Remember the case of the Melbourne vegans who almost killed their kitten by inflicting their beliefs on the poor thing? They’re not the only ones:
A CAN of Whiskas and a cuddle aren’t all that’s expected of the new-age pet owner these days. A growing number of cat and dog owners are extending their ideological food preferences to their pets and raising their four-legged friends as vegans.
Founder and owner of Australia’s first vegan pet-food company, Sandy Anderson, said her customer base had grown by at least 30 per cent a year since she started Veganpet in 2007, despite never having advertised.
“These are people who really care about the environment and their own wellbeing and their cats’ wellbeing too and they are willing to try alternatives,” she said.
This is, not to put too fine a point on it, insane. As the article points out, cats and dogs are “obligate carnivores” who, much like The Prick, need meat to survive. That’s certainly the case with Maggie the Iron Terrier, who subsists on a varied diet of pensioner’s pate, ruinously expensive gourmet doggy treats from the growers’ markets, and all the trimmings and off-cuts she can cadge when we’re cooking.
Yet despite the science, vegan pet owners won’t be swayed:
Filmmaker, spiritual teacher and author of Secret Animal Business Billie Dean feeds the product to her 14 cats and seven dogs on her property in the NSW Southern Tablelands.
“Sandy’s done her research; I feed Veganpet to my cats like a vitamin pill.”
Ms Dean believed commercial pet food was the source of a range of animal illnesses and domestic animals were becoming “intolerant” to meat products.
“I do animal telepathy and I actually tune in and I’ve had cats say to me ‘I’m addicted to this stuff and it’s bad for me and I feel sick’,” she said.
I suspect what the cats are actually saying is, “Give me some damn chicken or I’ll shred more endangered birds than a Hebrides wind farm.”
Prick With A Fork 
“Animal telepathy?” WTF?
More like WTFF, cubed.
When Pet Smart first came out in our area we had the contract to put in their in-store fridges. (Pet Smart is basically 80% meat plus 20% veg binder – mainly rice and carrots. Their pitch is no preservatives or filler.) I could not count the number of people who would comment to me, while we were installing the fridges, that their dog ate better than them. I think they expected me to commiserate with them about that. All I would do is think to myself that any person who feeds their dog better than they feed themselves is a complete and total idiot.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nRSLQu-d6ZQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DnRSLQu-d6ZQ
Where is the RSPCA on this insanity? At least when we make fois gras we feed the goose the right food.
Pet Smart – an oxymoron for pets or their owners? If I have to sit outside another cafe and see fat bloated leotards feeding toasted tidbits of Sonoma to their hairy soul mates (invariably called after some member of the Liberal Party like Spot or Butch)…. I’ll projectile vomit over myself and save them the trouble.
The bean counters say that the annual expenditure on pet food in Europe and the USA is close to $17 billion whereas to bring developing countries up to a basic level of health and nutrition would cost around $13 billion – yes I know pets are great for lonely people and mental health but let’s keep them where they belong – in the backyard waiting to attack small children…or destroying our wildlife.
Clown, it’s not just righties that piss away their money feeding their pampered pooches silly shit. In the U.S. there’s a brand of dog food that describes it’s product like this:
“All of our healthy and holistic dog foods
are made with the finest natural ingredients.”
That’s sure not how you pitch your ground-up cow’s lips and assholes to righties. But lefties, they’ll pay two or three times as much for that stuff. After all, it’s “natural” and “holistic”, little Atticus deserves no less from us, his “pet parents”. (Yes, the company calls them “pet parents” not “pet owners”. I guess because it would make a lefty feel all oogie inside to think that one creature actually “owned” another.)
Basically, there’s conspicuous consumption as practiced by those on the right hand side of the dial and that as practiced by those on the left hand side. It’s just different products, pitched in different ways.
That Billie Dean is a genius – who would have thought that you could make a living from such insane ideas! If only my clients were so gullible. Also, a good point from Al (above) – where is a the RSPCA on this?
Stan.
Dave – get back behind – settle – I wasn’t being politic specific in terms of who pamps their petals as we mostly know stupidity doesn’t have a postcode or one party. I just happen to think that Bad Abbotts looks like a pig dog called Butch and Pyne looks like a poodle called Spot – although when Christoper stands behind his leader he does a damn fine meerkat impersonation.