hahaha I agree. cats have been one of the longest-running struggle sessions within vegan/animal rights circles too, so when i saw this i just popcorned the whole way through. this fucking cat shit again, i had to laugh
omg yeah, sounds like your roommate was also dealing with his cat-induced dissonance. i took in two strays before i went vegan. but i'm honestly not sure if i'd let another in, once my current furry roomates pass on. i go back and forth on it a lot.
for ethical/environmental vegans cats are seriously problematic since they:
are often seen as property - so they hit all "the problems with pets" notes;
must eat meat to be healthy at this point in our pet food technology - so in buying cat food it privileges one life over countless others;
can be less sociable than other house-friendly animals and when left outside can have intense impacts on their immediate environments - same problem as point 2.
That said (like with all domesticated species), we domesticated them millenia ago, made them reliant on us, dramatically altered their natural habitats, removed them from their natural habitats when we exported them all over the world, and don't have sufficient support programs for them in place to ensure consistent humane treatment and access to necessary healthcare. :cat-com:
Doing the best we can to be responsible and eliminate suffering as far is practical and practicable is all we can aim for at the moment!
My cats were also strays (thrown out and left behind by people who moved out of my apartment building) and it really is hard to say given the choice again in the future that i'd do it any different, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I am very concerned about the obligate carnivore aspect, because it is massively hypocritical of me to care so much for one life over other similarly domesticated animals who suffer immeasurably more than my little furballs do. I seriously can't wait to get lab-grown meat for cruelty-free food options for cats and snakes and other domesticated carnivores who rely on human-provided homes through no fault of their own.
omg heartbreak at the frail one. being so skiddish around you + dirty & frail, it would be really hard for me to ignore these warning signs too. someone at an animal shelter told me that the only way to deal with it is you have to tell yourself they're ok. otherwise, it's too much to bear. the shelter is the most responsible move, good on you for taking the time to do it too.
one of my cats had lots of behavioral problems (especially in the beginning). she's been with me 10 years and has since learned to love attention, getting petted/brushed, and recently is even starting to learn to play with toys and random shit around the house. it's been a remarkable transformation honestly. she went from clear neglect and abuse victim to an attached-at-the-hip cuddly happy cat who won't let me out of her sight for a minute. sometimes when i move too suddenly tho, i can see her flinch painfully hard and i still get sad and try not to think about what she must've went through before coming to live with me.
This is really interesting to me. I similarly just have a vicious pitbull from the pound. I just rationalize her meat eating as: look at her fucking teeth, that animal needs meat. But yeah, she's not exactly natural.
I'm with ya, though. Not sure if I'd do it differently.
yeah it's tough and nothing is easy (no ethical consumption and all that jazz). the good news for your pitbull is that dogs are a bit easier than cats from an ethical food perspective because they are great scavengers and unlike cats are not obligate carnivores. they're closer to people in that you can pretty easily replace some/all of meat they eat with starches and veggies. There is some very early new evidence that dog foods which are both grain-free + vegetarian/vegan might be bad for kidneys long-term, but the general consensus is that similar to people, reducing dogs' meat intake is good for them and better for other animals who would otherwise be bread and killed just for food.
If you don't feel comfortable reducing/replacing your pet's meat consumption, then consider donating to organizations trying to develop animal-free meat options and supporting regulations that allow lab-grown meats in stores. it's lib shit and not as effective as more direct action, but this is pretty much where i'm at with my cats till they pass or better options are available.
hahaha I agree. cats have been one of the longest-running struggle sessions within vegan/animal rights circles too, so when i saw this i just popcorned the whole way through. this fucking cat shit again, i had to laugh
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omg yeah, sounds like your roommate was also dealing with his cat-induced dissonance. i took in two strays before i went vegan. but i'm honestly not sure if i'd let another in, once my current furry roomates pass on. i go back and forth on it a lot.
for ethical/environmental vegans cats are seriously problematic since they:
That said (like with all domesticated species), we domesticated them millenia ago, made them reliant on us, dramatically altered their natural habitats, removed them from their natural habitats when we exported them all over the world, and don't have sufficient support programs for them in place to ensure consistent humane treatment and access to necessary healthcare. :cat-com:
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Doing the best we can to be responsible and eliminate suffering as far is practical and practicable is all we can aim for at the moment!
My cats were also strays (thrown out and left behind by people who moved out of my apartment building) and it really is hard to say given the choice again in the future that i'd do it any different, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I am very concerned about the obligate carnivore aspect, because it is massively hypocritical of me to care so much for one life over other similarly domesticated animals who suffer immeasurably more than my little furballs do. I seriously can't wait to get lab-grown meat for cruelty-free food options for cats and snakes and other domesticated carnivores who rely on human-provided homes through no fault of their own.
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omg heartbreak at the frail one. being so skiddish around you + dirty & frail, it would be really hard for me to ignore these warning signs too. someone at an animal shelter told me that the only way to deal with it is you have to tell yourself they're ok. otherwise, it's too much to bear. the shelter is the most responsible move, good on you for taking the time to do it too.
one of my cats had lots of behavioral problems (especially in the beginning). she's been with me 10 years and has since learned to love attention, getting petted/brushed, and recently is even starting to learn to play with toys and random shit around the house. it's been a remarkable transformation honestly. she went from clear neglect and abuse victim to an attached-at-the-hip cuddly happy cat who won't let me out of her sight for a minute. sometimes when i move too suddenly tho, i can see her flinch painfully hard and i still get sad and try not to think about what she must've went through before coming to live with me.
This is really interesting to me. I similarly just have a vicious pitbull from the pound. I just rationalize her meat eating as: look at her fucking teeth, that animal needs meat. But yeah, she's not exactly natural.
I'm with ya, though. Not sure if I'd do it differently.
yeah it's tough and nothing is easy (no ethical consumption and all that jazz). the good news for your pitbull is that dogs are a bit easier than cats from an ethical food perspective because they are great scavengers and unlike cats are not obligate carnivores. they're closer to people in that you can pretty easily replace some/all of meat they eat with starches and veggies. There is some very early new evidence that dog foods which are both grain-free + vegetarian/vegan might be bad for kidneys long-term, but the general consensus is that similar to people, reducing dogs' meat intake is good for them and better for other animals who would otherwise be bread and killed just for food.
If you don't feel comfortable reducing/replacing your pet's meat consumption, then consider donating to organizations trying to develop animal-free meat options and supporting regulations that allow lab-grown meats in stores. it's lib shit and not as effective as more direct action, but this is pretty much where i'm at with my cats till they pass or better options are available.
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No, I'm mostly joking. I just made a comment in the other thread this references about my dog fighting outdoor cats and just kept it going.