Vegan pet food options

B

BlueBeard

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My daughter is a vegan. She has a dog and two cats, but she gives them traditional wet and dry pet foods off the shelf. They are, of course, full of animal byproducts.

I got curious about what healthy choices are available for vegans. I read the WebMD page on it (https://pets.webmd.com/features/vegetarian-diet-dogs-cats#1), which made me leery of just reviewing marketing claims, what was healthy, what was not.

I guess I could ask my vet, and she'd be happy to answer. But I don't like to interrupt her day with a question that is just curiosity, not something I have an urgent need to know.

I've been scrounging around looking at them. What kind of nutrition options have you and your vet found to be healthy alternatives for your pets? What's working for you?
 
Oops. Sounds as though this is being covered in another thread, one in dumpster fire.

I understand if nothing happens here, but I'm going to guess the answers would be better, more trustworthy, in this thread than that one?

If anyone has worked with their vet to create a sound nutritional program (is not just feeding something to their pet because they read a marketing claim on a label), would you mind describing what works for you?
 
First, no animal is absolutely carnivore. They get some vegetable matter from the stomachs of the herbivores they eat. This works because it's been predigested for them.

There are a lot of vegies that can be healthy in a carnivore's diet, *BUT*, they must get some animal protein and especially fats in their diet. Humans must get some fat in their diet, that's one of the first things you learn in survival courses.

So anyone with a carnivore pet on a vegan diet is guilty of cruelty.
 
caikgoch said:
First, no animal is absolutely carnivore. They get some vegetable matter from the stomachs of the herbivores they eat. This works because it's been predigested for them.

There are a lot of vegies that can be healthy in a carnivore's diet, *BUT*, they must get some animal protein and especially fats in their diet. Humans must get some fat in their diet, that's one of the first things you learn in survival courses.

So anyone with a carnivore pet on a vegan diet is guilty of cruelty.
Click to expand...

And anyone who has any doubts about how accurate @caikgoch's statement is needs to head over to google and punch in "rabbit starvation" for a specific example. You (or a wolf, coyote, lynx, etc, etc, etc) can stuff yourself to the verge of bursting on rabbit, three times a day, every day, yet drop dead of starvation due to the lack of adequate fat in the diet.
 
There are vegan dog food options available that contain the necessary protein and fats and other nutrients from plants. Here's one producer from Germany as an example, whose food my dog likes, but we don't have long-time experience with it yet:

www.vegdog.de

Veganes Hundefutter

Pflanzliches Futter für Hunde: ✓von Tierärzten entwickelt ✓100 % bedarfsdeckend ✓hypoallergen. Jetzt online kaufen!
www.vegdog.de www.vegdog.de

Edit: My dog does not like the canned vegan dog food from this producer anymore as of March 8, 2020.
 
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Tell her to get a rabbit instead, or continue feeding them animal products. We are not at the stage were we can feed our obligate carnivores (cats) or dogs vegan diets and know that it's safe for them. There is NO scientific consensus on the matter and the only ones saying that it's perfectly fine are vegan biased sources. The majority of veterinarians and animal nutritionists are highly against vegan diets, ESPECIALLY for cats.
The subject is lacking in scientific research for now. And to ignore the professionals advice anyways and going with a vegan diet is doing nothing but risking your animals well being for a very high risk, with a very low reward.

Side note: Even though giving your dog a vegan diet is POSSIBLE. It is INCREDIBLY time consuming, expensive and laborious. Most people fail at managing their pets vegan diet plan and end up starving their pet of nutrition.
 
Why is this even a topic? If she is vegan then that is her problem not the animals. Just the fact that she wants to get the animals on a vegan diet means that she shold find a new owner for the animals, Cat`s and dogs are not vegan.
 
As a veterinary professional, all I’m going to say is this:

cats are obligate carnivores. They require the amino acids present in meat tissue to be able to fully absorb vitamins and minerals, including taurine. Without those they will die , suffering all the way.
Dogs can “technically “ be put on a vegan diet and survive. Will they be happy, well nourished, and thrifty? No.

I also suggest she continues feeding them a proper diet, or acquires an herbivore for a pet.
 
Here is another German pet food producer. I've just tried their 100% vegetarian (99,99% vegan) dry dog food myself. Quite nice, I prefer this over salted potato chips as a snack. :) My dog also seems to like it. The company offers insect based dog food as well as chicken based dog food where the chicken had at least a somewhat better life than the usual standard for industrial farming. Their cat food is chicken and/or salmon based.

Sustainable Pet Food for Dogs and Cats | Green Petfood

The Green Petfood online shop offers sustainable and healthy premium pet food based on vegetarian recipes and alternative protein sources. ✅
www.green-petfood.com www.green-petfood.com
 
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Feed a home-prepared, nutritionally optimal, moisture-rich, species appropriate diet with good amounts of different variety that is free of unnecessary fillers.

No to veganism in pets. They require animal-based protein to thrive. Dogs and cats have no biological requirement for plant-based carbohydrates in the diet.
 
Its really not a good idea. Specifically for cats. To get all of the essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, some animals require the consumption of meat. It's unclear exactly all the nutrients a dog, and humans to an extent, requires to perform all of the necessary biochemical reactions. You could be depriving your animal instead of helping it. There are many options for a balanced diet. You can make your own food too
 
Here is an organic pet food producer from the Netherlands which has vegan options for dogs (nothing vegan for cats). We have tried their "organic dog food vega chunks" in the alu dish this morning with soy as main ingredient.

www.yarrah.com

Yarrah | Organic Dog Food & Cat Food

Yarrah is organic dog and cat food. To make a change for the better.
www.yarrah.com www.yarrah.com

Initially my dog didn't take it, but when I ate two spoons myself he also tried it and then ate it all. I'll see how he likes it in the future and I will probably also try the producer's dry food sometime. However, my dog's initial skepticism without having made a bite is an indication that it may be deficient in tasty smell. I'm sure the ingredients are all high quality, but this made me wonder why vegan dog food producers don't put more emphasis on smell. Vegan products that are specifically designed as meat alternatives (veggie sausages etc.) for humans are highly attractive for my dog. I'm sure he can tell the difference between vegan and meat-based sausages, but he loves both. I wonder why they seemingly don't use similar spices or processing for dog food? Maybe it's because it would feel like "cheating"? I don't think there is anything wrong about adding spices just for the sake of smell and taste without nutritional value. We do it for ourselves, why not for dogs, too? Of course the spices should be suitable for dogs.
 
Place a rack of ribs next to best vegetables you can get....I’d bet on the ribs every time...raw/homemade has given us great health results hands down and at this point I’d never even consider any kind of kibble or can food....However, each to their own😁...what works for us might not necessarily work for others....😁
 
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