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Animal Person

Mary Martin, Ph.D., deconstructs the language, ethics and economics of our relationship with nonhuman animals.
November 02, 2007
Vegan Cats?

Mark in Reno recommended Evanger's Vegetarian canned food, which he adds to Natural Balance Vegetarian for his dogs. And may I just say Violet and Charles LOVE it (I've been adding some to their food) and they're output has decreased. And it has the added bonus of being less expensive than other vegan canned foods and has great ingredients. It's soy-free, wheat-free and corn-free.

Here's the thing, though: The can says it's for dogs and cats, and we all know that dogs and cats have slightly different nutritional needs (which usually manifests most dramatically in male cats, as a result of insufficient taurine and arachidonic acid, the former of which is listed on Evanger's, but the latter of which isn't. And cats need more protein.).

Shockingly, Emily the kitty has taken a shine to it and I've given her a tad each day. Boy wouldn't this solve a major issue for vegans if cats could thrive on this food.

But I'm skeptical.

I'm less skeptical of AMI's non-GMO Vegan Cat Food (kibble), as it was designed for cats, but it's loaded with corn and corn derivatives (it's not made in the US, which is why it's able to be non-GMO).

And the question or today is: Anyone have experience with either of these foods? Forget Evolution, as I'm aware of the controversies with them and my own experience with Violet several years ago didn't go well. She wouldn't eat it, and ordinarily she'll eat anything.

I'm going to continue to give Emily some Evanger's each day and see how she looks, poops, pees, and all that. She likes it better than her food with meat and licks the plate for like 10 minutes after she's finished. Having a half-vegan cat (I know, no such thing) is certainly better than nothing. And if this AMI kibble is as good as it's cracked up to be, I could just have a vegan cat on my hands.

I'm going to order the AMI. She might hate it, and if she does it's back to 50% vegan. But it's worth a try, and as I see it it's my only option as I'd never attempt home cooking for a cat (but that's me).

Let me know if you have had an Evanger's or AMI vegan-kitty experience.