Vegetarian Pet Foods
Vegetarian pet owners sometimes wonder about the viability of a similarly vegetarian diet for their animal friends. Both dogs and cats survive on vegetarian diets as long as pet owners first educate themselves on the individual needs of their pets. A vegetarian diet provides the perfect way to keep pets healthy without supporting the meat industry, a concern of many vegetarians.
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Benefits
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Vegetarian pet foods offer cats and dogs all the necessary nutrients needed to grow and stay healthy without exposing them to the possible risks associated with meat-based pet food. Meats included in pet food sometimes contain ingredients such as hair or horn trimmings, stomach contents and even manure, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This poses a risk of disease and contamination for pets, such as occurred in 2007 when pet food tainted with melamine made its way in to the market.
Warnings
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Not all vegetable-based foods work well for pets. For example, grapes and onions are poisonous to dogs. Other non-meat foods to avoid include potatoes, which cause stomach upset in dogs. Feeding pets high-sugar, high-fat or high-calorie foods cause problems similar to those seen in humans, such as diabetes, obesity and tooth decay.
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Supplements
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Commercial vegetarian pet foods sometimes contain the additional supplements needed by your pets for good health, but always read labels to be sure. Purchase a supplement from your local pet store if you feed your pets homemade vegetarian meals. Important supplements include vitamin A, taurine and arachidonic acid for cats. Dogs on vegetarian diets need additional L-carnitine and taurine, two amino acids which are the building blocks of protein.
Considerations
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Consult your veterinarian before switching your pet's diet. She can provide you with answers to your questions, food and supplement suggestions and important information pertaining to your individual pet. Switch your pet to his new diet slowly, gradually increasing the ratio of vegetarian to meat-based food every few days. Look for signs of problems, including poor eating, poor skin or fur health and digestive issues. Adding spaghetti sauce, onion-free baby food or soy milk to the food makes it more palatable for fussy eaters.
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References
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