Helen's Kitchen Tofu Steaks were so horrible that I had to quickly follow up my last blog with a happier blog. I am writing to you on behalf of my big happy 7 year old SPCA cat Johnathan. I would just like to add that even people who hate cats love my Jonathan.
But back to the subject at hand. About 6 months ago, after experiencing some of the most mind-numbing smells from his litter box, I decided that it was time that my cat go vegan. Jonathan pretty much eats anything so I knew it wouldn't be a difficult job switching him over. What I didn't anticipate was how much my dogs would love the food too. It's been fun trying to keep them away from his food. It's finally gotten to the point where they just sneak it when I'm not looking instead of just outright eating it in front of me.
Possibly the fact that Evolution Vegan Cat Food taste like cheese is the reason for the mass hysteria around the house amongst the animals. Whatever it is, my cat is in love with this food. The only downside to it is that I have to order it online from http://www.veganessentials.com/ so I really have to stay on top of the amount of food that's left so I can order in time. (Just an FYI vegan essentials can usually get you what you need in about 2-3 business days so that should help you plan your ordering schedule).
According to Jonathan, Evolution is the best. I got really busy one week and didn't notice that the cat food supply was running dangerously low. I called around town to every health food store and finally one stocked a vegan cat food from this company called Wysong. Jonathan, who will literally eat anything, went on a hunger strike. He would not eat for days! At first I thought he was getting sick because he was losing weight so rapidly then one night I heard a rumbling in the kitchen and there was Jonathan. He ripped open the bag of Evolution Cat Food I just got in the mail that afternoon and was devouring it. Like lion on the Serengeti devouring it. I switched his food back to Evolution and he was a happy healthy eating machine from that day forward.
Here's the particulars. I get my cat food from veganessentials.com. It's available in 1lb bags for $2.95, 8 lbs for $22.95 and 40 lbs for $78.95. I know the prices seem steep but a little of this food goes a long way and it can be used wet or dry. http://www.vegancats.com/ also has it available a bit cheaper 8 lbs for $20.95 and 40lb for $69.95. It also comes in a gourmet pasta flavor. But after the Wysong fiasco I'm going to stick with the cheese.
I have to say, that I couldn't imagine trying to make my cats vegan. From the research that I've done on the subject, I decided that it wasn't right for our household. I would urge you to consider this faq from vegancats.com which you link to here. The question asked:
ReplyDeleteIs it true that vegancats.com is telling some people to feed their cats meat?
Yes. After much soul-searching, we have decided to change our official recommedations for certain cats.
Urinary tract problems are extremely common in cats and, because of the relative acidity of meat to vegetable protein, many vegan cats suffer from them.
Although we have been giving advice for some time on how these problems can be minimized while still feeding a completely vegan diet, we have found that the vast majority of our customers have not been following this advice.
Unless you are very committed to following the advice outlined below, we therefore recommend that you mitigate the risk of urinary tract problems by feeding males cats only a 25-75% vegan diet and females a 50-100% vegan diet.
Our mission is to reduce suffering as much as possible through reducing dependancy on meat products for your companion animals, but at the same time, we also have great concern for the overall health and well-being of cats who are prone to urinary tract problems. We do not believe in making companion animals suffer health complications simply because we'd like to feed them an exclusively vegan diet; rather, we believe that people should do the best they can to find a balance that keeps their companions healthy while reducing dependancy on meat products to the greatest extent.
Having said that, I would further urge you to try another food. Evolution is the worst vegan cat food out there for the health of your pet. Cats have died as a result of eating it, and the owner of the company is on record saying in an interview that the company was using what happened to people's pets as their testing research because they don't believe in animal testing.
Again this is only my opinion on the subject.
By the way, outstanding blog. Thanks for being the official taste tester!
I have a 6 year old male cat who has been eating only Evolution vegan cat food since he was a kitten. I recently took him to a new vet, who commented how healthy he was (she is so used to seeing cats that are grossly obese due to the cheap cat food that most people buy!). I have a kitten less then a year old who is happily joining in this diet now also! No death anywhere in this equation, and it is lovely that I can enjoy the company of cats in my house. I am vegan myself, and would not be able to reconcile myself with supporting the meat industry to feed my pets.
DeleteP.S. if you want to go to http://www.animalvoices.ca/shows/vegan_pets
ReplyDeleteTo listen to a discussion about evolution with the CEO. There is also a comments section where you can see what some other users of evolution have said.
Thanks for the info angry hippie but I stand firm on my decision to keep my cat vegan. As you can read in my blog he really wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, for the last 6 months he hasn't even been dipping into the dogs food (which he used to do when he ate "regular" food). For some cat's it might be a problem but for my cat it has been a godsend.
ReplyDeleteI would still recommend researching more into the Evolution brand. Cats and even dogs who have done fine on other vegan foods have died from being fed evolution. There have even been metal shards found in their dog food.
ReplyDeleteI respect everyone's opinion and appreciate the information on Evolution Cat Food but my cat nearly starved himself to death when I tried to give him another food. He is a perfectly healthy and happy cat and he prefers Evolution. But once again, I thank you for the information and sharing your opinions.
ReplyDeleteHi, Almost three years have passed. How is your cat, Jonathan, doing? Your comments could help others who wish to feed their companion animals a vegan diet.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hey Arlie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking back in. Jonathan's vegan diet was never a problem for him and I had him checked out by the vets regurly to ensure he was in tip top shape. However, Jonathan did pass away a couple years ago of cancer. He was so healthy and vibrant that it was completely off the radar to both me and my vet until he got really sick in the end.
Although I no longer have a cat I still have two vegan dogs ages 4 and 6 who are doing wonderful on Nature's Balance vegetarian dog food and the rest of my companion animals are born herbivores. At the end of the day choosing what type of diet to feed your companion animal is as personal a choice as choosing wha to fed a child in your care. For some vegan food doesn't work for their cats, for mine it did.