A vegan pet owner from the Gold Coast, in Australia, has been criticized for putting his cat on a diet that matches his beliefs and claiming that she’s actually thriving after switching to veganism.
53-year-old Harry Bolman has been a vegan for the lat 38 years, and after adopting Uma, a five-year-old cat, last year, he decided that the same vegan diet would be perfect for her as well. Bolman has been feeding her vegetables and special vegan cat food, and despite accusations that he is “abusing” and “killing” the feline, he claims that plant-based food is the “healthiest” for cats.
Photos: Pixabay (Deedee86/Sabrina_Ripke_Fotografie)
‘I’ve been vegan since 1980 and I’ve always fed my pets vegan diets,” the Australian production supervisor said. Uma is my first cat but I’ve raised two dogs who were vegan for most of their lives. The eldest one lived until 18 and they were very happy and healthy. I adopted Uma one year ago and I knew straight away she’d be vegan just like me. I’ve always refused to have animal products in my house and Uma has been a vegan cat ever since I first adopted her.”
Uma’s owner claims that she actually loves her vegan diet, and “chows it down like there’s no tomorrow.” He adds that the animal is very healthy, has a luscious-looking coat and is full of vitality. Bolman credits the plant-based food for Uma’s great condition, saying that regular processed cat food with bits of other animals in it is simply abysmal.
However, not everyone agrees with Harry Bolman. In fact, after revealing that Uma was vegan on his social media profile, he faced quite a backlash from a lot of people.
“Some were saying it was animal abuse and that I’m killing my cat,” the 53-year-old said. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth. My whole lifestyle is devoted to saving animals and the earth. I’d never do anything to hurt my pets.”
Dr Richard Gowan, a feline veterinarian from The Cat Clinic, in Brisbane, doesn’t agree with Bolman either, saying that a vegan diet is inappropriate for cats and based on poor research.
“We have several vegan staff members and none of them would consider feeding their cats a vegan diet,” Dr. Gowan said. “This is based on the very limited and/or poor research that is currently available surrounding this diet choice for cats.”
But despite all the criticism, Harry Bolman is convinced that he is doing the right thing and plans to continue feeding Uma a plant-based diet. He claims that even though cats are technically carnivores, all they actually need to thrive are taurine and arginine, which the added to the special vegan cat food he feeds his pet.
“I know I’m doing the right thing for Uma, myself and the earth. That’s all that matters,” the animal lover said. “Why would I support the meat industry and the killing of countless animals when there is no need to? This is a cruelty-free version. It’s most disappointing when I see other vegans feeding their pet meat.”
This is not the first time a pet owner has come under fire for putting their pet on a vegan diet. Earlier this year, Spanish YouTuber faced similar criticism for feeding her pet Fennec fox a plant-based diet.
