I have seen a listing that says no meat or fish to be bought into the house .
The sit is for three months for two dogs so I am genuinely curious to find out what do vegetarians who stipulate no meat in the house feed their pets ? Are there plant based dog and cat foods available?
I am not available for this particular sit as I have a sit already booked that overlaps by a week . So I can’t contact the owners to ask .
Good owners feed their pets what they need - which for cats and dogs includes meat. Selfish owners who care more about their personal beliefs than their pets will feed them vegan food, which is less than optimal and potentially dangerous for cats and dogs in the long term.
Seems a bit over the top to me.
I am vegan and have sat for vegan HOs before who fed their dogs the same kind of food as any meat eating HOs. I’ve never sat for a HO who fed their animals anything other than meat-based products and would agree that it would be a challenge and potentially not the best for the animals in terms of sustenance. I know of plant based treats you can buy for dogs but haven’t come across any plant based meals for dogs/ cats. I’m sure such a product will hit the market eventually but don’t think I’d be an advocate for it!
From experience most vegetarian owners feed their pets regular pet food. If they don’t like the idea of handling meat (I know vegetarians who just don’t like touching meat and that’s why they don’t eat it) they use dry food but it had meat as an ingredient. Vegan owners tend to be more ideological in their dietary choices and decide their pets are now vegan and for them there are vegan pet foods out there. It’s a big market so suppliers figured out how to supply it a long time ago.
Many vegetarians/ vegans give their animals meatbased food as that would be their natural food in nature.
That being said, most commercial dog-foods for instance have a high percentage of veggies, grains etc. The actual meat content could be like 10-15 %.
I would think meat and fish in house could also have something to do with not having their crockery, utensils etc. touched by unwanted foods. It’s the same for others that have strict religious dietary requirements, or for instance severe allergies Where also small traces can make you ill.
My grand-pup eats vegan dog food. It’s dry food, just like the normal big bags of dry food you get. She gets a poorly tummy when she eats other stuff. The vegan type she’s got is brilliant for her on the nutrient front. Dry vegan dog food is great in general for dogs who struggle to digest ‘normal’ food, but they need to get the type that suits their particular dog.
I’m a vegetarian and don’t currently have a pet since I’m traveling full-time, but when I eventually settle down and get a cat again I would feed it meat. My sister is also a vegetarian and feeds her cat standard cat food. Of course, my home was never meat-free, I have no problem cooking meat for others (my daughter is not vegetarian). But I do have specific pans for cooking meat that I don’t use for my own food. I certainly can’t speak for others, but I think pet food is probably an exception for people who don’t want meat in their home. They typically don’t want their pans, dishes, and utensils used for meat and may not want it in their refrigerator. I know a lot of vegetarians with pets and they all feed them regular pet food.
@HappyDeb Interesting, I was unaware there was vegan dog food.
Cats are obligate carnivores meaning they must eat meat to obtain their nutritional requirements.
It is not ok to feed cats a vegetarian diet.
Yes, there are vegetarian and vegan foods for dogs, including Wild Earth and V-dog. We fed our dog vegan from the time I had a eureka moment and realized that feeding an equally sentient animal to a sentient animal did not make sense.
To those that say it it “selfish” or “cruel” I say open your mind and do some serious research before you become judgmental. Our dogs lived healthy and happy lives, and were checked out regularly. I would home make their foods using ingredients like sweet potatoes, quinoa, broccoli, tofu etc etc. Much healthier than those processed dried pellets that last 1000 years.
And yes, while even more controversial, there is vegan cat food (check out the facebook group Vegan Cats), there are also commercially available and nutritionally complete foods.
@Enjaybee , totally agree, rabbits are vegan, cats and dogs are carnivorous.
I do not have cats.
Cats do need aminos only available in animal based proteins (unlike dogs who are omnivorous) like Taurine and arachidonic acid, however these are available synthetically. And while Facebook is not the basis for where all truth lies, If you look at these people they have researched, they love their animals, and most importantly their animals are not dying or sick which would be the end of that if they were.
I grew up thinking that meat was some
thing that people had to eat every day, However I opened my mind and researched. Sometimes it’s hard to get a handle on the fact that something you grew up believing is just not true.
There are vegetarian/vegan dog foods and yes even cat foods (which study show are safe: Is it really safe to feed your cat a vegan diet? | University of Technology Sydney). However, many petparents, even vegans, will allow meat-based food for their dogs and cats. They may not however want meat to be brought into their home or cooked in their home.
