Feeding another meat

Discussion in 'Ethics, Morality, & Justice' started by swarm, Oct 29, 2008.

  1. swarm Registered Senior Member

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    4,207
    Choosing to keep a cat and feeding it meat is no different morally than choosing to eat meat yourself.

    There is no meat which cats eat that humans cannot, including meat "by products" (very popular in hotdogs, pizza toppings, cold cuts and sausages). In particular, few if any cat foods are just "by products" and list "whole meats" and meat meals (made from grinding the animal up whole).

    http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp
    "uses whole, fresh meat sources such as turkey, chicken and herring meal!"

    The "not for human consumption" is added solely because it has been diverted for pet use and not because of any defect in the food. People can and do eat pet food without difficulty thanks to our wonderful take care of no one society.

    So feeding your cat meat is choosing to consume meat and if you really want to get technical, at the expense of what another human could consume.
     
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  3. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Now compare:

    1. Person A feeds his/her cat meat, while eating a vegetarian diet him/herself.
    2. Person B feeds his/her cat meat AND also eats meat him/herself.

    If we accept that eating meat is immoral, then who is more immoral - person A or person B?
     
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  5. MetaKron Registered Senior Member

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    If we accept that feeding a cat meat is moral, or that the cat capturing its own meat is moral, then it is moral for humans to eat meat. Humans have at least as much right as other animals.
     
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  7. Spud Emperor solanaceous common tater Registered Senior Member

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    Just to throw another perspective into the mix.
    I catch fish specifically to feed my cat ( he loves it, it's fresh and renewable, I select species for him which the humans in the family don't eat).
    BTW, fish sambal for the family tonight, sashimi for the cat.
     
  8. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    cats cant eat anything EXCEPT meat as they are carnivious not omivorious like humans and dogs. There for its immoral NOT to feed a cat meat
     
  9. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    That doesn't follow.

    1. Cats have no option but to eat meat. They cannot survive on a vegetarian diet.
    2. Cats do not have a moral sense in the same way that (some) humans do.
    3. Feeding a cat may well be moral even if eating meat yourself is not.

    They have more rights, as recognised by current laws.

    This is irrelevant to the topic.
     
  10. MetaKron Registered Senior Member

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    Cats have the right to eat meat, therefore humans have the right to eat meat.
     
  11. swarm Registered Senior Member

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    We? We don't but you do.

    Does it excuse you if there are people more immoral than you?
     
  12. swarm Registered Senior Member

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    4,207
    Just because it is not immoral for a cat to eat meat, that doesn't mean it is moral for you to feed the cat meat. The cat is quite capable of feeding itself. It is only because of your choice to keep it as a pet that you end up feeding it.

    Dogs are at best opprotunist omnivors. Given a choice they eat meat to the exclusion of other food sources.

    Also this is not about the cat. It is about the dubious claim that feeding a another (in this case a cat) meat is morally different than eating it yourself and in particular when your association with the other (cat) is based on your choice.
     
  13. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    swarm, it can quite easerly be argued to be different.

    We are capable (though it takes alot of planning) of having a compleatly animal product free (vegan) diet. A cat is not, they MUST eat meat.

    As most laws state that cats must be kept in doors during there hunting times in order to prevent them from eating the native wild life it IS immoral not to feed a cat that you have as a pet and there for it is immoral not to feed a cat meat.

    This argument can also be made of my marine fish which also require meat to live (especially the corals). They have no other means of obtaining this except from me so there for as a pet owner it is immoral of me not to feed them meat
     
  14. MetaKron Registered Senior Member

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    I have to say that it is no different to feed a cat than it is to eat meat.
     
  15. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    I thought you didn't believe in animal rights.

    Note the word "if", carefully placed.

    Does it excuse you if you can show that some people are more moral than you, but still immoral nonetheless?
     
  16. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    I took in a feral cat that would otherwise have died or lived a short life, is that immoral?
     
  17. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    If you believe eating meat is immoral (it's wrong to kill animals) then it is immoral for you to feed your cat meat. Cats don't have to eat meat to survive, they just would likely never choose to eat anything else, my friend's cat eats potatoes.
     
  18. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    A cat fed only potatoes will be unhealthy and will not survive for long.
     
  19. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    A human fed only potatoes would be unhealthy and not survive for long.
     
  20. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    CutsieMarie89
    cats lack the emzimes nessary to break down vegtable matter. They dont have the ability to create protine directly from starch (for example)

    for that matter nither do we, we require faty acids and protines in our diet because unlike a cow we cant make them
     
  21. MetaKron Registered Senior Member

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    5,502
    Hopefully long enough to find his next steak.

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  22. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    I don't like steak, I prefer ham. Would a person be healthier eating solely meat or solely fruits? I know it's kind of off topic, but I'm curious.
     
  23. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    23,049
    highly doubtful to the meat, NO to the fruit. In fact you would die if you ate nothing but fruit.

    The meat might make you obease and kill you in the longer term but iron deficancies would kill you quicker (not to mention the lack of amino and neculaic acids would mean protines couldnt be produced and cells couldnt devide)
     

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