Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!caip!lll-crg!lll-lcc!well!mo
From: mo@well.UUCP (Maurice Weitman)
Newsgroups: net.veg
Subject: Re: vegetarian diets for pets
Message-ID: <1498@well.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 26-Jul-86 12:45:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: well.1498
Posted: Sat Jul 26 12:45:39 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 27-Jul-86 01:55:40 EDT
References: <929@magic.DEC.COM> <4337@lll-crg.ARpA>
Reply-To: mo@well.UUCP (Maurice Weitman)
Organization: Whole Earth Lectronic Link, Sausalito CA
Lines: 32

In article <4337@lll-crg.ARpA> benl@lll-crg.UUCP (Ben Leimkuhler) writes:
>
>Let's remember that cats (unlike people) are natural predators and keep
>one foot planted in reality.  It's OK to mess around with your own diet
>but it is appallingly cruel to play games with your pet's diet--
>unless you know exactly what you're doing.  Even the cheap dry cat food
>you buy in the grocery store must meet carefully determined minimum
>standards. 

I mostly agree with Ben:  cats are naturally carnivorous, we are not.  A 
woman I knew tried to feed her cats a vegetarian diet, and all three began
looking fairly ill after a few months and two of them actually lost their
sight in another short while.  Could have been concidence, don't know.

Even though I don't like the idea of watching my (or any other) cats
killing and eating mice, birds, etc., I think that's their instinctual and
biologically-based need.  And I do know that many pet foods do contain 
animal products, some even whale meat, and I go out of my way to avoid
eating and using animal products for myself, but for the cats, I don't
know of a real alternative.  

-- 

Quote:  "The police aren't here to create disorder, they're here
          to preserve disorder." Mayor Richard P. Daly, Chicago, 1968 

Disclaimer:  Any errors in spelling, tact or fact are transmission errors.

Maurice Weitman     9600   ..!{dual,hplabs,lll-crg,ptsfa,glacier}!well!mo
       |           57600   (415)549-0280 voice   (415)549-0388 modem-2400
   this^is not       300   mcimail mweitman      
     a pipe          110   P. O. Box 10019       Berkeley, CA  94709