I am not a cat expert. I do not represent myself as an expert on cats. I love cats, I’ve owned cats for many years, I’ve read a lot about a cats, I volunteer at two cat shelters and spend a lot of time with the cats, and I like to think that I’ve learned a lot about cats. But do not take anything I say as any sort of gospel.

If there’s one thing I think I’m sure of about cats is that there are no rules that apply to all cats. For every “cats do this, cats are like this, etc.” there will be exceptions.

Well, except for one: Cats are carnivores. All cats are meat eaters. Human beings can be vegetarians and vegans. Cats cannot. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, then more power to you, I totally support your right to choose what you eat or don’t eat. But I emphatically do not support your right to try to fit a cat into that choice. Cats need meat protein, they simply cannot get all the nutrients they need from a vegetarian diet. If you feel so strongly about your choice that you cannot bring yourself to feed meat to a cat, then please just do not get a cat as a pet! It is not fair to the cat. Rabbits are vegetarians and they make wonderful pets.