Ethical reasons speak against meat
In Switzerland, the proportion of vegetarians is around 5.8 percent, which makes up around 500,000 people, and the trend is rising. It is above all the ethical reasons that move people to forego meat and not to feed themselves at the expense of other living beings. Even a vegan diet is becoming more and more important and is even being carried over to pets. Experts are of the opinion that meat is generally the wrong diet, after all around 50 percent of the global grain harvest and up to 98 percent of the soy harvest are only used to feed the livestock. Pets are then fed these farm animals and children starve to death for it. Why should pets be given a higher priority than children, who starve to death on a daily basis in developing countries?
Meat-free diet for dogs and cats?
If you have decided for yourself to live as a vegetarian or vegan, you may not want to have any meat in your house at all and as a result you can feed your pets completely meatless. In the case of some animals, it can even be useful if there is an allergy to certain types of meat. If this allergy cannot be put to an end by using other types of meat or insect food, switching to a vegetarian diet can make sense. After all, most meat-eaters, like dogs and cats, are basically omnivores. Wild animals would also eat blackberries and herbs if they were in the prey's stomach! But this is exactly where the rabbit is in the pepper for opponents of vegetarian pet nutrition. The wild animals would only eat plant components in addition and not as a substitute. It has been shown that it would take a dog's digestive tract around 60 years to completely switch from a carnal to a plant-based diet. But no dog gets that old, so the experts are of the opinion that switching to a mere diet with plants is not a good idea. Proponents of vegetarian feeding, on the other hand, see a healthy diet as one that provides the animal with all the nutrients it needs. Allegedly this can also be done by vegetarian food.
Better usable proteins in animal food
There are some nutrients that must be in every food if your dog and cat are to stay healthy. Laypeople should not experiment with whether and when they give certain nutrients, as this can lead to deficiency symptoms in animals. Experts in animal nutrition, on the other hand, see this as critical, because animal proteins are much easier to use for dogs and cats than vegetable proteins. These experts see the ethical rather than the health reasons to feed an animal a vegetarian one. Cats, on the other hand, are pure carnivores and should by no means only be fed purely plant-based. That would lead to deficiency symptoms within a short time. Unlike dogs, they have not adapted to human nutrition and can at least partially digest starch. In addition, a deficiency is not immediately apparent; it is often only noticeable because diseases occur that can even cause irreparable damage.
Whether a diet is species-appropriate or not can only be judged on the basis of the nutrients it contains, which must be in a suitable ratio to one another. A good complete feed is sufficient in most cases. It can also be useful to consult the vet regularly to find out via a blood analysis whether there is a deficiency or whether the diet is balanced enough. If necessary, adjustments must be made.
Conclusion: It is better not to feed pets a vegetarian diet
At this point, it should be noted that dogs and cats should not be fed a vegetarian diet alone, but that the food should always have a balanced ratio of meat and plant proportions. The digestive tract of the animals is not adjusted to a purely plant-based diet. Anyone who still has a guilty conscience towards the farm animals should fall back on meat and feed in organic quality, here at least species-appropriate husbandry and animal-friendly slaughter are ensured.
