My cats would not eat it (but I did before it was fully cooked :-p)... after purchasing this and attempting to feed it to my babies, I have partially decided just to feed my cats meated food (but probably will cook it when I get the chance -- eek!)
This is a supplement that you need to cook, but honestly (for the cat/kitten food at least), it was very very easy
Good luck, though!! And, if you want more links, I found a few more for vegan (or at least vegetarian) dog food...
0 likes
Posted by moontorch on Oct 10, 2006 · Member since Aug 2005 · 1 posts
http://www.veganpet.com.au (Australian-based) has great vegan dog food and vegan cat food... but I don't know if they export.
Cheers, R.
0 likes
Posted by Eve Gotch on Oct 11, 2006 · Member since Oct 2006 · 2 posts
Nature's Recipe "Vegetarian Formula" is Vegan and our Pit Bull has been eating it for four years. She loves it and best of all, you can buy it at Petsmart. They have it dry and canned.
0 likes
Posted by V-for-Victory on Nov 01, 2006 · Member since Oct 2006 · 4 posts
I used to feed my English Bulldog Natural Balance (www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/Vegetarian.html) and she did quite well on it. However, I've since switched her to homemade meals supplemented with Vegedog. As Rainbowfairywings mentioned, you have to prepare the meals yourself - several batches at a time - but it really is SO easy. And the rewards are plentiful. Not only does she love her tofu and yams but since switching to fresh/Vegedog, Lily's energy is through the roof, her coat is shiny(er) and she sheds less. She used to have an earwax problem but it's no longer an issue. I admit that I sometimes miss being able to dish out her breakfast from a bag - especially after a late night and believe me, she's up early - but I just can't justify the convenience. She's happier and healthier than ever. So, if anything, I'm getting better at planning ahead! ;) I'd be happy to share with you what I've learned along the way if you're interested. My email address is eval(unescape('%64%6f%63%75%6d%65%6e%74%2e%77%72%69%74%65%28%27%3c%61%20%68%72%65%66%3d%22%6d%61%69%6c%74%6f%3a%56%2d%66%6f%72%2d%56%69%63%74%6f%72%79%40%73%79%6d%70%61%74%69%63%6f%2e%63%61%22%3e%56%2d%66%6f%72%2d%56%69%63%74%6f%72%79%40%73%79%6d%70%61%74%69%63%6f%2e%63%61%3c%2f%61%3e%27%29%3b')).
I hope this helps! :)
0 likes
Posted by RobinMc on Nov 01, 2006 · Member since Jan 2003 · 131 posts
That is exactly the brand of food I ended up choosing for Oscar!
I have been doing some cooking for him. However, he is not supposed to have soy, corn, or wheat. There is so much of those three things out there that I feel more comfortable keeping the Natural Balance as his main food and supplementing with my cooking.
I would LOVE to hear more about your cooking. Thanks!
0 likes
Posted by 7 on Nov 01, 2006 · Member since Oct 2006 · 471 posts
Nature's Recipe "Vegetarian Formula" is Vegan and our Pit Bull has been eating it for four years. She loves it
I don't have any information, I just think that the idea of a vegan Pit Bull is really funny. . .not that there's anything wrong with that! ;D
0 likes
Posted by Di on Nov 01, 2006 · Member since Nov 2006 · 1343 posts
Why do Vegans and vegetarians own carnivores if they are not willing to feed them as they should be fed? I have always been a s**t disturber on this board regarding this. I am ovo-lacto. Have been for many years. I have home cooked for my pets for about 14 years. Please, do not share your lives with carnivores if you are not willing to feed them what they are supposed to eat. Please do not put your values on another type of creature that has different needs than you and expect them to strive. Yes...they may survive. How big of you! Get a bunny or an iguana. I recently watched two of my friends lose their cats from heart disease. Diagnosis. Synthetic taurine. Cats need Taurine. Taurine is found in meat. Cats are CARNIVORES! Just because you do not eat meat...does not mean your cats and dogs do not eat meat. I do not eat meat, poultry of fish. My freezer is full of what I need to provide my pets with what they need. If you are not willing to feed your pet what your pet needs to stay optimally healthy, please find you pet a home where the people actually care. Yes I sound harsh. In the wild...do you think a cat goes after a bird or mouse or eats the fallen apple?
