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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Dogs, cats differ on transitioning to plant-based diet<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>May 1 2015 12:01 am<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Pet Docs<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Question: For ethical reasons, I am a vegetarian. I am the owner of a cat and two dogs. I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>feel very guilty feeding them animal products, but I continue to do so for their<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>health. Can I safely make vegetarians out of them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Answer: The first time I (Henri Bianucci) gave this matter any thought was during my residency.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>One afternoon, while conducting a teaching lab, I heard a student mention that she<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>was a vegetarian. I knew this student, and knew that she had cats.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I asked, “Are you a vegetarian for health reasons, or is it out of concern for animal<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>welfare?”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Animal welfare,” she exclaimed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Well, what do you feed your cats?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Her response surprised me. She broke into tears and upbraided me for putting her<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>in an uncomfortable position in front of her classmates.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I truly asked only because I was interested in how she handled this dilemma. Clearly<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>this was something she had not quite come to terms with. It was a clash between her<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>moral convictions, and the bare necessities of her cats’ nutrition.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>She is not alone. As I mentioned in a recent column, there is a growing awareness<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>in this country that the conditions food animals are subjected to are manifestly<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>cruel. When we consume animal products, we become participants in this. That has<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>driven many to become vegans and vegetarians, and they have extended this practice<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to their pets’ diets as well. Many more are interested in doing so, but can’t quite<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>make the leap, often due to the belief that dogs and cats are, naturally, pure carnivores.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>For cats, this belief is fairly accurate. For example, cats require an amino acid<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>called taurine because their body cannot synthesize (make) it. They can only obtain<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>this from meat sources or supplements. Vitamin B-12, cobalamin, is another nutrient<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>that cats best obtain from meat. Without these vital nutrients cats will develop<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>heart failure, blindness, neurological disease and anemia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Convincing studies that cats can reliably derive these nutrients from plant-based<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>diets are lacking. For this reason, I could only advise that a vegetarian program<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>for cats be implemented under the supervision and monitoring of a qualified veterinarian<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>or veterinary nutritionist.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Dogs are much better candidates for conversion to a plant-based diet. Dogs belong<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to the order carnivora. They descended from the wolf 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So, they are primarily carnivores, but through their association with man, their<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>gastrointestinal tracts have evolved in the direction of the omnivore, and they actually<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>can derive virtually all of their nutritional requirements through a vegetarian diet<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and supplements.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>A 2006 National Research Council report by a team of leading experts in animal nutrition<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>definitively confirmed that a vegetarian diet for dogs is completely healthy as long<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>as it provides adequate protein and vitamin D.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Warren, a black Labrador, was plagued with skin and digestive problems. At the age<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of 1, he was diagnosed with a high-grade cancer and was given no more than a year<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to live. His owner knew he had to act. After painstaking research, he came to the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>conclusion that if his diet wasn’t killing Warren, it certainly wasn’t helping.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He concluded that, aside from ethical concerns about using animals for food, “Commercial<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>dog food is essentially slaughterhouse waste products. It’s disgusting.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He formulated his own vegetarian diet, primarily made up of lentils, basmati rice,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and fresh vegetables. Warren’s skin and intestinal problems resolved almost immediately<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>after implementing the new diet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Warren, now four years out from a terminal cancer diagnosis, came to me for the removal<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of a suspicious mass on his spleen. Before I even knew he was a vegetarian, I was<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>immediately struck by his appearance. He was solid, sharp and had a thick, lustrous,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>black coat. He appeared exceptionally vital, and demonstrated a vertical leap that<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Michael Jordan would envy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He underwent surgery to remove his spleen. After four tense days, the diagnosis returned:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It was a benign hematoma, essentially a pocket of blood. A huge relief to his owner<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and a reason to continue to believe in his dietary choice.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It is a widely held sentiment that its just not natural to deprive a dog of meat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>It is an understandable belief until one really considers what is allowed into a<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>bag of some dog foods. For example, meat is derived from what is known as “The four<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>D’s,” meaning animals arrive at the slaughterhouse dead, diseased, dying or disabled.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In most states, it is legal to use what are otherwise unusable animal parts in pet<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>food. Furthermore, these diets already contain large amounts of plant-based starches<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>from corn and other grains. There is really nothing “natural” about what most dogs<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>consume in commercial foods.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There are commercial vegetarian dog foods, which are nutritionally complete. When<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>selecting these, it is recommended that you select a food that conforms to the standards<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Alternatively,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>you may opt for cooking your own recipe up at home. If so, it is recommended that<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>you consult a credentialed animal nutritionist, or follow a diet that was created<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>by one, to ensure that its nutrients are properly balanced.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>If you are not quite ready to make the full plunge into vegetarianism, you could<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>supplement a conventional commercial diet with plant-based meals.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Dr. Henri Bianucci and Dr. Perry Jameson are with Veterinary Specialty Care LLC.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Send questions to <a href="mailto:petdocs@postandcourier.com">petdocs@postandcourier.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150501/PC12/150509991/1117">http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150501/PC12/150509991/1117</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>