I was going to write this post at some time, having come across various triggers that riled me - vegetarian 'complete and balanced' cat food stores for example, or a human who made her dog vegetarian. But COME ON people, in the case of cats, putting this kind of belief on what you feed them will kill them. Dogs can create some of the nutrients they need from others, but cats have a very unique system, and as more is known about it, it shows a system that cannot compensate for lack of meat. It is afterall, why they are termed obligate carnivores; they have no choice.
The trigger that has made me boiling mad and instigated this post was an article in the Melbourne Leader newspaper 'Vet advises cat owners to feed their feline meat'. The article is about a kitten who almost died (and may still), because her owners fed her a vegan diet - 'potatoes, rice milk and pasta' (not to mention that potatoes are toxic to cats!)
"It was extremely weak and collapsed when it came in. it was almost non-responsive," Dr Prinfold said.
REALLY??? I bet they cannot provide one scientific study that would support such a claim. As any vet would tell you, a cat is an obligate carnivore. This is what the experts said when Choice interviewed them on the subject of vegan pets:
All the experts that CHOICE spoke to expressed their concern about a small but growing trend for some pet owners to put their pets on a vegetarian or vegan diet. None of them say this is a suitable diet for cats and dogs as cats are true carnivores and dogs are largely carnivores that eat some omnivorous foods. Neck says, “It’s not right, you can't put your beliefs onto an animal that is not suited to that diet. If you want a vegan pet, get a rabbit or a guinea pig."