burgundia wrote:I wish there was a solution...even if we stop, our pets won't.
Straw-Eating Lions and Vegetarian Cats
from the April 14, 2009 A cat in Tasburgh, England, has become relatively famous for his peculiar cuisine choices; he refuses to
eat meat. Since his owner Becky Page rescued the starved kitten from an alley two years ago, she has only been able to get him to
eat fruits and vegetables. Cat experts are befuddled by this vegetarian feline, but kitty Dante may not be so strange after all. Perhaps Dante is simply a genetic throwback to the days before the Flood and a precursor to what carnivores will be like in the Millennium.
After Becky Page, 21, brought home little Dante two years ago, she proceeded to try to fatten him on chicken and fish and tuna. Dante just turned up his nose at the stuff. Instead, he chowed down on a dish of leftover vegetables he found near her kitchen garbage. Now Dante only eats fruits and vegetables, which Page raises herself. He won't touch canned cat food.
Dante's tastes go beyond mere finicky feline syndrome; he simply should not exist. Cats do not usually have the choice to go vegan because they are obligate carnivores. That is, they must
eat meat to survive. Felines have a high protein requirement, and they need certain nutrients like taurine and cobalamin (Vitamin B12) which come from
meat. Cats are the only mammals incapable of synthesizing the organic acid taurine and must obtain it from animal flesh or supplements. Without sufficient taurine, cats can eventually lose hair and teeth, develop heart disease, and go blind. While
meat is its best source, Vitamin B12 can also be found in eggs and milk, and is necessary for the healthy functioning of the brain and nervous system. A cat simply cannot thrive on a vegan diet.
Dante is therefore an aberration in the Cat Family. "I admit he has a very, very unique appetite," Page acknowledged, "but he's certainly healthy."
Sarah Medway, who runs a web site dedicated to cat behavior, said "I have never heard of a purely vegetarian cat. Nutritionally cats need to
eat meat to survive.”
Yet, Dante is not absolutely alone. Many years ago, Georges and Margaret Westbeau of western Washington adopted a newborn lioness they named Little Tyke. When it was time to wean her, the Westbeaus were surprised that the growing cub refused to
eat meat. She'd reject milk if it had even a drop of blood in it
read on: 
http://www.khouse.org/enews_article/2009/1449/print/Love Always
mudra
[55%] 