My holistic vet is a vegetarian...all her dogs,cats and outdoor feral cats are fed what they need to be optimally healthy.
I am a staunch ovo-lacto vegetarian. The day I make the beautiful animals I share my home with be the same because I choose not to meet their needs, please have someone come and collect them.
If you do not believe in any animal suffering, please do not share your lives with animals that are Carnivores.
My life was blessed for 3 1/2 years with a street dog from Mexico. When we visited my friend that manages a Pet Store, Isabela got totally excited when she saw rats, hamsters, iguana's etc. I am sure she thought buffet.
I honestly believe, we are stripping the rights of animals from eating what they know to be good. I have home cooked for so many years and yes.....do not get me wrong...makes me sick. But it isn't about me....it is about them. Please do not adopt an animal if you are not willing to feed the animal what it should truly be fed.
Haven't been on the board in months and months but the making Carnivores veggie threads always get me going....
Di, 4 cats, 3 budgies, 1 parrot and sadly since my beautiful Isabela died of pancreatic cancer June 1st, my beautiful Calista (Cali) arrived in Canada, September 23rd from Greece where animal cruelty is rampant. Cali was abandoned, then lived in a shelter for 8 months. She is probably between 10 to 11 months.
When I adopted her, I was told that a natural diet or a BARF diet might be good. I smiled as I have been feeding a home cooked natural diet to my housemates for at least 13 or 14 years.
I am a vegetarian. Dogs and Cats were not meant to be. PLease...do not share your lives with animals that you are not willing to feed the way they were meant to eat. That is a totally selfish thing to do. Bash away as I am so busy right now that I probably won't read the bashes for three or four months!
Happy Holidays to you all.
Di
0 likes
Posted by Duckalucky on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Aug 2006 · 1127 posts
Actually I feel the same way, Diver-Di. Dogs are a little more flexible than cats in their dietary needs, and both species are scavengers who will eat a little of anything, but both species are true carnivores who are better off eating what they were designed to eat.
Humans are natural omnivores too, but that doesn't mean we need a lot of meat. Many of the biological advances touted by carnivore-oriented people as being "hunter's" traits (forward-looking eyes, for instance) are actually insectivorous traits. But I don't see those same carni-advocates chowing down on a big bowl o' crickets... they "eew" at that idea just as we "eew" at their steaks! ;) (Not that I'm eating crickets, either.)
We humans do better, healthwise, on a diet with no-or-almost-no-meat. Dogs don't: they do almost-as-well. And cats really, really don't. (If you see info out there to the contrary, the chance that it originated with a veg*n petfood corporation is excellent: consider the source.) They can live on a diet that compensates for meat deprivation, so long as it provides nutrients derived from meat, but I believe that such a diet causes them distress and discomfort, and I won't enforce it for my pets.
Now, that said... I tried vegan food for my cat before I researched cat nutrition, but she was (fortunately) having none of it and I gave up.
Make of that what you will. Flame on! :)
0 likes
Posted by 7 on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Oct 2006 · 471 posts
Diver-Di I do believe that animals should eat what they were designed to eat, everything on Earth has a role to play and will not be well unable to live accordingly, they crave and need it so that they will do their jobs. Anyhow, you said that you have been cooking for your pets for years. Wouldn't it be better to feed them pet food made from animals that were being discarded anyway, than to feed from the human's meat market where animals are killed for the purpose of creating food? I don't really know anything about pet food, so I may be way off, but buying meat seems like the harsher choice. In addition, since you clearly are all for animals having what they would in nature, why do you cook for them? I've never seen a dog build a fire before ???
0 likes
Posted by RobinMc on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Jan 2003 · 131 posts
I am not going to go into a long response here, but I am going to simply state my point.
I believe that the farming and slaughter of animals is wrong. I will not participate in it. I find it to be immoral to pay for cruelty and slaughter to many, many animals so that my one animal can eat meat. There is no moral balance there for me.
