It’s a well-known fact that having a pet makes your life significantly better. Of course, it’s a huge responsibility, and one should always plan ahead and be absolutely sure that they’ll be able to give the animal the life they deserve. It’s like taking care of a child, where your full attention isn’t concentrated on yourself anymore, and you’re now in charge of keeping someone alive and happy.
Some pets require a little bit more care than others, as their nutrition, diets, and daily activity plans could vary. What’s more, it’s the owner’s obligation to understand the needs of their furry friend and follow the requirements, even if they don’t match their personal beliefs.
However, this Redditor shared a story about their vegan roommate and her grand idea of adopting a kitten that she planned to put on a plant-based diet. The post received nearly 18K upvotes and over 2K comments worth of engaging discussion regarding the seriousness of the situation.
Cats don’t do well on a vegan diet, but some people seem to think otherwise
The OP decided to take it to one of Reddit’s communities and find out whether she was wrong for getting in the way of her roommate and the animal shelter employee when she caught her lying.
Woman secretly wants to feed her cat vegan dry food but her roommate reveals the truth to the shelter employee
The woman started off by explaining that she has a roommate who is a vegan, who was actively looking into adopting a cat. Before visiting the shelter, the OP’s roommate purchased all the things that a cat could possibly need. However, once the food arrived, the OP was shocked as it turned out to be a plant-based dry food.
The OP tried explaining to the future pet owner that feeding a cat plant-based food, even if it’s allegedly made for cats, is not a great idea. Moreover, having just dry food in the diet could lead to several health issues. But sadly enough, the roommate didn’t listen and insisted on the fact that everything would be fine.
The OP gave up on the argument and drove her roommate to an animal shelter. Naturally, the employee began to ask several questions regarding the house situation and whether the women have any other pets. When she got to nutrition questions, though the OP’s roommate blatantly lied and said that she would be feeding her potential cat Hills.
The OP couldn’t believe it, so she waited until her roommate had her attention on something else and told the employee about her vegan diet plan. The application was denied and when the OP decided to tell the truth, her roommate locked herself in her room.
The roommate continued to use the silent treatment on the OP, and even received some critique from their mutual friend – until something suspicious happened.
The OP edited her post and updated the fellow Redditors about her roommate being mysteriously late, but as it turned out, she was busy buying a cat off of someone. The woman later revealed that she plans on feeding the cat separately as she already has a dog, so it won’t be a burden and that she will ask her vet to change her roommate’s mind and convince her about the benefits of feeding the cat meat.
We contacted the author and asked her to give us a bit more information regarding the story:
The cat that the OP’s roommate bought turned out to be a 10-week-old kitten covered in fleas. The women took the pet straight to the vet, where he currently remains due to severe dehydration and treatment for an infection. The OP also said that the kitten is getting neutered and that he’ll finally be home tomorrow.
In addition, we asked the woman if there’s any advice she would like to give to people that plan to have their pets on a vegan diet. She revealed that the main tip would be to constantly stay in contact with your vet. Regular check-ups are a must, sometimes as frequently as every other month to ensure that the pet is doing well, as feeding a vegan diet to a carnivore isn’t easy, nor it should be.
The OP also mentioned that it’s crucial to research the species/breed before getting an animal. It’s equally important to ask yourself if you can provide the animal with a diet that it needs. If you can’t, there are plenty of other pets you can own that would be more suitable for you and just as fun.
Fellow Redditors supported the OP’s decision