Homeowners may have a lot of restrictions on what can be brought into the home including dietary restrictions because of religious or personal preferences, or food allergies. As sitters, it’s important to understand what the homeowner’s preferences and to respect them without judging them.
[https://www.bva.co.uk/media/5997/bva-policy-position-on-diet-choices-for-cats-and-dogs.pdf
@Marion a poorly quoted tiny study based on limited self reported owner opinion and no biological indicators - please refer to the current stance by BVA as of July 2024 - you know - the actual professionals.
@ClovesC Surviving and thriving are two very different things. The nutritional requirements of animals are not only a belief system but are of biological understanding. Many people can have good intentions but still cause long-term damage due to their own limited scientific understanding.
“There has recently been a growing interest in feeding pets vegan and vegetarian diets, with several studies supporting their use and suggesting health benefits such as improvements in skin and gastrointestinal conditions. Although these results appear to be positive, the studies are usually small-scale and usually based purely on owner-reported data, so further long-term, controlled studies are needed to demonstrate their nutritional safety.
Current research suggests that it is not possible to form a complete vegan or vegetarian diet for cats, as they are obligate carnivores and there is a lack of suitable synthetic essential amino acids available. It is possible to feed dogs a plant-based diet, but owners should be aware of the difficulties in balancing these diets for nutritional needs, the lack of robust long-term data on their safety, and should monitor their dog’s health for long-term impacts.”
Not debating or advocating for a particular diet although if you look at what constitutes a “balanced” diet for cats it usually involves added vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, such as taurine to get standardized amounts into foods even with a fully meat-based diet. And many commerical catfoods have started to add non-meat protein sources as fillers including pea protein and chicpeas. Some cat parents will advocate and feel very strongly about raw food diets. Individual cats may also have individual needs for example calcium that doesn’t come from bones because of phosphorous issues.
What I am advocating for is the idea that hosts may have strong feeligs about what is and isn’t acceptable for their homes and for their pets. It’s best for sitters to get a handle on this before agreeing to a sit, and if you feel strongly that this isn’t in the best interest of the pet for instance a vegan diet, or that the restrictions are too restrictive for your own choices – for example a home that conforms to religious dietary restrictions, then don’t do the sit.
Doctors used to smoke and say that nicotine was fine. You know, the experts. Up until a few years ago our USDA food pyramid was totally different, emphasizing meat and dairy. It took an actual lawsuit to change what the government and “experts”, which included many doctors had previously told people was the gold standard of healthful eating.
There is much research and changes that surely need to be done. Meanwhile stale hard compressed food pellets made from the bodies of downed animals chock full of antibiotics is an approved diet by “experts”?
All I am saying is consider that there may be other options and there are certainly room for progress and advancement in feeding our companion animals.
@Marion . Do hosts put this on their posts? Most will put that they are vegan, but not many put their pets are too, not that the pets have any choice. I would never knowingly sit for a “vegan” pet, as I believe it’s cruel. Put a dish of vegetables in front of a dog, and a dish of meat and see what they eat. I am going to add this to my list of questions to ask a host.
I agree it’s probably worth asking a host what the animals eat, not only to see if it’s something you might object to, but also to see if it is something that may be very complex and hard to follow.
I don’t know what most hosts do, but it seems to me if you are applying to a sit and it is mentioned in the list that the host does not want meat brought into the home, you absolutely should ask the host what the pet eats if that is a dealbreaker for you. Going by vegans and vegetarians I know who have pets, and homes I’ve sat for, I’m going to guess that most vegetarians/vegans are fine with giving their pets (especially cats) meat (or at least kibble made with meat).
Many, but not all homeowners do describe what their pets eat in the listing, but if they don’t or it’s not detailed, this is absolutely something sitters should ask about.
My own listing for instance mentions that the cats eat canned food and need to be separated at meal time.) Some homeowners might for example feed their pets a raw diet, or a home cooked one, and some feeding routines can be overcomplicated and more than many sitters want to take on. My parents wound up being late in life dogowners when my brother’s work hours were too much and he gave the dog to my parents. My mother always fed the dog ground meat with vegetable table scraps. She always made his meals up fresh. I don’'t think I’d want to take that on as a sitter!
I have never seen any HOs specify on the ad that their pet is vegan. The closest I’ve seen is ‘we’re vegan and keep a vegan home’ as well as a request that no meat/ animal products are brought into the house. There is no reference to whether the cats are fed a vegan diet. In light of this thread, it would be quite helpful if this was specified, i.e. ‘we’re vegan…but our cats are fed standard cat food’ etc.