Domesticated (house) animals do not live in nature. That is just how it is. If we have taken them from nature, then there is no point in arguing that they must live the life they would live in nature. That could extend to any area of their lives, and clearly that is not how they live. I would never stop my dog from killing and eating food. But it seems completely illogical to say that feeding a dog meat that it did not kill is natural.
The research on vegan dog nutrition is in, and it's solid. I invite you to read the studies and note who has sponsored each. You may be surprised. In fact, I avoided bringing a dog into my home for many years for exactly the reason you suggest. But now that I have seen the evidence, I realize that I could save the life of a shelter animal, give him a great life, and not cause other animals to suffer in the process.
Perhaps you think that it would be better to let him die in the shelter or to allow many animals to be treated cruelly and slaughtered in his name. I do not find that to be the moral choice. And I also don't think my decision is selfish in any way.
0 likes
Posted by Duckalucky on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Aug 2006 · 1127 posts
Robin, you make a lot of great points. Domestic animals (including any animals raised by humans, for meat, fur, or whatever) exist outside nature and the decisions that pertain to them are quite naturally cultural. The culture is not the culture of the animal in question, but that of his caretakers: trust me, no dog would ever put on a Halloween costume of his own volition. ;)
Of course it's a moral choice to rescue a shelter animal and give it a good life, and the less animals harmed in the process, the more humane that choice is. I don't think anyone would take issue with that. Even if your feeding choices shortened the animal's lifespan (which they are very probably NOT), you would be giving that animal every day he had... a tremendous gift! Nobody could fault you for this, as you well know.
Anyway, I have no "beef" with people who feed their pets vegan food ... I have not seen credible studies to suggest that they flourish as well on veg*n food as on animal products (I may have been unlucky, but please be wary and check!), but the quality of food really matters, and most commercially prepared pet food is hideously poor in quality. (Even that which is marketed as "premium" is very questionable in most cases.) It should be noted that I've only really researched cat nutrition, as my only pet is a cat.
0 likes
Posted by Anonymous on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
Is Oscar a new member of your family? You must post a photo, it that is the case! I don't recall you ever mentioning having animals in your family before.
Our local health food store offers one type of vegan dog chow & a couple of types of canned food. Booyah eats it just fine. I think this dog has gone without a few meals. He is always so happy to get his dinner. His tail wags the entire time he eats. Also, I make vegan dog biscuits. We tasted them. They are a little bland, but full of good stuff!
Posted by RobinMc on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Jan 2003 · 131 posts
Yes, Lezly...Oscar is the newest member of our family. We agonized over making this decision. I really do believe that we made the right one. He's the greatest dog ever!!
He is a shih tzu, and he's two years old. (His former owner was going to shoot him when he moved, and his neighbor didn't want him but didn't want him dead - so she took him to the shelter.) He is the best housemate in every single way. I just wish I could get him to come back to me when I call him outside.
We are feeding him Natural Balance (http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/products/Vegetarian.html), and he gobbled it from the first time I introduced it. I feel good about the balance in it, so we use that as his diet staple. His breed isn't supposed to have wheat, soy, or corn, so this brand works. But I also cook things for him that he can eat. He really appears to like vegetables better than anything, which surprised me.
Thanks for asking!
0 likes
Posted by RobinMc on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Jan 2003 · 131 posts
...says it's too big. Let me try this...
0 likes
Posted by Anonymous on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
He is adorable! Bet the kids love him!! The former owner was gonna shoot him cuz he's moving? WTF is wrong with people? I'm glad Oscar has a good home!
Posted by Duckalucky on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Aug 2006 · 1127 posts
He's utterly adorable! :D
I agree, what kind of crazyness is that?! Goodness.
0 likes
Posted by curiale on Nov 02, 2006 · Member since Sep 2005 · 116 posts
I personally do not feed my dog or my cat a vegetarian diet (can't afford the really good stuff and not willing to take risks when it comes to my babies' health) but i do know that Alive, a vegan/raw restaurant on Lombard street in san francisco makes a dog food that is supposed to be good.
P.S. oscar is SO CUTE!!!!! someone was going to shoot him?????
