Even if you don’t have a cat please reblog this for all your followers who may have their own precious little baby.
I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT TUNA OMFG
If I remember rightly it’s the trace elements of mercury in canned tuna that is toxic to them. Their kidneys can’t filter it out like human kidneys can.
ok im gonna break this down a bit because some of these are BLATANTLY untrue and it kills me every time i see this.
alcohol: not very good for humans, either, but alcohol effects pets the same way it effects humans: targeting the brain and the liver. the issue? it takes way less to kill your cat than it does a human. you weigh, on average, at least 100 pounds (or 10x) more than your cat does. 3 teaspoons of liquour could kill your cat. don’t do it. alcohol WILL poison your cat.
chocolate:
theobromine (and to a lesser degree, caffeine) is the issue with this one. humans? we can break this down in our bodies. cats, dogs, birds, ferrets? they can’t. it usually takes a pretty big amount of theobromine to cause a pet to actually die, though. it’s present in cocoa, so the higher % of cocoa in a chocolate, the less needs to be ingested to cause serious, life-threatening effects. baking chocolate has a high concentration of theobromine and 1 square can kill a cat or small dog. white chocolate is a low risk, on the other hand. chocolate CAN poison your cat, especially DARK and BAKING chocolate.
caffeine: same story as alcohol: not that great for humans either, causes similar effects as in humans… just quicker and with less caffeine ingested. elevated heartrate, seizures, etc. can be seen. dogs and cats are more sensitive to the effects than humans are. caffeine WILL poison your cat.
dairy: cats are lactose intolerant and so their bodies cannot properly break it down– much like how we can break down theobromine and cats/dogs can’t. however, it’s not going to poison your cat, just give them diarrhea and other gastrointestinal upset. dairy WILL NOT poison your cat, but will cause gastrointestinal upset and diarrhea, so it is strongly recommended to not give dairy products to your pets.
fat trimmings: fat trimmings are just fat. if you feed fat to your cats, they will become fat and/or it will increase the level of lipids in the blood, leading to diseases and complications like chronic pancreatitis, which can be fatal. fat trimmings WILL NOT poison your cat, but will lead to disease that can be fatal, so it is strongly recommended to not feed fat trimmings to any pets.
raw meat: cats can eat raw meat. cats are obligate carnivores. cats are designed to only eat meat, and raw meat is not of serious risk to them. disease carried in raw meat? not a problem when you are a cat who has evolved over millions of years to eat raw meat. i hate hearing “cats can’t eat raw meat!” from people with outdoor cats. you realise your cats are eating raw lizard and bird, right? raw meat has more nutrients than cooked meat (which we eat veggies & fruits to compensate for– cats can’t digest these) and, obviously, there are some diseases and bacteria that cats aren’t immune to but cats are less likely to eat rotten meat than dogs are, anyway. treat the meat like you treat human meat and it’s totally fine. cats are DESIGNED TO EAT AND DIGEST RAW MEAT! IT’S PERFECTLY FINE TO FEED YOUR CAT RAW MEAT, but make sure that the meat is in-date and properly stored/cared for. rotten or spoiled meat CAN lead to disease and poisoning, but the same goes for 90% of the animal population!
eggs: its ok to feed your cat eggs. im not even sure why this is a question. raw eggs rarely carry salmonella and even humans rarely contract salmonella from infected eggs. your average cat will never contract salmonella from raw eggs, only in an immuno-compromised cat would this ever be an issue. cats can safely eat raw and cooked eggs, as salmonella is pretty much only a concern in an immuno-compromised cat in the first place.
fish: see raw meat above. fish, however, is a bit of an exception because of higher levels of mercury & low levels of taurine and differing balances of phosphate and calcium mean that it’s not a sustainable diet for cats and could lead to mercury poisoning or bone disease if it is the only protein given. when given ~1 time a week and with varied proteins there is no issue. again, cats are DESIGNED TO EAT AND DIGEST FISH AND OTHER MEATS! however, previous warnings about storing fish correctly still applies, and proteins should be varied due to fish having different levels of phosphorous, calcium, and taurine and mercury content. a primary diet of fish CAN lead to bone disease or mercury poisoning in extreme cases.
