Companion Animals

Green Leaf Vegan Distribution – v
905-882-1331  www.greenleafvegandist.com
››› We offer 100% vegan pet food for dogs and cats. It is a premium health pet food that is nutritionally complete and balanced for healthier pets. See our website for a list of stores that carry it.

Ruffage – v O
Animal free treats for Dogs,
www.ruffage.ca
~~Animal-free & organic doggie treats.
››› Ruffage has four unique flavours of treats for your dog. Ruffage does not use animal based products in any step of our production process. Be confident that our treats are vegan, organic, made by hand, and produced with love and pride locally. Buy online or see website for store listing.

Small Wonders Pet Salon
148 Danforth Ave. 2nd Fl. 416-465-7419. Vegan owned.
››› Pet grooming using safe, environmentally
    friendly products. Owner Cam MacInnes is a vegan who respects all animals and believes "The Best Things in Life aren't Things".

Temple Treats – For your pampered pooch – v O
416-704-8917  www.templetreats.com
~~Vegan organic dog biscuits.
››› Temple Treats are healthy vegan, organic, great tasting treats made especially for your pampered pooch in my vegetarian kitchen. All juices, broths and peanut/nut butters are made from scratch and only chemical-free, human-grade quality ingredients are selected. Visit www.templetreats.com today to order.

 Update:
Vegan Danish Bakery also carries the Ami Cat and Ami Dog products. (May 2010)
Darren emailed us May 2009: "I just wanted to let you know that Timmie Dog Outfitters at 1178 Queen east has the Ami Cat and Ami Dog products.  It is the only place inside Toronto that I have been able to find vegan cat food."

Cats & Dogs

Are we imposing our ethics on meat-eating
animals by feeding them vegetarian food?

Dog are omnivores and do great on a veggie diet, but there is a debate among animal activists about whether cats should be vegetarian or not. Cats are carnivores, but can be vegetarian as long as taurine and other supplements are added to their diet. 

Vegan veterinarian, Erika Sullivan who was a guest on our podcast on March 30, 2007 feels that cats do better on a diet that contains meat. In her experience they can become obese and prone to type II diabetes on a high carbohydrate / low protein diet. But she does know several people who have successfully raised vegan cats. She was not aware of any long term studies of cats on vegetarian diets, but we found one 2006 study titled Evaluation of cats fed vegetarian diets and attitudes of their caregivers that looked at cats that had been vegetarian for at least one year.

Adam Wilson, owner of Downbound.com, reminds us to consider the animals that are raised and slaughtered for pet food.

"As for imposing our ethics on our animal companions, Downbound.com suggests that we also consider the morality of imposing our ethics on cows, chickens, pigs, fish, and other animals who could easily become the unwilling central attractions on our animal companions' dinner dishes. With perfectly healthy vegan alternatives for cats available at Downbound.com, we can care wonderfully for our loving companions, while not exploiting the rights of other less fortunate animals."

In addition to the following listings, see www.vegancats.com and www.vegepets.info. For a discussion of the environmental and ethical challenges that one may face as a compassionate animal owner see: The ecological footprint of a house cat, and other ethical dilemmas.