ChattyCathy wrote:
> http://www.recfoodcooking.com

MCINL

If I could afford food for myself, I could afford
pet food. I'd have to switch to a cheaper brand and
feed them a little less (most cats and dogs get overfed
these days anyway) and I'd supplement it with any
leftovers I had. (But if I could barely afford to
feed myself and my pets I probably wouldn't have any
leftovers!)

Anyway, cat food is relatively cheap - even the premium
stuff - so if I were that poor I might be eating it along
with them.

I don't really believe in feeding pet human food except
as the occasional treat. As a regular diet it's not good
for them - especially cats. They need a food formulated
for their nutritional needs which are not the same as
humans. However, rather than give up my pets I would
supplement it with human food to the extent that it would
not do them harm. If I couldn't do that I would try to
find good homes for them. If they were really old and
it didn't seem possible to find a decent home for them
I would have them put down rather than give them to someone
who wouldn't care for them properly or maybe not at all.

I would not turn them over to a animal shelter. Although
there are good ones. I might consider turning them over to
a good no-kill shelter. But if they're older they are probably
going to be put down at the other type of shelter and they
way they do it is not good. I would rather do it myself and
make sure they have a calm and peaceful, unstressful death.
(The last time I had a cat who was too sick to recover I had
the vet come to the house and put her to sleep rather than
stress her out toting her to the clinic where the noises and
smells and strange surroundings would stress her out. I know
how that is because over the years I've had to have a number
of cats put to sleep and unless they're totally out of it from
the illness, they are very stressed out at the vet's office.
I'm glad I have a veterinary group now which makes house calls
in extreme circumstances.)

Anyway, I would never "let them fend for themselves". That
is cruel. I assume feed them smaller pets was a joke. ;-)
At least I really hope so. (BTW, did you mean feed hamsters,
gerbils, rabbits, etc. to cats/dogs or could you have meant
feed small dogs and cats to large dogs and cats? Horrors!)

Change my eating habits? Hmmm? Well, the most
sensible thing for a cat owner would be to change to
the Atkins diet as cats are obligate carnivores. But
meat is one of the most expensive foods to that really
wouldn't work very well. I guess if you had a rabbit
you could go on a vegetarian/vegan diet. Blecch! No
way I'd do that, much as I love my pets. But then it's
not an issue as I have 2 cats so it would have to be the
Atkins thing which would be too expensive. I guess I'd
end up eating cat food. I remember that when I was a
kid I really loved those Gaines dog biscuits!

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?