Something I've been supporting for years with keeping cats is troubling me.......

[35 year catdad]

Its the cruel factory farm raising of chickens and turkeys etc All the large feed companies care about is profit....and not happy birds raised in good conditions.
I was checking out PETA or was it Animal Legal Defense Fund's website where I saw a huge football field sized indoor factory farm where thousands of chickens where crammed together so close all I could see was a white floor of poor chickens. Oh yeah they are cage free!
They are sentient beings like the cats we feed them to. Arrrgh this is a tough one for me. I do realize cats are obligate carnivores and need to eat meat.

I wonder how much more it would cost to feed my cats only humanely raised chickens? In dry food or wet. Birds free to roam outside and eat grass and live bugs instead of corn and yes even arsenic is used legally in chicken feed since the forties to fatten them up (and poison us and our pets).
I wish someone could engineer a healthy vegan cat diet but I think that's impossible. Or is it? Sounds like another thread? take care and be safe!

 

[Caspers Human]

The population of the world was approximately one billion people in the year 1800.

In the year 1900, it was just under two billion.

In the year 2000, it was a little under eight billion and in the year 2100 the world's population is predicted to double to sixteen billion.

The earth isn't getting any bigger and there aren't any more resources, today, than there was 200 years ago but the earth's population is growing by leaps and bounds.

How do we solve the problem of feeding ten billion people and all of their pets?

 

[Azazel]

I make my own raw cat food (check the homemade raw sub forum) and I buy my turkey from a local organic turkey farm. The chicken is also brought in by my butcher from a local organic farm. They do also get a small canned meal from time to time which is Feline Natural from New Zealand. I believe they have more humane laws around animal produce there and the proteins I buy are grass fed lamb and venison. I have 3 cats and it currently costs me about $50 a month to feed each cat (there are also some upfront costs with doing homemade raw when you order all of the supplements and meat grinder).

No, cats can’t be vegans unfortunately. The “obligate” in the obligate carnivore designation means that they can’t obtain the nutrients they need without animal protein. I am also strongly against forcing carnivores to be vegans or vegetarians due to a problem that we humans created.

 

[Willowy]

"Organic" doesn't mean a whole lot, you want it to be a true free-range farm if at all possible. That would take some personal investigating because "free-range" also doesn't mean a whole lot, legally. Go look at the farm yourself, that's the only way to know for sure.

If raising them yourself is an option, that's probably best. You won't be able to produce meat anywhere close to the price you'll pay in a store; mass production and farm subsidies are the only reason most people can afford meat. But at least you'd know how they lived and died.

 

[Azazel]

"Organic" doesn't mean a whole lot, you want it to be a true free-range farm if at all possible. That would take some personal investigating because "free-range" also doesn't mean a whole lot, legally. Go look at the farm yourself, that's the only way to know for sure.

If raising them yourself is an option, that's probably best. You won't be able to produce meat anywhere close to the price you'll pay in a store; mass production and farm subsidies are the only reason most people can afford meat. But at least you'd know how they lived and died.

I go directly to the farm and buy the turkey. I have visited it and seen how they are raised.
I trust my butcher and know the farm that he orders from.

 

[fionasmom]

I believe it is the ASPCA has posted on their website what all the labels that we see in markets mean....like free range, humanely raised, organic, natural....and they don't all mean that the chicken has had a great life. You really have to do research if you want to know what to buy from the most humane perspective.

I have always prepared food for whatever dog we have owned, or dogs I should say, but have not done that for cats as I am concerned about supplementation and also do believe that cats are carnivores, so would never try the vegan route for a cat.

When I open a can of chicken cat food, I always think about where the meat came from, meaning conditions of the animal who gave his life for the can of cat food. The good news and the bad news is that all my cats hate anything but fish, so I console myself that there is not "that much" chicken in their diet, and no beef etc.

With work, it is possible to feed a pet animal a very humanely raised carnivorous diet, but it takes a lot of footwork. To be honest, the price is not that bad, as premium cat and dog food is very expensive and if you are feeding a small number of animals, the price of good humanely raised, organic chicken won't be the deal breaker. But you do need a good reliable recipe which provides complete nutrition for your cat.

I should add that none of my dogs have ever had cancer except for the present one who fell victim to melanoma which is not a dietary related cancer especially in a dog with a great deal of melanin in the skin in the first place.

 

[35 year catdad]

Thanks for the replies. Based on a reply in another thread... I've checked out Kasiks, Ziwipeak, and Acana and amazed at the prices.
5.5oz cans are $2.50 each and I see 5lbs of dry chicken based for about $60
Time to find a ranch and grow my own I guess. Maybe I'll start a rodent farm and attract birds and let nature unfold?
Sadly 90% of most wild animals that eat rodents have rodenticides in them. But thats another thread....

 

[35 year catdad]

The population of the world was approximately one billion people in the year 1800.

In the year 1900, it was just under two billion.

In the year 2000, it was a little under eight billion and in the year 2100 the world's population is predicted to double to sixteen billion.

The earth isn't getting any bigger and there aren't any more resources, today, than there was 200 years ago but the earth's population is growing by leaps and bounds.

How do we solve the problem of feeding ten billion people and all of their pets?

I had no kids, drive all electric since 2015 , and try to leave a very small footprint here on our tiny globe. Consume less, go solar,wind.and just consume less stuff. To save $$ to help cats.
Now I just need someone to care for my when I'm drooling.......at age 106
Spay neuter and don't buy from breeders uh oh I made some enemies. Hope not.

 

[35 year catdad]

I go directly to the farm and buy the turkey. I have visited it and seen how they are raised.
I trust my butcher and know the farm that he orders from.

GREAT idea! darn it my kitchen is tiny, I dont like cooking, and I spend too much time on this keyboard.
If I raised fowl I would not want to kill them and probably invite them in the house. Chickens love to be held, recognize each others faces.
And are smart sentient little creatures. Too bad we couldnt trap rats and mice and not worry about neighbors poisoning them.
Oh yeah rats are smart too, always cleaning themselves, and I once had one "Ratical" who was almost Boa food but became a pet instead. Would scratch on my bathroom door to be let in. See what I mean> Its a curse

 

[Azazel]

GREAT idea! darn it my kitchen is tiny, I dont like cooking, and I spend too much time on this keyboard.
If I raised fowl I would not want to kill them and probably invite them in the house. Chickens love to be held, recognize each others faces.
And are smart sentient little creatures. Too bad we couldnt trap rats and mice and not worry about neighbors poisoning them.
Oh yeah rats are smart too, always cleaning themselves, and I once had one "Ratical" who was almost Boa food but became a pet instead. Would scratch on my bathroom door to be let in. See what I mean> Its a curse

Oh I don’t cook the meat.
But yeah, it does take some time and investment to make homemade food, even raw.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah I buy frozen rats for the snakes, but if I bought live ones I'd have a lot of pet rats . So I don't think I could kill chickens either. And there are surprisingly few "homesteader" type farmers around here.

I'm not sure what the equivalent of free-range chickens would be for rodents. All the snake food breeders I know of raise them in tiny cages, which does present ethical concerns.