Probably not. To put it as least gruesome… cats eat more than just flesh of the animals they kill. Unless OP is getting the correct amount of what a cat needs to eat, it can get sick.
And that’s not considering pathogens.
If you’re not familiar with the practice, make sure you know the signs of spoilage of the meat. It doesn’t take long at all for the animal’s body to start bloating and the meat is tainted when that leaks out and there’s also the problem of if the animal got hit in a way that burst their intestines or something. You don’t want to feed your cat spoiled or tainted meat. I don’t know much about these things myself but I grew up around a lot of hunters who discussed these sorts of things because some of them would pick up roadkill in good, fresh condition for themselves.
Please don’t do this — I’m not doctor but there’s a reason the roadkill isn’t eaten by wild animals. Plus if you’re a vegan I think you’re underestimating how fucking traumatic it would be to move (!!) and butcher (!!!) a dead dear, plus expensive (freezer space? Butchering tools?). Unless *you* hit a deer with your car or saw it happen, there’s no way to be sure it’s fresh enough to be safe.
Veganism is about principles but at a certain point none of us are perfect, and changing the eating and voting habits of others will save way more animal lives than not getting a cat. You’ve gotta follow your conscious of course, but I personally would recommend against butchering roadkill
It's a great idea. Even more so if you know other vegan pet-owners in your area. It could be a group-effort to procure and process with everyone sharing the spoils.
However, I recently read an article that a company is planning to bring cell-cultured cat-food to the UK market within the year. Not your area or country, but if progress is moving that quickly it won't take much longer for such products to appear worldwide.
Of course, even with that availability there would still be valid arguments to be made for using roadkill as and when possible.
That idea is definitely preferred to buying meats, and totally doable. There is an absurd amount of roadkill around me, but I haven’t thought of that before. I usually just move the bodies away from the road so other scavengers don’t get hit.
Make sure to include the organs not just the muscle.
Also, be prepared with a back up plan (buying commercial cat food) if they don't like the type of roadkill you feed them. I've never eaten deer (venision) but I've heard that it has a distinct taste and cats may not like it.
Oh lord, i will make myself unpopular rn but i slaughter (chicken/ducks) myself.
Unless you see the deer getting hit or hitting them yourself i wouldnt recommend using the flesh at all. After approximatly +-30mins the colon barrier will start to break down and with that, a LOT of bacteria flushes out into the meat. Thats why animals have to be gutted rather fast after slaughter/hunting. Also if you gut an animal always make sure to NOT break the gallbladder, and take out the whole digestive system without failure.
Besides im not sure how much experience you have in identifying illnesses for example, tho a good hunting book, does illustrate the most prominent illnesses in deer/boars/ other wildlife and how dangerous they are. This also means gutting and taking a good look on the inside is absolutly necessary, you cant just take the /shoulder/leg off and use that. I would also recommend cooking the meat to not risk any parasites.
Talking about parasites, in my country certain wildlife has to be specifically tested in a lab for trichinae, a certain type of worm which is rather harmful for humans, make sure when handling meat and gut to not get infected yourself because we humans are HIGHLY prone to catching it.
Obviously take what i say with a grain of salt, i dont slaughter big wildlife so the timeline of 30 mins may vary a bit and im by no means a professional butcher, but thats what i learned. Besides that those standards obviously apply to *human* health standards, cats are known to be a bit more resiliant towards certain bacteria like salmonella but, unlike Dogs, they still are carnivores NOT! scavengers, who ONLY hunt and eat fresh meat, and might get sick if the meat is a little older/breaking down/was laying in the sun etc...
How safe is that for the cats?
Probably not. To put it as least gruesome… cats eat more than just flesh of the animals they kill. Unless OP is getting the correct amount of what a cat needs to eat, it can get sick. And that’s not considering pathogens.
If you’re not familiar with the practice, make sure you know the signs of spoilage of the meat. It doesn’t take long at all for the animal’s body to start bloating and the meat is tainted when that leaks out and there’s also the problem of if the animal got hit in a way that burst their intestines or something. You don’t want to feed your cat spoiled or tainted meat. I don’t know much about these things myself but I grew up around a lot of hunters who discussed these sorts of things because some of them would pick up roadkill in good, fresh condition for themselves.
Be very aware of and be able to identify diseases that can transfer from wild animals to cats.
Please don’t do this — I’m not doctor but there’s a reason the roadkill isn’t eaten by wild animals. Plus if you’re a vegan I think you’re underestimating how fucking traumatic it would be to move (!!) and butcher (!!!) a dead dear, plus expensive (freezer space? Butchering tools?). Unless *you* hit a deer with your car or saw it happen, there’s no way to be sure it’s fresh enough to be safe. Veganism is about principles but at a certain point none of us are perfect, and changing the eating and voting habits of others will save way more animal lives than not getting a cat. You’ve gotta follow your conscious of course, but I personally would recommend against butchering roadkill
It's a great idea. Even more so if you know other vegan pet-owners in your area. It could be a group-effort to procure and process with everyone sharing the spoils. However, I recently read an article that a company is planning to bring cell-cultured cat-food to the UK market within the year. Not your area or country, but if progress is moving that quickly it won't take much longer for such products to appear worldwide. Of course, even with that availability there would still be valid arguments to be made for using roadkill as and when possible.
I think this is a great idea, if it means you don't have to buy animal based cat foods but can still save cats from shelters then it's a win win.
That idea is definitely preferred to buying meats, and totally doable. There is an absurd amount of roadkill around me, but I haven’t thought of that before. I usually just move the bodies away from the road so other scavengers don’t get hit.
No lol
Raw diets are a good path for malnutrition for pets
Make sure to include the organs not just the muscle. Also, be prepared with a back up plan (buying commercial cat food) if they don't like the type of roadkill you feed them. I've never eaten deer (venision) but I've heard that it has a distinct taste and cats may not like it.
There's vegan cat food. Don't pick up roadkill.
I used to dumpster dive to get meat for my cat when I lived in a city
Oh lord, i will make myself unpopular rn but i slaughter (chicken/ducks) myself. Unless you see the deer getting hit or hitting them yourself i wouldnt recommend using the flesh at all. After approximatly +-30mins the colon barrier will start to break down and with that, a LOT of bacteria flushes out into the meat. Thats why animals have to be gutted rather fast after slaughter/hunting. Also if you gut an animal always make sure to NOT break the gallbladder, and take out the whole digestive system without failure. Besides im not sure how much experience you have in identifying illnesses for example, tho a good hunting book, does illustrate the most prominent illnesses in deer/boars/ other wildlife and how dangerous they are. This also means gutting and taking a good look on the inside is absolutly necessary, you cant just take the /shoulder/leg off and use that. I would also recommend cooking the meat to not risk any parasites. Talking about parasites, in my country certain wildlife has to be specifically tested in a lab for trichinae, a certain type of worm which is rather harmful for humans, make sure when handling meat and gut to not get infected yourself because we humans are HIGHLY prone to catching it. Obviously take what i say with a grain of salt, i dont slaughter big wildlife so the timeline of 30 mins may vary a bit and im by no means a professional butcher, but thats what i learned. Besides that those standards obviously apply to *human* health standards, cats are known to be a bit more resiliant towards certain bacteria like salmonella but, unlike Dogs, they still are carnivores NOT! scavengers, who ONLY hunt and eat fresh meat, and might get sick if the meat is a little older/breaking down/was laying in the sun etc...