What do you think about vegans who feed their dogs vegan dog food? Do they have the right to force their diet on their carnivorous pets? BQ: I've seen vegans say they don't trust meat eaters to look after their pets but would you trust a vegan to look after your dog properly, in terms of feeding??
feeding carnivorous animals a vegan diet can be extremely dangerous !!! I could never harm my animals like that, and in my opinion, doing so is worthy of jail time.
cats and dogs are susceptible to a deadly amino acid deficiency if they don't eat enough meat. there are ten known amino acids that dogs cannot produce in their own bodies and eleven that cats cannot produce in their own bodies. the biggest source of these amino acids is meat, so they need to eat meat to get them. plant-based diets do not provide enough of them to keep animals healthy.
tyrosine is a major one in cats — I learned about it while researching coat colors. it's an amino acid necessary for the brain to function, and unlike humans, cats can't make their own so they need meat to get it. well,,,,,they can sometimes, but not without meat anyways !! cats can actually produce their own tyrosine, but only with phenylalanine, another amino acid that they must get from meat. so either way, no meat = little to no tyrosine.
the biggest sign of this deficiency is a reddening of coats as eumelanin (black pigment) can't be produced without tyrosine, either. the animal will die unless the deficiency is resolved, and guess what the most common cause of a diet-induced tyrosine deficiency in cats is? that's right,,,,,it's vegan people thinking that they're doing a good thing by not feeding their cats meat, when in actuality, they're slowly killing their beloved animal.
the only time that I would condone a vegan diet for a carnivorous animal would be if vegan diets were made that specifically include these critical amino acids and nutrients that the animals need to survive. otherwise, absolutely not. and the last time I checked, vegan diets for carnivorous animals were severely incomplete and unsafe, although please shock me by informing me otherwise if things have improved within the past year,,,,,
I would only trust someone who is vegan with my animals after they agree to continue to feed them a meat-based diet despite not eating meat themselves. I'd also be sure to inform them about how dangerous a vegan diet is for carnivores to try to prevent them from harming my animal behind my back on accident!
cats and dogs are susceptible to a deadly amino acid deficiency if they don't eat enough meat. there are ten known amino acids that dogs cannot produce in their own bodies and eleven that cats cannot produce in their own bodies. the biggest source of these amino acids is meat, so they need to eat meat to get them. plant-based diets do not provide enough of them to keep animals healthy.
tyrosine is a major one in cats — I learned about it while researching coat colors. it's an amino acid necessary for the brain to function, and unlike humans, cats can't make their own so they need meat to get it. well,,,,,they can sometimes, but not without meat anyways !! cats can actually produce their own tyrosine, but only with phenylalanine, another amino acid that they must get from meat. so either way, no meat = little to no tyrosine.
the biggest sign of this deficiency is a reddening of coats as eumelanin (black pigment) can't be produced without tyrosine, either. the animal will die unless the deficiency is resolved, and guess what the most common cause of a diet-induced tyrosine deficiency in cats is? that's right,,,,,it's vegan people thinking that they're doing a good thing by not feeding their cats meat, when in actuality, they're slowly killing their beloved animal.
the only time that I would condone a vegan diet for a carnivorous animal would be if vegan diets were made that specifically include these critical amino acids and nutrients that the animals need to survive. otherwise, absolutely not. and the last time I checked, vegan diets for carnivorous animals were severely incomplete and unsafe, although please shock me by informing me otherwise if things have improved within the past year,,,,,
I would only trust someone who is vegan with my animals after they agree to continue to feed them a meat-based diet despite not eating meat themselves. I'd also be sure to inform them about how dangerous a vegan diet is for carnivores to try to prevent them from harming my animal behind my back on accident!