grapes and raisins: admittedly, this one is a bit of a wild card. some pets eat raisins/grapes without an issue, but in others, these can cause renal failure and death rapidly. we still don’t know why. animals with prior kidney issues are more likely to be effected by grape/raisin toxicity, and cats are more likely to have kidney issues due to many cats not getting adequate moisture in their diet. grapes and raisins MAY lead to poisoning in some cats and dogs, especially those with pre-existing kidney conditions.
onions and garlic: yes! all members of the allium genus (shallots, scallions, leeks, etc. are included) contain thiosulphate which, when ingested by cats and dogs, can lead to a serious condition in the blood known as hemolytic anemia. basically: their red blood cells burst. this can be fatal and a small amount of onion/garlic/etc. is needed to cause clinically significant issues. onions, garlic, and other members of the allium genus CAN and WILL poison your pet in even small amounts.
tuna: see fish above. canned tuna tends to be soaked in oil which leads to the same issues as fat trimmings in increasing lipid count in the blood. sashimi quality tuna will also have higher concentration of mercury and shouldn’t be consumed more than occasionally in the cat’s diet. canned tuna in oil is often too fatty and leads to the same issues as eating fat trimmings, however, tuna steak/sashimi/etc. quality tuna is the same as other fish: occasional inclusion in the diet is fine!
xylitol: relatively small quantities of this (an artificial sweetener) will cause a sudden drop in blood sugar in dogs, which can lead to comas, seizures, or death. many times, if they are not rushed to the hospital immediately, they will die, and even then, they may suffer permanent liver damage. however… cats are not adversely affected, and typically aren’t attracted to foods w/xylitol in it in the first place. xylitol is NOT likely to poison your cat, but small amounts can KILL your dog, moreso than chocolate!
THANK YOU for providing a little sanity on this weird ass unsourced post.
You actually save money on pet food by putting your dog or cat on a vegan diet. Trust me, you won’t be feeding them for as long as most people ; )
Actually, plenty of people have their pets on a vegan diet and they have the same life spans.
Anecdotes are not evidence, and they definitely should not be used as the deciding factor for putting a true carnivore on an herbivorous diet. Vegan cat food is essentially filler and vitamins. It’s virtually no different from the extremely low quality $1.50/lb cat food, Twin Pet. I haven’t heard of any cats raised vegan from birth to death via old age. Most cats on long term vegan diets seem to end up having to go back on a meat based diet, usually because of diabetes and urinary system health.
You don’t need to convince me cats can survive on vegan diets. Obviously, they can for awhile at least. I’m arguing that mere survival isn’t good enough, and that plant based cat foods will not lead to a healthy, thriving cat. There is virtually no reputable evidence or experts that support plant based cat foods… Yet tons that say it’s unhealthy and tons of experts who completely advise against it.
I also argue that it’s not safe, and is very risky. Cat’s bodies were meant to run on fat, not carbs. Diabetes is becoming epidemic in cats in recent years, due to pet food companies putting more and more plant based filler in their foods. The excess carbs in their diet is leading to diabetes. Urinary system problems are also becoming epidemic, because plant based foods alkalize their urine, promoting crystals which can be painful and lead to urinary blockage. Another reason is dry food isn’t good for them. Cats naturally get most of their moisture from prey, and will seldom drink enough on their own. This leads to UTIs. Vegan cat foods do both of these especially, because they’re fully plant based and typically have less moisture content.
There’s many more problems with plant based cat foods, which you can read about in my links here.
[Link 1] – This is especially important, because it talks about cat anatomy and physiology, and why plant matter is so hard on their bodies. Also has a neat anecdote at the end, since many vegan cat supporters use anecdotes.
[Link 2] – Includes vet opinions on the matter, with some criticisms of individual vegan cat food brands.
[Link 3] – Talks about why AAFCO approval doesn’t equal good quality food that will necessarily lead to a thriving animal.
[Link 4] – My criticisms of the study frequently used to supposedly verify the safety of vegan diet for cats.
[Link 5] – More information that goes more in depth than my info on cat anatomy and physiology.
Cats need taurine to stay alive at all. Taurine is only found in animal based sources. If your cat food has taurine in it, it’s not vegan food. If it doesn’t have taurine in it, your cat will die of a deficiency, but only after it gets sick and goes blind.
Your cat is physically incapable of being vegan. It can survive on a vegan diet in much the same way a human can squeeze out a day more of life in the desert by drinking their own urine. You do it because you have to and ultimately its really bad for you.
PiraticOctopus 