# feed me meat! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2000, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044 "2000-06-20T22:36:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2000, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/1 "2000-06-20T22:36:19Z")
I have seen ads in Vegetarian Times for vegetarian food for cats and dogs. I don’t think this is healthy for the animals. I mean, they do need meat, yes? Next thing you know, they will refuse to wear leather collars! ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2000, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/2 "2000-06-20T22:48:06Z")
Well, dogs and cats certainly have the teeth of a carnivore. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2000, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/3 "2000-06-20T23:50:29Z")
Cats need meat, dogs don’t. I don’t remember why, but I’m sure someone does. I’m sure some macho dog owners are going to disagree with me, but I’m pretty sure I’m right. Maybe I’ll look for a cite. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2000, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/4 "2000-06-20T23:55:11Z")
**Cecil Adams** on [Can you feed dogs and cats a vegetarian diet?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/960426.html). Thanks for refreshing my memory, **mangeorge**. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/5 "2000-06-21T00:09:55Z")
We used to know a vegetarian who fed his cats only fish. They were mangy-looking beggars, but I don’t know if it had anything to do with the diet. Anybody else know? ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/6 "2000-06-21T00:21:34Z")
Re feeding a cat only fish. I know that a cat can’t live on fish alone. The miss out on some vitamin that they really need. I can’t think of what it is off the top of my head but I am sure that someone else knows. I did know someone who wouldn’t feed their dog meat. The dog seemed pretty healthy and happy to me. He use to get grapes instead of dog treats and would eat them like candy. ---
**Author:** ![Indiana\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/0ea827/32.png) [@Indiana\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indiana_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/7 "2000-06-21T14:52:33Z")
If I remember correctly dogs do have teeth that can handle vegetable matter, but cats do not. Being a vegetarian is a choice a person can make, and humans are omnivores and have a lot of flexibilty in what they eat. However, many animals are not so flexible in their diets and I think it is irresponsible to feed your pet improperly just to satisfy your conscience. ---
**Author:** ![shagadelicmysteryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@shagadelicmysteryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shagadelicmysteryman)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/8 "2000-06-21T15:32:55Z")
Why not feed an animal something it will eat? My two shar-peis are more or less carnivores, they eat Ol’ Roy dog food which is primarily meat, they also eat what ever meat we cook, and they catch animals and attempt to eat them,(rabbits, etc. though i try to stop them. They could get a disease.) But anyways, dogs teeth are just like ours, not designed for one type of thing, but for both vegetables and meat. My dogs will, however eat cornbread, beans, and bread, but they’ve never eaten vegetables i’ve tried to give to them. I’m an omnivore, I like tender juicy porterhouses, and blackened salmon ain’t too bad either. I don’t mind a good hamburger every now and then either, but red meat isn’t too good for ya if you eat a lot of it. Just one thing I don’t like about vegetarians. You run into a few obnoxious ones every now and then. So i’m setting there in the resturant trying to eat a steak and they make a smart ass glib remark like, “I hope you think about that innocent cow.” I never bother them about being vegans, why bother me? Another thing that bothers me is these extremist vegetarians that go out in the woods the first day of deer season with frying pans and beat them together to scare the deer off. Why do they do that, I don’t go out into their gardens and beat pans together to scare off their lettuces or carrots do I? Sorry to go off the subject. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/9 "2000-06-21T19:05:31Z")
If someone’s that concerned about animal rights, why do they have a pet in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/10 "2000-06-21T20:11:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Just one thing I don’t like about vegetarians. You run into a few obnoxious ones every now and then. So i’m setting there in the resturant trying to eat a steak and they make a smart ass glib remark like, “I hope you think about that innocent cow.” I never bother them about being vegans, why bother me? > \*\* I like to reply, “I figured it was too late to save **this** cow, so why let its death be in vain?” I remember seeing this exchange in the comic strip “Dave,” which sadly no longer appears in the _Dallas Morning News_: Stranger (to Dave, who is preparing to chow down on a big greasy cheeseburger): “Are you aware of the long-term health risks associated with eating red meat?” Dave: “Yes. Are you aware of the short-term health risks associated with lecturing strangers?” ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/11 "2000-06-21T21:36:34Z")
The Ryan: good point! ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2000, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/12 "2000-06-21T22:10:02Z")
Personally, I hope PETA extends this practice to heading out into the savannah and trying to get the lions to eat veggie-hyena. It would be so deliciously ironic for a PETA member to meet his/her end as food for a hungry animal. I guess this isn’t really helping this stay in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/13 "2000-06-22T17:30:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Why not feed an animal something it will eat? My two My dogs will, however eat cornbread, beans, and bread, but they’ve never eaten vegetables i’ve tried to give to them. > > \*\* My dogs happily eat vegetables, raw or cooked - they particularly like raw carrots, probably because they can leave small pieces of chewed, but not swallowed, carrot all over the carpet…(yes, they do eat most of it, but the bits they leave seem to spread!) I used to try to persuade one of my veggie friends that vegetable could feel pain when plucked/leaves hacked off & that the sap was them bleeding & she should become a mineralist if she was that worried… Fi, confirmed omnivore. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/14 "2000-06-22T17:40:17Z")
My parents used to have a dog that would sit up and beg for raw cabbage. The dog previous to that was allergic to the preservatives in dog food and lived her whole long life on “people food.” One of her favorites was beef stew, naturally. She would eat the meat, carrots, celery and onions, but when she finished there was always a little collection of potato cubes in the bottom of her bowl, carefully licked clean of all gravy. The dog they have now loves fruit, especially apples and grapes. And don’t even try to eat any peanuts when she is in the room. ---
**Author:** ![Mousseduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@Mousseduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mousseduck)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/15 "2000-06-22T17:55:27Z")
My dogs diet consists of mince, pasta, rice, vegetables and dog biscuits, with the mince only being about a quarter of her whole meal. She seems perfectly healthy, but I wouldn’t cut meat out of her diet altogether. She also yaps at me if I eat apples or oranges until I give her some too, so she seems to like fruits and vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Sledman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Sledman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sledman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/16 "2000-06-22T19:23:05Z")
These two animals are both predators which means they are meat eaters. Could a dog survive without meat…yes. But be damn careful that the diet is balanced. I would think that the proper authority on such a question would be a vet. Any vets out there??? ---
**Author:** ![lindsay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@lindsay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsay)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2000, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feed-me-meat/23044/17 "2000-06-23T01:08:24Z")
Cats and dogs are carnivores, they would starve to death on a vegetarian regime. Not to say they don’t like veggies, some cats like tomato, eggs, just about anything from anchovies to olives, but they definitely need meat to live.