Is It Fair to Your Dog and Cat to Go Meatless?
We can make the choice to alter our diets. But is it a fair decision to impose on our pets?
There are many vegan and vegetarian pet owners whose diets don’t agree with the natural diets of their pets. Until recently, there have been few options for those who wanted to have their pets also go vegan or vegetarian, unless they wanted to design and make a diet by themselves. But now, there are many name-brand options for meat-free pet foods, even for primarily carnivorous animals like dogs and cats, including options by well-known brands like Ellen DeGeneres’s HALO and Nature’s Recipe. But is accessibility of meat-free pet food really a good thing?
It’s no secret that our most common household companions, dogs and cats, have hunter ancestors. They are designed to eat meat. However, these animals will often eat the contents of prey animals’ stomachs, thereby consuming fruits and veggies, and may also nibble on grasses on their own, particularly when they have upset stomachs. It’s not uncommon to see diets also include fruits or veggies — not as main ingredients, but healthy supplements. It’s good for their diets to include a certain amount of fruits and veggies — according to the AKC, apples are excellent sources of vitamins A and C, and are good snacks for senior dogs. Blueberries…