0 likes
Posted by secondbase on Nov 03, 2006 · Member since Dec 2005 · 5540 posts
kind of off topic, but i LOVE alive. have you tried cafe gratitude in the sunset? it's on 8th or 9th, right off Irving.
on-topic: i can't afford vegetarian food for my cat, so she has a regular diet
0 likes
Posted by curiale on Nov 03, 2006 · Member since Sep 2005 · 116 posts
yeah! i like cafe gratitude. that is the second location; there is also one in the mission...and one in berkeley, and apparently one opening up in marin! i actually havne't been to Alive yet, but they set up a booth at Thursday's farmers market in the Ferry Building (where i work), so I've tried some of their fare. Delish!
0 likes
Posted by secondbase on Nov 03, 2006 · Member since Dec 2005 · 5540 posts
i did not know cafe gratitude had other locations. i really dig their juices there... and i'm a big fan of the key lime pie
I have purchased VegeKit and VegeCat for my cats. The same company has VegeDog.
Here's a link:
http://www.vegepet.com/forcats.html
My cats would not eat it (but I did before it was fully cooked :-p)... after purchasing this and attempting to feed it to my babies, I have partially decided just to feed my cats meated food (but probably will cook it when I get the chance -- eek!)
This is a supplement that you need to cook, but honestly (for the cat/kitten food at least), it was very very easy
Good luck, though!! And, if you want more links, I found a few more for vegan (or at least vegetarian) dog food...
http://www.veganpet.com.au (Australian-based) has great vegan dog food and vegan cat food... but I don't know if they export.
Cheers,
R.
Nature's Recipe "Vegetarian Formula" is Vegan and our Pit Bull has been eating it for four years. She loves it and best of all, you can buy it at Petsmart. They have it dry and canned.
I used to feed my English Bulldog Natural Balance (www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/Vegetarian.html) and she did quite well on it. However, I've since switched her to homemade meals supplemented with Vegedog. As Rainbowfairywings mentioned, you have to prepare the meals yourself - several batches at a time - but it really is SO easy. And the rewards are plentiful. Not only does she love her tofu and yams but since switching to fresh/Vegedog, Lily's energy is through the roof, her coat is shiny(er) and she sheds less. She used to have an earwax problem but it's no longer an issue. I admit that I sometimes miss being able to dish out her breakfast from a bag - especially after a late night and believe me, she's up early - but I just can't justify the convenience. She's happier and healthier than ever. So, if anything, I'm getting better at planning ahead! ;) I'd be happy to share with you what I've learned along the way if you're interested. My email address is eval(unescape('%64%6f%63%75%6d%65%6e%74%2e%77%72%69%74%65%28%27%3c%61%20%68%72%65%66%3d%22%6d%61%69%6c%74%6f%3a%56%2d%66%6f%72%2d%56%69%63%74%6f%72%79%40%73%79%6d%70%61%74%69%63%6f%2e%63%61%22%3e%56%2d%66%6f%72%2d%56%69%63%74%6f%72%79%40%73%79%6d%70%61%74%69%63%6f%2e%63%61%3c%2f%61%3e%27%29%3b')).
I hope this helps! :)
That is exactly the brand of food I ended up choosing for Oscar!
I have been doing some cooking for him. However, he is not supposed to have soy, corn, or wheat. There is so much of those three things out there that I feel more comfortable keeping the Natural Balance as his main food and supplementing with my cooking.
I would LOVE to hear more about your cooking. Thanks!
Nature's Recipe "Vegetarian Formula" is Vegan and our Pit Bull has been eating it for four years. She loves it
I don't have any information, I just think that the idea of a vegan Pit Bull is really funny. . .not that there's anything wrong with that! ;D
Why do Vegans and vegetarians own carnivores if they are not willing to feed them as they should be fed? I have always been a s**t disturber on this board regarding this. I am ovo-lacto. Have been for many years. I have home cooked for my pets for about 14 years. Please, do not share your lives with carnivores if you are not willing to feed them what they are supposed to eat. Please do not put your values on another type of creature that has different needs than you and expect them to strive. Yes...they may survive. How big of you! Get a bunny or an iguana. I recently watched two of my friends lose their cats from heart disease. Diagnosis. Synthetic taurine. Cats need Taurine. Taurine is found in meat. Cats are CARNIVORES! Just because you do not eat meat...does not mean your cats and dogs do not eat meat. I do not eat meat, poultry of fish. My freezer is full of what I need to provide my pets with what they need. If you are not willing to feed your pet what your pet needs to stay optimally healthy, please find you pet a home where the people actually care.
