There are some Vegans out there that don't seem to have health problems feeding their cats vegan diets, but I'm not too sure it's really a GOOD thing to do to a cat, being, like you said, carnivores themselves. I definitely would not want to press my luck with turning a FELV+ cat vegan, it's just not healthy for any cat, much less a immune compromised one. That being said, I think you're right on target with that aspect. A/D is a food commonly prescribed to sick cats to get something into them, or for cats that have been off food, because it is bland and doesn't upset their stomachs. If he's not sick, I see no reason to feed it. It's diet food, and expensive for you to buy at your vet's office, I am sure (which may be part of why they are selling it to you). Many of the premium brands make canned as well as dry food. I feed dry kibble free choice 24/7 in a autofeeder. It holds a gallon of kibble at once, so they never run out. I feed canned food as a treat only, because my cats are all fat (or tend towards it). If you are vegan, it's likely that you've been in a few natural food stores or co-ops. Many of those sell the good quality premium cat foods, such as Innova. I know my local co-op sells it here, and they cater to vegan/vegetarian/all natural types of people.
One thing you should know about cats in general: Watch your choice of toys. String, yarn, and ribbon are all potentially deadly toys. If the cat (or your dogs even) eats it, it can get twisted up in the intestine, and cause it to tie up, and that's quite deadly. Put any string type toys away in a safe drawer when not actively playing with your cat with them, never let them chew on it on their own. I've also had cats grab for a bell and get their claw into the little hole, and then slide down into the slot where it narrows, and get their claw trapped in it. It's not harmful really, but it freaks them out, and makes them panic, and could cause them to hurt themselves trying to get it off (or cause you to hurt him trying to get it off of him). I remove bells from toys that come with bells and throw them in the trash now. You can buy all kinds of cool (and safe) cat toys online here: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2002+2011 One of my cat's favorite toys are the plastic seal rings off of gallons of milk, sunny delight, and frozen concentrated orange juice. Yes, the little plastic things that show it hasn't been previously opened! They also like the furry mice with feather tails, but being vegan, that might be a bit too "dead animal product" for you (being fur and feathers). Wadded up balls of aluminum foil to make 1 inch balls also seems to be a good homemade toy. And, the all time grossest homemade cat toy: hairballs. Human hairballs, that is. Get all your and your roommates hairbrushes (assuming you have longer hair), and clean all the loose hair out of them, wad it up into the palm of your hand, add a little bit of spit, and rub your hands together in a circle like you are trying to warm them up until it wads up into a tight little ball. Man, they LOVE hairballs. Jenn http://ucat.us http://ucat.us/domesticcatlinks.html Adopt a cat from UCAT rescue: http://ucat.us/adopt.html Adopt a FIV+ cat: http://ucat.us/AWrescue/FIV/ Adopt a FELV+ cat: http://ucat.us/FELVadopt.html "Saving one animal won't make a difference in the world, but it will make a world of difference for that one animal." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I collect KMR kitten formula labels for Bazil, a 3 yr old special needs cat who must live on a liquid diet for the rest of his life. Bazil's caretaker collects labels and sends them to KMR, where they add up until she earns a free can of formula! PLEASE save your KMR kitten formula labels for Bazil! If you use KMR, even just one can, please email me for the NEW address to send them to! -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.4/176 - Release Date: 11/20/2005
