Vegetarians who have cats, if you had to kill to feed your cat would you do so?

Question

I ask this because many of us still do not really understand on a visceral level what truly is in those cans and bags and at what price they came. Packaging can be a mental anaspetic.

The larger moral question this begs is is a cat inherently more valuable than a chicken, cow, fish, etc? Basically an exponential amount of lives are taken simply to care for an animal that is associated with needing meat for survival. How can the lives of many other animals be worth less than a single animal?

This is especially in light that if large enough efforts where taken could theoretical be fed vegan. The products and testimonies are out there. I'm not saying it is easy or cheap but that these other beings also need our love and attention. Nepotism is a danger we all must be aware of.

Answer 1

why not let the cat go to let it get its own food...almost all cats would...im vegan but wouldnt even consider turning my pets vegan because they are natural carnivors. They wouldnt survive without meat unlike humans who may be natural omnivors but can live on a vegan lifesyle and eat different kinds of things than most animals...Im all for animals and totaly agree with you on the aspect that one life is equal to another but they eat meat naturaly...and i try to do my part by not eating other creatures and taking care of my body and pets...

(my pets are dogs btw...)

Answer 2

IF I HAVE TO CHOSE I RATHER NOT HAVE ANY ANIMAL

Answer 3

I don't see my cat killing a chicken or a cow, but I'm sure he would if he could - but he can kill all the squirrels, chipmunks, snakes, mice, grasshopers he can find.  My cat is also a supporter of social cat-pitalism ...he believes in sharing the cat-food wealth.

Answer 4

As is stated here every day, it's about doing what you can.  I feed my cat a cat food from Whole Foods made from certified organic free range chicken, with no pesticides, hormones, antibiotics etc.

And yes, my cat is inherently more valuable (value being a subjective thing) for the simple reason that she is MY cat, and has been for eighteen years.

Answer 5

Cats are carnivores.

So are humans.

Answer 6

Yes, I would. Cats are biological carnivores and your compassion for animals isn't going to change that.

Answer 7

Dude, the cat is going to kill those animals in the wild anyway, so how is it a moral dilemma to feed your cat meat?

It would be immoral to NOT feed the cat meat. What are you suggesting that we do differently?

Answer 8

I would let him run loose to eat mice, grasshoppers and birds.

EDIT  I have killed to feed me so it would not bother me to kill for those I care for.

Answer 9

I think it's a very difficult question to answer. I don't own a cat, but if I did I imagine I would be attached to it and love and care for it. Cats are carnivorous by nature so I don't think it is fair to force your morals or dietary requirement upon them. I think we can make more ethically informed choices by choosing free range meat or wild caught fish rather than support factory farming and the pet food industry. I just don't think it is fair to make a naturally carnivorous animal live on an unnatural diet.

I think you've raised a very interesting point about the inherent value of two different species. It reminds me of a Tom Regan line of philosophical reasoning. The question of inherent value is complex, can we really say the intrinsic value of a worm is equal to the intrinsic value of say an elephant? I think no matter how much we really want to apply the principle of equality of interests, in practice it's not always possible. I believe deep down there's a bit of a speciest in all of us.

Perhaps we should be questioning pet ownership in general. Is it right to even have them in the first place. I think the best thing we can do is try to choose more ethically sourced products rather than force cats on a vegan diet.

But to answer your question, no I don't think I could kill an animal my self. I do know what goes on in that can of cat food, but I couldn't do it my self.

Answer 10

No, I wouldn't.  I don't live in an area where allowing the cats to feed wild is possible.  I'm a bird lover too, and I have lizards in my yard!  Another no to your question, is a cat -- or dog -- worth more than a chicken, cow, sheep, fish, etc.

I'd have serious reservations about switching a pet over to a vegetarian diet at this point, or ever, but in truth it's not something I've ever explored in detail.  I've always been careful not to impose my own beliefs on others, but then again the environmental and moral consequences of keeping domestic animals is something that will have to be addressed as the world population continues to swell and resource allocations shift.

Sounds like I've got some homework to do to get up to speed on this.