Yes I sound harsh. In the wild...do you think a cat goes after a bird or mouse or eats the fallen apple?
My holistic vet is a vegetarian...all her dogs,cats and outdoor feral cats are fed what they need to be optimally healthy.
I am a staunch ovo-lacto vegetarian. The day I make the beautiful animals I share my home with be the same because I choose not to meet their needs, please have someone come and collect them.
If you do not believe in any animal suffering, please do not share your lives with animals that are Carnivores.
My life was blessed for 3 1/2 years with a street dog from Mexico. When we visited my friend that manages a Pet Store, Isabela got totally excited when she saw rats, hamsters, iguana's etc. I am sure she thought buffet.
I honestly believe, we are stripping the rights of animals from eating what they know to be good. I have home cooked for so many years and yes.....do not get me wrong...makes me sick. But it isn't about me....it is about them. Please do not adopt an animal if you are not willing to feed the animal what it should truly be fed.
Haven't been on the board in months and months but the making Carnivores veggie threads always get me going....
Di, 4 cats, 3 budgies, 1 parrot and sadly since my beautiful Isabela died of pancreatic cancer June 1st, my beautiful Calista (Cali) arrived in Canada, September 23rd from Greece where animal cruelty is rampant. Cali was abandoned, then lived in a shelter for 8 months. She is probably between 10 to 11 months.
When I adopted her, I was told that a natural diet or a BARF diet might be good. I smiled as I have been feeding a home cooked natural diet to my housemates for at least 13 or 14 years.
I am a vegetarian. Dogs and Cats were not meant to be. PLease...do not share your lives with animals that you are not willing to feed the way they were meant to eat. That is a totally selfish thing to do. Bash away as I am so busy right now that I probably won't read the bashes for three or four months!
Happy Holidays to you all.
Di
Actually I feel the same way, Diver-Di. Dogs are a little more flexible than cats in their dietary needs, and both species are scavengers who will eat a little of anything, but both species are true carnivores who are better off eating what they were designed to eat.
Humans are natural omnivores too, but that doesn't mean we need a lot of meat. Many of the biological advances touted by carnivore-oriented people as being "hunter's" traits (forward-looking eyes, for instance) are actually insectivorous traits. But I don't see those same carni-advocates chowing down on a big bowl o' crickets... they "eew" at that idea just as we "eew" at their steaks! ;) (Not that I'm eating crickets, either.)
We humans do better, healthwise, on a diet with no-or-almost-no-meat. Dogs don't: they do almost-as-well. And cats really, really don't. (If you see info out there to the contrary, the chance that it originated with a veg*n petfood corporation is excellent: consider the source.) They can live on a diet that compensates for meat deprivation, so long as it provides nutrients derived from meat, but I believe that such a diet causes them distress and discomfort, and I won't enforce it for my pets.
Now, that said... I tried vegan food for my cat before I researched cat nutrition, but she was (fortunately) having none of it and I gave up.
Make of that what you will. Flame on! :)
Diver-Di I do believe that animals should eat what they were designed to eat, everything on Earth has a role to play and will not be well unable to live accordingly, they crave and need it so that they will do their jobs. Anyhow, you said that you have been cooking for your pets for years. Wouldn't it be better to feed them pet food made from animals that were being discarded anyway, than to feed from the human's meat market where animals are killed for the purpose of creating food? I don't really know anything about pet food, so I may be way off, but buying meat seems like the harsher choice. In addition, since you clearly are all for animals having what they would in nature, why do you cook for them? I've never seen a dog build a fire before ???
I am not going to go into a long response here, but I am going to simply state my point.
I believe that the farming and slaughter of animals is wrong. I will not participate in it. I find it to be immoral to pay for cruelty and slaughter to many, many animals so that my one animal can eat meat. There is no moral balance there for me.
