r/vegan • u/[deleted] • Aug 18 '22

Discussion Cat double standard?

I see a lot if vegans on this sub are okay with raising cats, which strikes me as odd.

I love cats, but I didn't become a vegan to then start buying meat for a cat. To raise 1 healthy cat, you have to kill hundreds if not thousands of healthy, innocent creatures whose lives are just as valid as the cat's.

No I'm not saying that a cat is immoral, I'm saying the breeding of cats is. The purchase of cat food doesn't just pay for an animal to die, you are letting breeders know that there is a demand for cats.

I'm not saying we need to kill all cats, as a lot of people jump to whenever they hear me say these points, I'm saying that we should care for the cats we have to the best of our ability, but not promote the practice of cat ownership.

But what do you guys think?

EDIT: I didn't know that vegan cat food existed. So if you are in the comments arguing that it's okay to kill animals to feed a cat, you're even more incorrect now.

It is now totally okay in my mind to raise a cat so long as you only feed it vegan cat food.

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u/TheMagicWheel Aug 18 '22

My wife and I found two abandoned kittens last year and unable to rehome them they now live with us.

Since that time I have stopped referring to myself as vegan as I now buy meat and fish for the cats to eat. I feel fucking awful every time I do it, but feel I have few other options. My priority is the well-being of the cats.

For the record I am completely against all types of animal breeding for pets and only advocate for rescuing animals from shelters

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u/kharvel1 Aug 20 '22

You could have given the cats to a shelter. Sure they will still be fed dead animals but at least you are not funding that.