A cat foster family fed their foster cat a vegan diet. This is extraordinary because people who wish to become cat foster carers are vetted by rescue organizations for their suitability. They are cat lovers and of course they are at least guided and in some cases trained and managed to provide a high standard of care to foster cats.
In this rare instance something went very wrong. The Love Your Feral Felines (LYFF) rescue in Fallbrook, California posted on their Facebook page on May 7th that they ‘suffered a difficult and entirely preventable loss. One of our long-term kitties was switched to a vegan diet by his foster family..’
This obviously happened without the approval and knowledge of LYFF. In fact LYFF say they provide their fosters with well-balanced diets. I wonder if they actually provide the food or just the knowhow. For newcomers to cat diets, cats are carnivores and their diet needs to be carefully controlled. One vital ingredient is taurine.
The poor cat, Zane, died as a consequence because his organs shut down. A vegan diet for a cat is a death sentence. The vegan diet lacks essential nutrients which sustain a cat’s life. The cat will die. It is as stark as that.
What is extraordinary is that this was not even a vegetarian diet but a full blown vegan diet. It could not be more extreme.
Note: The comments say that cats can survive on a vegan diet. Yes, provided it contains the right added nutrients. But a genuine human vegan diet will not sustain a cat.
Cat Foster Family Fed Their Foster Cat A Vegan Diet – It Is A Crime
The family who decided to provide their foster cat with a vegan diet have committed a crime if one is brutally honest. It has to be a crime under California animal welfare law. No one has been prosecuted I suppose for obvious reasons; to keep it quiet but why then did LYFF post on Facebook?
The woman or man who decided to do this is probably vegan herself but it is immoral and ignorant to impose that diet on a cat especially when they must have known it was forbidden by LYFF.
Without wishing to play the blame game, it would seem to me that LYFF may be vicariously liable for committing the crime of their foster family.
Anyway it’s bad news and sad news. This cat foster family fed their foster cat a vegan diet and it must have been apparent that Zane was falling ill. Surely they could have taken preventative action at that point. I hate to say it but it does seem that LYFF were not involved enough in their foster family in carrying out inspections and so on. However perhaps a visitor might like to add some information about how such events are typically prevented.
Hi Michael, Instead of spreading false news maybe you should have reached out to LYFF to ask for the real details or maybe posted the truth as it was written in the post? The purpose of LYFF sharing on Facebook was written in the post- the point was to educate the public so another cat wouldn’t have to suffer like poor Zane. The post clearly states that all supplies are PROVIDED. Like most rescues, every foster does an orientation where the stardard of care is outlined in detail. Maybe you should have reached out to the source instead of making so many supositions…
Couldn’t say it better, Jane.
Kit, you nailed it.
This idiocy makes me seethe.
VEGANS/ANYONE Please note…
If you are tempted to force a vegan diet on a species for which it is fatal, it’s time to look into fostering/caring for pet rocks instead.
I am not having a big dig at vegans, as a vegetarian I admire your commitment & how veganism extends to so many aspects of sustaining our world. But these days information is everywhere, about anything you might wish to learn about. There is simply no excuse for feeding an obligate carnivore a diet that will kill it.
Poor puss, I’m so sorry that your foster people chose to kill you in pursuit of their ideology.
I have to say well said Irish. It is as if they are fanatics about veganism and that they are unwilling to be flexible even for their cat. They must know cats are obligate carnivores. Perhaps they don’t realise that cats must have certain nutrients not in a vegan diet.
I’m bloody livid,cats cannot be vegan and I’m sick of vegans pushing their diets onto cats,there is currently a Fennec Fox whose idiot owner that has it on a vegan diet,if it is still alive then it is suffering,this is why vegans and I dont mix,some wont even own a cat because they have to have meat,I wish the names of the fosters were made public.