Domesticated (house) animals do not live in nature. That is just how it is. If we have taken them from nature, then there is no point in arguing that they must live the life they would live in nature. That could extend to any area of their lives, and clearly that is not how they live. I would never stop my dog from killing and eating food. But it seems completely illogical to say that feeding a dog meat that it did not kill is natural.
The research on vegan dog nutrition is in, and it's solid. I invite you to read the studies and note who has sponsored each. You may be surprised. In fact, I avoided bringing a dog into my home for many years for exactly the reason you suggest. But now that I have seen the evidence, I realize that I could save the life of a shelter animal, give him a great life, and not cause other animals to suffer in the process.
Perhaps you think that it would be better to let him die in the shelter or to allow many animals to be treated cruelly and slaughtered in his name. I do not find that to be the moral choice. And I also don't think my decision is selfish in any way.
Robin, you make a lot of great points. Domestic animals (including any animals raised by humans, for meat, fur, or whatever) exist outside nature and the decisions that pertain to them are quite naturally cultural. The culture is not the culture of the animal in question, but that of his caretakers: trust me, no dog would ever put on a Halloween costume of his own volition. ;)
Of course it's a moral choice to rescue a shelter animal and give it a good life, and the less animals harmed in the process, the more humane that choice is. I don't think anyone would take issue with that. Even if your feeding choices shortened the animal's lifespan (which they are very probably NOT), you would be giving that animal every day he had... a tremendous gift! Nobody could fault you for this, as you well know.
Anyway, I have no "beef" with people who feed their pets vegan food ... I have not seen credible studies to suggest that they flourish as well on veg*n food as on animal products (I may have been unlucky, but please be wary and check!), but the quality of food really matters, and most commercially prepared pet food is hideously poor in quality. (Even that which is marketed as "premium" is very questionable in most cases.) It should be noted that I've only really researched cat nutrition, as my only pet is a cat.
Is Oscar a new member of your family? You must post a photo, it that is the case! I don't recall you ever mentioning having animals in your family before.
Our local health food store offers one type of vegan dog chow & a couple of types of canned food. Booyah eats it just fine. I think this dog has gone without a few meals. He is always so happy to get his dinner. His tail wags the entire time he eats. Also, I make vegan dog biscuits. We tasted them. They are a little bland, but full of good stuff!
Yes, Lezly...Oscar is the newest member of our family. We agonized over making this decision. I really do believe that we made the right one. He's the greatest dog ever!!
He is a shih tzu, and he's two years old. (His former owner was going to shoot him when he moved, and his neighbor didn't want him but didn't want him dead - so she took him to the shelter.) He is the best housemate in every single way. I just wish I could get him to come back to me when I call him outside.
We are feeding him Natural Balance (http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/products/Vegetarian.html), and he gobbled it from the first time I introduced it. I feel good about the balance in it, so we use that as his diet staple. His breed isn't supposed to have wheat, soy, or corn, so this brand works. But I also cook things for him that he can eat. He really appears to like vegetables better than anything, which surprised me.
Thanks for asking!
...says it's too big.
Let me try this...
He is adorable! Bet the kids love him!!
The former owner was gonna shoot him cuz he's moving? WTF is wrong with people?
I'm glad Oscar has a good home!
He's utterly adorable! :D
I agree, what kind of crazyness is that?! Goodness.
I personally do not feed my dog or my cat a vegetarian diet (can't afford the really good stuff and not willing to take risks when it comes to my babies' health) but i do know that Alive, a vegan/raw restaurant on Lombard street in san francisco makes a dog food that is supposed to be good.
P.S. oscar is SO CUTE!!!!! someone was going to shoot him?????
kind of off topic, but i LOVE alive. have you tried cafe gratitude in the sunset? it's on 8th or 9th, right off Irving.
on-topic: i can't afford vegetarian food for my cat, so she has a regular diet
yeah! i like cafe gratitude. that is the second location; there is also one in the mission...and one in berkeley, and apparently one opening up in marin! i actually havne't been to Alive yet, but they set up a booth at Thursday's farmers market in the Ferry Building (where i work), so I've tried some of their fare. Delish!
i did not know cafe gratitude had other locations. i really dig their juices there... and i'm a big fan of the key lime pie
Pages