Alicia - I applaud your ability to do so much in your house.  I wish I had the time to devote to cooking for myself and for my animals like that every day!  I have a cat - however, and everything I've read has indicated to me that putting them on plant-based diets is really unhealthy for them.  If you can find evidence to prove otherwise, I would be happy to try it. 

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, a vegan who has published a few vegan cookbooks and also has her own podcast has found the same to be true for her.  Although she doesn't like having to do it, she feeds her cats a meat-based diet.  She is pretty knowledgable on most vegan subjects, so I trust her information.

Hi Alicia,

I have been struggling with what to feed my cats since becoming vegan. I know that cats are different from dogs and that feeding them a vegan diet is a little more difficult. Any suggestions? Also, I worry that my cats won't be as interested in vegan food, but I really want them to be as healthy as I am!

Thanks,
Whitney

This is what I was waiting for.....I feed my dogs a vegan based diet- looking to change it once again.....and yes, I too give my dogs leftovers but good leftovers mixed with their food like you do!!

Thanks, my dog is running in the NYC IAMS Doggy Dash on July 18th as well- she's 9 years old and runs with me all the time- there must be something to a vegan diet for dogs (other dogs her age are so sedentary!).....

Thanks for sharing.  However I am still skeptical about not feeding dogs meat.  I totally believe us humans are not made to digest meat, but canines are, which is why I am still a little weary about a vegan dog.  Maybe a little more research on my side?

I gotta say my dogs love Sweet potatoes- whenever I make sweet potatoes for myself I give them the skins and well I think they ate them- they were gone so fast!!

Vegetarian dogs live longer and healthier! The oldest living dog was a vegetarian!

AMAZING post Alicia! Simply amazing. Thank you.

Alicia - Thank you for this post.  I am a Vegan but my dogs aren't.  I have had a ghastly time with my Bulldog who battles epilepsy and allergies (she's allergic to so much it's bizarre).  Before I became a Vegan, I put my dog on Wellness Whitefish & Sweet Potato Kibble mixed with Wellness Venison & Sweet Potato.  Her seizures are gone and her allergies are vastly improved.  I am scared to try anything else because when she has seizures it's excruciating , not just for her but for me!  But I woud love to take the final step to becoming a completely Vegan household.... maybe I'll try mixing in some real veggies that aren't on her allergy list and see if I can make the switch slowly.  It's so weird -- it was easy for me to be a Vegan - I look better, feel better and feel like my soul is healthier.  But for my dogs, I've always felt a bit guilty switching her to all veggie but you make a valid point that hit home with me.  Why is my dog more valuable than the deer that gave its life so my dog could eat it twice a day.  Maybe I'll try.....

Wow!  Fantastic info!!  If I still had my cats, I would not hesitate to feed them a plant-based diet, even though I too have read the info that says they're supposed to eat meat.  I believe the fillers in cat foods are WAY more toxic to their health than the meat is beneficial.  Both of my cats struggled with illnesses that may have been able to be healed if their diet was more healing.  One cat had a tumor in his mouth and the other had a lot of issues (none that were actually identified) after having anasthesia.  We had to put both cats down within a few months of eachother.  Some of the toughest decisions ever made. 

If we as humans can experience great health benefits from eating a vegan diet, who's to say that a cat, 1/10th our size, would not receive the same benefits? 

Ask to receive a cat who is on a vegan life path!  :)

I love the idea of feeding my 3 dogs and 4 cats a vegan diet, but, as much as I love it for me and my daughters, I know that our bodies are built for this type of diet, but, I also am skeptical about feeding my animals that way. I'm quoting below  from a study on Mammology;

"Is the dog an omnivore? Its dentition, internal and external anatomy, and physiology say it is not. Even its evolutionary history (discussed later) says the dog is a carnivore. Dogs do not normally produce the necessary enzymes in their saliva (amylase, for example) to start the break-down of carbohydrates and starches; amylase in saliva is something omnivorous and herbivorous animals possess, but not carnivorous animals. This places the burden entirely on the pancreas, forcing it to produce large amounts of amylase to deal with the starch, cellulose, and carbohydrates in plant matter. Thus, feeding dogs as though they were omnivores taxes the pancreas and places extra strain on it, as it must work harder for the dog to digest the starchy, carbohydrate-filled food instead of just producing normal amounts of the enzymes needed to digest proteins and fats (which, when fed raw, begin to "self-digest" when the cells are crushed through chewing and tearing and their enzymes are released)."

That was just part of the article found at http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html.

My Dog is my baby. I'd do anything to be a stay at home mom for my dog and cook for her. Unfortunately I can't and don't have time for that. I feed her Blue brand Longevity dog food for mature dogs. I also give her string beans, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, squash, zucchini, and many other veggies and fruit. I hardly ever buy dog treats anymore, and instead give her a cut up apple or banana. She loves her healthy snacks and don't seem to miss her dog biscuits at all.

I am a bit torn on this one as well...I agree that feeding my dog a Vegan diet is probably healthier for him, however, I tried it for a month or so and he eventually started eating cat poop! It got so bad that I couldn't keep him out of my room because he just kept eating it and stopped eating the veggie food I was giving him. I switched his veggie food out and he was still really fussy! I wanted him to eat so badly and stop eating the disgusting cat poop that I started giving him Tast of The Wild Salmon again and he's eating like normal now. I will try the Dr. Harvey's stuff though and see if he likes it more than cat poop this time! YUCK!

"Personally I can't justify killing one animal to save or feed another. If you feed meat to your dogs, that's what we are doing...deciding that one life is more worthy than the other"

love this quote, sums it up so well

I believe there is a lot of junk out there to feed dogs, but there is a special pet place we go to with excellent dog and cat food, grain free.  It may cost more, but the good ingriedents are worth it.  You can all do as you please, but I take very good care of my animals.  A dog is made to eat differently than we do.  Do you actually think a wolf goes out and only eats vegetables?  I don't think so, but hey to each his own.

Deborah

This is the one difference I have with TKL.  Dogs ARE carnivores, there is no arguing that fact, and so are made to process meat, not vegetables.  And, if living wild, they would kill another, weaker animal to survive.  I think we owe it to these creatures who love us to feed them according to what THEY are designed to eat, not what we believe is best for them because of what we eat.  That said, I also don't feed my dogs commercial kibble. They eat a raw, meat based diet, supplemented with a few veggies and fruits, but really a very small part.  They THRIVE on this diet.

Making the personal choice to eat this way for whatever one's personal reasons are is wonderful.  But changing an animal's diet, an animal who was designed to eat, and has eaten since its creation, meat, is wrong, IMO.