Dr. Marty Becker
Tara Baxter and his wife Heidi eat a vegan diet, and it was important to them that their pet be vegan too. They live with their senior New Zealand white rabbit bunny, Emmeline. Like them, Emmeline eats outside from the produce section.
People who follow vegetarian or vegan diets usually do so out of ethical concerns regarding health, livestock welfare, or environmental sustainability. Pets cannot make such choices and not all people are suitable for it.
For dogs and cats, feeding a plant-based diet is controversial. Cats are obligate carnivores and must include meat in their diet in order to thrive. Dogs are thought to be facultative carnivores, with their teeth designed to crush, cut, grind, slice and hold meat, and their digestive tracts more suited to digesting meat than plants. It is suitable. .
A review of 16 studies on the effects of vegan diets on the health of dogs and cats was published last January in the journal Veterinary Medicine (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9860667). Although the researchers found little evidence of adverse effects, all but two studies had sample sizes limited to between two and 34 animals, and most lasted only a few weeks to a few months. He noted that there was little time for nutritional deficiencies to become apparent.
If you want a vegetarian pet, avoid cats, dogs, snakes, and insectivorous amphibians and lizards, says veterinarian Stephen Divers, professor of small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Commercial pellets are difficult to induce in amphibians and lizards because their feeding response is often stimulated by prey movement,” he says. “Even if we came up with an alternative diet, which I think would be difficult, getting the animals to accept it would be a big challenge.”
If you've ever seen a dog nibbling or gnawing on a carrot, carefully picking out the tender shoots of grass, you know that dogs are omnivorous. While it may be possible to maintain a dog on a vegetarian diet, trying to maintain a cat on anything other than complete and balanced cat food is a mistake and is likely to cause serious health problems. says Divers.
Fortunately, if you want to feed your pet a meat-free diet, eating lots of animals with fur, feathers, and scales is a good option. These include rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, birds, turtles, and lizards such as green iguanas, chuckwallas, and spiny dragons.
• rabbit. Fresh timothy hay should be the staple food. It's rich in fiber and is good for your rabbit's teeth, digestion, and weight management. Mixed leafy greens like kale, dandelion, cilantro, parsley, spinach, romaine, and red leaf lettuce also make great additions. Estimate 1 cup for every 2 pounds of your rabbit's weight. Contrary to popular belief, carrots are not good for rabbits. Commercial pellets make up only a small percentage of a rabbit's diet.
• Guinea pigs, hamsters, chinchillas. These furry herbivores eat pelleted food appropriate for their species, fresh hay, and small amounts of fresh greens and greens each day. Guinea pigs require vitamin C supplements.
• Mice and rats. Rodents often eat hay and fresh vegetables in addition to species-specific pelleted food to encourage chewing for dental health.
• bird. There are no seeds! Birds need fresh fruits and vegetables in addition to pelleted food to meet their nutritional needs. Seed-only diets are high in fat and do not meet the bird's dietary requirements. Avoid avocados as they are toxic to birds.
• tortoise. These reptiles eat a daily diet of spring mix, dark leafy vegetables, flowers, and timothy or alfalfa hay. They also enjoy fruit once or twice a week and eat pelleted turtle food.
• Iguanas, spiny dragons and chuckwallas. Herbivorous reptiles primarily eat dark leafy vegetables, but small amounts of fruits, flowers, and yellow, red, and orange vegetables may also be included in their diet.
Consult your veterinarian for recommendations on the appropriate proportions and types of hay, greens, fruits, and supplements for each pet.
Have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker. Pet Connection is produced by veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker, journalist Kim Campbell Thornton, and dog trainer and behavior consultant Mikkel Becker. ©2024 Andrews McMeel Syndicate
