Dogs, Cats…and Vegans
Is having a dog or cat vegan? Should dogs and cats eat vegan food? Read on…
We’re Responsible: Dependent Animals Need Rescue and Care
Obviously, our species has bred dependent animals using artificial selection. We do have the responsibility to care for dependent beings when they already exist. That’s our starting point.
Still, veganism and pets is a tricky subject. Ultimately veganism is about ending the exploitation of other animals, and letting them live on their terms and not ours.
Let’s go through the frequently asked questions about pets and do our best to address them from the vegan viewpoint…
Sterilizing Animals: What’s the Vegan Position?
To start, the vegan takes the position that we shouldn’t be interfering with and controlling other animals, including how they reproduce. For in-depth commentary on this topic, see Lee Hall’s On Their Own Terms.
As for domesticated animals, however (as also explained in Hall’s book), the whole situation changes. Even though advocates love them, and see them as persons, animals bred as pets can have no meaningful rights. Harsh? Yes, terribly so. But that’s the disturbing reality. Animals bred as pets generally rely on our decisions to act in their best interest; and we put them in that position of reliance. Given what that means to the population of animals who are purpose-bred as pets, talking of their rights is euphemistic.
It’s not rude or mean or wrong to say that we should attend to their welfare, and that they are not going to have meaningful rights. Just imagine Chihuahuas trying to live on their own terms as part of a biocommunity. It doesn’t work, does it?
Deliberately inbred dependency means they will be subject to our control for life, and it often means they are bought and sold. This is an unjust burden to place on their shoulders, so vegans advocate for neutering cats, dogs, and other animals who were bred into the world as pets for humans.
Pet Shops
Pet shops and all breeders are avoided by vegans. Absolutely contrary to what some wealthy humane groups will say, the vegan view is that there are no “responsible” pet breeders.
This does not mean breeders are bad people; it simply means that they haven’t questioned the human entitlement to treat other animals as ours to breed, separate, and distribute. Most people haven’t questioned that. Vegans do.
Pet shops that sell animals both profit from and perpetuate the notion that other animals are our things; and they increase the numbers of dogs, cats, fish, birds, gerbils, ferrets, rabbits and other domesticated animals being supplied by breeders, while animals in pounds are routinely killed as part of the cycle of supply and demand.
When purchasing pet food, avoid buying from places that sell animals if you can, and support instead those that do not. If you or someone you know is looking for an animal to share your space with, the best answer is to go to your local shelter and find an animal there. Or ask your local cat rescuer, for cats are always in need of homes. Kindly be part of the solution.
Terminology: Pets or Companion Animals?
There is some discussion in the advocacy community on whether to refer to cats, dog and others as “pets” or as “companion animals” instead. Consider that the use of the term “companion animal” or “animal companion” is inaccurate, for historically, the word companion means “mate” or one with whom one shares bread. Thus companionship is a sharing, a bond by mutual agreement, and not by force, nor involving someone who is entirely dependent on us for food, shelter, and practically every need.
So “companion” doesn’t accurately reflect the relationship between humans and cats and dogs. It is a euphemism.
The best way to discuss these beings is to refer to them as “animals bred as pets”-- or, in the case of those with whom we live, to use their names.
Vegan Pet Food?
Arguments about the food issues can rage for weeks, and usually do; and by the end of them you might well see people threatening each other for giving inappropriate dietary advice regarding their cats. What’s the latest information, so you can make an educated decision?
It’s well known that most dogs do fare very well on a vegan diet. Thus, people who have dogs do well to feed them a well-balanced vegan diet. Popular vegetarian foods are available in North America from the Natural Balance vegetarian line, PetGuard, and Pet Promise, to name a few. Just be sure you have a veterinarian who knows your dog’s history, because we cannot provide your dog with medical advice from a website; nor can anyone else.
The situation with cats is more complex. Cats were domesticated relatively recently and they are not vegans.
Special vegan formulae have been created and called cat food, but as of this writing (2010) we cannot assure our readers that they constitute a proven standard. There is a report (by Christina M. Gray, DVM, et al.) in a veterinary journal we’ve seen cited. While it has promise in suggesting not all cats need flesh products to survive, its results were not uniform and it relied on reporting based on a limited population of cats owned by a people who went to a particular animal-advocacy conference. The researchers stated after its publication: “ We recognized study limitations in terms of the number of samples analyzed and acknowledged that variations among batches or in nutrient content of key ingredients could explain our results. ”
From what we can ascertain, there is no firm consensus on the issue of vegan cat food, even in the animal-advocacy movement. Some cats seem to manage; others do not. Some cats fed exclusively vegan food have become seriously ill (or worse), leading to the concern that expecting cats to become vegan arguably amounts to in-home animal testing -- not a vegan idea after all.
The Vegan Society’s refurbished website says (without attribution to a particular nutritional study or veterinarian): “ Cats and dogs can be happy and healthy on an animal-free diet. Dogs tend to take easily to a well balanced vegan diet but introducing a vegan diet to cats may take more time.” The Vegan Society’s site does give cats a loophole, stating: “ Lastly do not be down-hearted if your cat is not 100% vegan even after all your efforts.”
In reality, as people representing The Vegan Society do in fact say on public social media outlets, it’s implausible that a cat can ever be 100% vegan; cats are cats, not mini-humans; and they are highly creative and motivated hunters wherever they might live.
It’s critical to remember that our primary work involves getting the humans we encounter to understand, appreciate, and embrace a vegan outlook. As people do so, they will begin to understand the problem with making animals into commodities in the first place.
We understand, in the meantime, the difficulty for vegans in keeping cats. Here it might be instructive to recall how we talk to people about human health. When asked if our diet is safe for adults or children, we vegans often confidently cite the Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada on Vegetarian diets . Their position paper states: “It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.” It specifies that well-planned vegan diets “are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.”
Now, what do we cite when it comes to the animals in our homes? Shouldn’t we be careful with them, too -- even though they can’t ask us to present proof for them?
The most up-to-date, comprehensive study of the daily nutrient requirements for dogs and cats currently available is the 450-page “ New Dietary Guidelines Issued for Cats and Dogs” from the National Research Council’s Committee on Animal Nutrition . It states the following:
- Although dogs may prefer animal-based food, they are generalists who can survive on a vegetarian diet as long as it contains sufficient protein and other nutrients.
- Cats, however, are carnivores. Note that their bodies are not used to the stress of fasting (food being withheld). The report notes that “ cats eat between 12 and 20 meals a day.”
The report looked at the question of vegetarian cats explicitly, and concluded that c ats should not be fed a vegetarian diet because it could result in harmful deficiencies of certain amino acids, fatty acids, and vitamins.
In conclusion, we acknowledge that there is debate about this among vegans. Vegans understandably strive to avoid purchasing any animal products, and this includes for those under their care.
We believe our foremost duty is to care for those who are in our homes, and do what is in their best interests, while at the same time being forthright about why the entire custom of having pet animals needs to be challenged. Both for its own sake, and for the way it has pressed us to stay dependent on the very animal agribusinesses we ourselves have renounced.
We can all agree on this: Humans can be part of the vegan movement. Let’s make all the information we have available to them, and discuss the importance of the vegan commitment as often and as deeply as we can. As for other animals, we should be talking about not domesticating them at all.