Many of the pets in the North Carolina sangha are vegetarian (as are, apparently, Dharma's dogs), so I thought I would try to Kirby on board.
I ordered a sample of Evolution Diet, which is meant to be "the greenest, cleanest, cruelty-free and lowest in C02, CH4, heavy metal contamination and emissions since 1989." It's also supposed to keep the pets healthy and make them live a long, long time.
As soon as I got the stuff home, I sneaked some of it into Kirby's regular food, which is a prescription-only kibble designed to keep his kidneys healthy.
It seems that he noticed the new food, and tried to remove it.
So then I went to Plan B.
I decided to do a side-by-side taste test, and let Kirby vote with his mouth.
The old food is on the left, and the new food is on the right.
Guess which one won?!
Sure, the old food won this round.
But it ain't over yet.
We're going to have one more go at it, now that I read the following on the Evolution Diet website:
Q. How hard is it to switch a Dog, Cat or Ferret to Evolution Diet?
A. Easy, Easy, Easy! Just fast the animal for 1 or 2 days and then offer Evolution Diet as the only food. This will help detox your pet and reduce the risk of vomiting or diarrhea which is so common when changing to a new food.
VERY funny. good luck. my cats refuse certain kinds of food. usually the most expensive ones. had to chuck a 4 lb $25 bag of specialty food (not veggie cause cats are carnivores) because they actually went on a hunger strike & were constantly yelling at me.
ReplyDeletehere's something interesting that explains the reasons why they can't be veg. apart from needing over 30% protein in the diet, there are more reasons. personally i would re-think that idea.
http://www.essentialvegetarian.com/2007/07/08/7-reasons-why-your-cat-cannot-be-vegetarian/
just because that veg food claims your cat will live forever does not mean it's true. kirby knows.
I feel like it's my job to at least give it a try. But Kirby is, indeed, the ultimate *decider.*
ReplyDeleteI've bought wheat grass for Mooshi... from the farmer's market. There are all these pix of cats going crazy for it. Mooshi? Nope. I put it next to his food & he didn't touch it. I tried putting pieces in his food (as was suggested), and he managed to filter it out.
ReplyDeleteit's not ahimsa to deny kirby his natural diet. it's like feeding pork to an elephant. i met a vegan buying raw rodent based food for his 17 year old kidney damaged cat. he nursed him back to strong health on this diet (rodents make sense, right?) also using spirulina. there are some new studies being done on this. it's working wonders for animals & people. no uric acid-VERY alkaline. changes the coat, the energy & helps the kidneys function well (his was on dialysis & is no longer) i did some google research. it's all true.
ReplyDeleteCats need meat!
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha easy easy easy just fast your pet...
ReplyDeleteI know of several vegetarian dogs who seem very healthy but have never had a veggie pet so...
I know I'm late posting to this, but it's not healthy to deny your cat food. I read somewhere that cats need to eat everyday and if they don't it's a sign that they are sick and need to go to the vet.Dogs on the other hand can go 24 hrs without eating and still be okay.
ReplyDeleteMunkin
I should change the title of the post to the great cat-food DEBATE of 2010.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to force Kirby to fast. His Indian name may be Hari Om, but I don't want to put him through that.