The most common ingredient in pet feed is...

[SpecterOhPossum]

Again, this is making the assumption that a person is sacrificing their pet by feeding them normal cat food. I'm challenging that assumption.

You are, biologically and literally just.. Logically. But I presume this is going to require a few more years of premature feline death statistics to become a more popular theory. What is defined as... Normal catfood is really itching my brain here. You mean dry friskies or nine lives? What's.. NOT normal catfood? lol.. Confused.

This wouldn't have less of an environmental effect, or even be cheaper really. Mass-raising rodents would have the same environmental impact per-pound as mass-raising chickens, perhaps more, as mammals spend more time pregnant and baby mammals must stay with their mothers instead of being shipped off as soon as they hatch.

What's the source of this claim; regarding rodents in particular?
Most reputable reptile oweners (or...most logical & savy ones) breed their own rodents themselves rather than buying from chain stores.

 

[Willowy]

Most reputable reptile oweners (or...most logical & savy ones) breed their own rodents themselves rather than buying from chain stores.

Yes, and this is known to cost more than buying from mass producers and is done mainly for quality control reasons (I have snakes. Rats cost $2.50 each from Big Cheese, plus shipping (adds about a dollar per rat). I'm fairly sure I couldn't raise a rat for 6 weeks for only $3.50. They buy bulk feed and have bulk caging). Raising more than a few feeders takes considerable resources. Keep in mind that one needs a fairly large breeding population to maintain a consistent supply.

Do you think raising rodents would take fewer resources than raising chickens? How did you come to that conclusion?

But I presume this is going to require a few more years of premature feline death statistics to become a more popular theory.

My first cats lived to be 21 on dry Friskies, back when it used to contain ethoxyquin. I just lost one at age 20 who came with the house, I know they fed her the cheapest dry food possible (they left a bag of Meow Mix for her) and I fed her Fancy Feast for the last 5 years. They were all healthy until their last months. I'm not sure how much longer they could have lived. What do you consider premature death?

What is defined as... Normal catfood is really itching my brain here. You mean dry friskies or nine lives? What's.. NOT normal catfood? lol.. Confused

Yeah, normal isn't a good word to use. Do you prefer "average"?