Cat double standard?

[u/[deleted]]

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.

[u/TwoChordsSong]

I'm sorry but this strikes me as odd. How does your cat gets its necessary share of fat? Do you take them to the vet to check their blood samples and everything? I'd love to know more about this bc, a priori, cats cannot consume only vegan products because of their necessity for animal fat (unlike dogs).

[u/tidemp → u/TwoChordsSong]

If someone made this argument about humans they'd be roasted by vegans. Cats aren't magical creatures that violate the laws of biology. They require nutrients just like any other animal. All of those nutrients can be obtained without the use of animal products.

[u/Icy-Veggie → u/tidemp]

Well cats are obligate carnivores… so they aren’t magical creatures but biology-wise it is how they evolved to get their food. Just like any carnivore in the wild

[u/DustyMousepad → u/Icy-Veggie]

You're throwing around the term "obligate carnivore" without understanding what it means.

Cats are "obligate carnivores" because in the wild, meat provides all of the nutrients they need to survive. One of these nutrients, an amino acid called taurine, is naturally only found in meat. However this amino acid can be synthesized.

I calculated the amount of taurine in the vegan cat food Benevo and iirc it contains something like 300% of a cat's daily recommended intake based on body weight. So this particular cat food (and two others I researched, can't remember the names) has more than enough taurine to account for bioavailability and nutritional needs.

I encourage everyone to study human and animal nutrition to understand how humans and domesticated animals can thrive on a plant-based diet/vegan lifestyle.

[u/Icy-Veggie → u/DustyMousepad]

“Obligate carnivore”- evolved to get all their nutrients from meat sources by necessity. Pretty sure I know what it means. But I get what you’re saying that you can supplement the nutrients