This article is published on the website for the Ethical Consumer. So why has it appeared as a post on my site? Well….I recently changed my diet from vegetarian to vegan. When I was vegetarian I pondered over feeding my cat vegetarian cat food but decided against it becuase they were ‘old’ rescued cats. Through fear of upsetting their diet resulting in illness or discomfort; I decided against it. Also, I had been told that dogs can raised on a vegetarian diet but cats cannot.  However, now that I’m vegan I’ve found myself thinking about it again!

How can I follow this diet and feed meat to my cat? (If you’ve noticed the change from ‘cats’ to ‘cat’; I now have one cat rather than two). So anyway,  I researched it and found that many animal lovers have given their dogs and cats vegetarian and/or vegan dry food AND wet food. I’ll tell you all about how ‘the change’ went in another post. Regarding, the snippet below; I came across this site and thought it was important to share.

A nation of animal lovers?

Half of all households in the UK own some kind of pet. Lindsay Whalen looks at the environmental and animal issues in the pet food bowl

Despite lots of brands on the supermarket shelves in the UK, the market is dominated by two companies: Mars and NestlÁ©.

NestlÁ©’s irresponsible marketing of breast milk substitutes in the Third World is the primary reason for the longstanding international boycott of its products. The World Health Organisation notes that 1.5 million children die each year because they are not adequately breast-fed.(28) According to the Food Magazine, in February this year, NestlÁ© had promoted formula milk to young Hispanic mothers in America.(29) It had provided free samples, posters and leaflets claiming the benefits of its products in Spanish.(29) The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes states that the “manufacturers and distributors should not distribute to pregnant women or mothers of infants and young children any gifts of articles or utensils which may promote the use of breastmilk substitutes or bottle feeding”. Although America was one of the few countries to have failed to enact laws to enforce the Code, NestlÁ©’s promotion coincided with the government’s first campaign in a century to encourage breastfeeding among low income mothers from ethnic minorities.(29)

Most mainstream pet foods are appealing and addictive for the pets, but an environmental and nutritional horror story. They are packaged in tins, which are inefficient to produce and transport; and contain lots of fat, sugar, salt and fillers. One alternative is to feed your pets fresh, raw food, that is not dried or chemically preserved.

The website www.animalsnaturally.com provides information on ways to feed pets a natural diet. Another sustainable option is buying dry food in bulk that is packaged in cardboard or paper.

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8 Comments

James · September 19, 2008 at 11:53 am

Hi, I found your blog on this new directory of WordPress Blogs at blackhatbootcamp.com/listofwordpressblogs. I dont know how your blog came up, must have been a typo, i duno. Anyways, I just clicked it and here I am. Your blog looks good. Have a nice day. James.

Heena Modi · September 20, 2008 at 2:57 pm

Hi ya. Thanks James 🙂

You know I am having a nice day. It’s sunny and gorgeous outside!

How are you?

Thanks for checking out my blog typo or not

Heena 🙂

Kathryn Holloway · September 20, 2008 at 3:37 pm

Dear Heena,

I’ve read your blog and it’s very interesting. The BUAV works to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals. Although we are sympathetic to all animal welfare and ethical issues, we are only able to campaign on the issues of animal experimentation.

However, I do wish you the best of luck with your campaigning work — the world needs more activists like you to campaign on ethical issues.

If you have any questions or queries regarding the work of the BUAV do get in touch. In the meantime thank you for your support.

Kind regards,
Kathryn

Kathryn Holloway
Supporter Care Officer
BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection)
16a Crane Grove
London N7 8NN
Direct: +44(0) 20 7619 6977
Fax: +44(0) 20 7700 0252
Web: http://www.buav.org

The BUAV Vision is: To create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals

Half the battle to bring an end to animal suffering is funded by gifts in our supporters’ wills. If the time is right for you to put a good cause in your will please remember ours.

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales as The Campaign to End All Animal Experiments (no. 04115167). Registered office address: 16a Crane Grove, London N7 8NN.

Heena Modi · September 20, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Thanks a lot for this message Kathryn.
It’s encouraging, honest re what BUAV get involved in and very sweet of you.

Heena 🙂

BUAV · September 25, 2008 at 1:19 pm

Dear Heena,

It’s great hear that you are looking into feeding your cat the most ethical diet possible. It’s not our policy to link to external blogs at the present time or to be able to comment on ethical issues outside of animal testing in any formal capacity.

We are currently looking into the possibility of relaunching our pet food Standard which we ran in previous years but had to suspend due to needing to plough our resources into key campaign areas.

In the meantime, we do continue to recommend those companies who were formerly approved and who made the commitment in the past. Those companies are:

Burns – http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk (probably the most widely available)

Europa – http://www.europa-pet-food.co.uk

Fromm 01531 633 985

Arbingers of a New Age (VegeCat)Harbingers of a New Age (Vegecat) — available from Vegan Society 01424 427 393

Arden Grange – http://www.ardengrange.com

NatureDiet – 08700 132960

Pero http://www.pero-petfood.co.uk

Top Number – 0800 0182955

Trophy Pet Foods http://www.trophypetfoods.co.uk

With best wishes,

BUAV
Web: http://www.buav.org

The BUAV Vision is: To create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals.

Heena Modi · September 25, 2008 at 2:32 pm

Thanks for all these contacts! 🙂

With regards to relaunching our pet food Standard. That sounds great! If you can, please keep me posted on this?

Thanks
Heena 🙂

Heena Modi » Blog Archive » Can cats and dogs really be veggie or vegan? Should we change their diet? · September 27, 2008 at 3:35 pm

[…] written a post explaining how I came across the info from The Ethical Consumer which is shown below. I have found […]

Heena Modi » Blog Archive » My cat - How the change from meat to vegan diet went. · September 29, 2008 at 5:49 pm

[…] have written a post recently in which I say that I will explain how ‘the change’ has gone for my cat. By […]

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