry. Just wrong. I do not like that our fridge and our dishes are touching this stuff. I don't like knowing the suffering that went into these products. But we're doing this, consciously and openly - because it's best for our cats.
Here's why: All three cats came from the same area in Brooklyn and were feral kittens, but since we took them in several years apart, Snow is probably unrelated to Sid and Zora, so a genetic cause is unlikely to be responsible for what appear to be inflammation-related immune responses in all three cats:
- Sid has an undefined allergy that makes her itchy, so sometimes when she has a scratch she doesn't let it heal, but keeps it open. She once had a small rodent ulcer on her upper lip which eventually cleared up, but which we understand is part of the same allergic complex.
- Zora once had a surprise asthma attack when we were moving and our apartment was full of dust. And at a recent vet visit we discovered she has apparently developed gingivitis, which is unusual for a younger cat, and which is particularly notable because:
- Snow recently was diagnosed with gingivitis, even worse than Zora's.
None of these issues has ever (to our knowledge) found to be associated with a vegan diet, or with an alkaline diet, or with vegetable proteins, being fed to a cat. They could all be totally unrelated, due to each cat's genetic makeup. It's possible that switching to wet food from dry food has resulted in less natural teeth cleaning. Or, it could be related to their eating vegan food, which is why we're doing this trial, with our veterinarian's oversight.
Anyone who lives with cats knows that cats, just like humans, have their share of weird little health problems over the years; our vets have always known that our cats are vegan and yet they've seen these other issues as being unrelated to diet. It's unlikely that their diet is the cause of the problems in question, but a 30-day trial on different food can help us to eliminate diet as a factor and, we hope, give us a renewed confidence that a vegan diet is the best choice for our cat friends.
I intend to blog along the way so that others can learn from this experience. I never thought we'd do this but here we are, so hopefully others can get something out of it, too. If anyone out there has seen similar problems (inflammation-related immune responses, allergies, or gingivitis...) in their vegan cat friends, please comment here or message me. Thanks, and peace.
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© 2009 Created by Ari Moore on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
gosh I haven't stopped by here for so long... Wow, thanks for sharing this. I still feed Kokeshi and Yukio partially non-vegan diet, and I totally agree with all the nastiness and brutality of the meat industry. It's breaking my heart... I found this crazy cat food, it had a cruelty free label on it, it was dead fish and turkey, but it was labelled cruelty free since it was not tested on animals. How absurd...
Well, I have to read all the stuff, and other people's experience. It looks awesome here.
Take care,
Marketa xxx