University and other Cat Abusers

"THE FUTURE
Taurine, the enzyme needed by cats, has been produced synthetically since 1930.
The book Vegetarian Cats and Dogs by James A Peden, in its third printing,
is a carefully researched book on why cats can be vegetarian. Veterinarians such
as Andrew Knight and associations of holistic veterinarians endorse
the concept of no longer killing some animals to feed others.
vegancats.com"

SICK MINDS! Anybody who can think this way hates Nature. Look, I don't give a damn if you aspire to being some higher sort of being than an animal. That's your business. But the leave the rest of us animals out of it.

A cat, even a domestic cat, reamins an animal and the sort of animal it is is a PREDATOR. It is natural for it to hunt and kill other animals and this is NOT "evil", "immoral", etc. and a cat is NOT some sort of lower being than you are (ask any cat). If you prefer not to kill animals to feed your cat you don't have to -- simply supply live small animals and puss will feed herself. Most of us prefer not to do this because we don't like to watch -- cats often play with their food.

If you don't like the sort of animal a cat is, don't keep one as an animal companion. I find the idea that anybody would want to CHANGE cats to vegetarians just so to be more comfortable around them morally repugnant.

Diseases cats contract from eating meat and fish
are shortened life spans from blocked urethras, kidney dysfunction, (terrific
pain involved), cancers from the toxins in fish such as concentrated mercury,
arsenic, chromium, selenium, lead, pcb's, pvc's, pbb's, uric acid which
causes heart problems, food poisoning, feline leukemia (from eating cancer ridden
animals) etc.

Yes, it is probably technically possible for a cat to survive on a vegetarian diet, but it is completely against their nature and very dangerous. Organ failure and blindness are common results of cats not getting enough nutrients from meat products. Cats have evolved on diets of animal protein almost exclusively. They traditionally get other vitamins from partially digested food from their prey's bellies.
Dogs can eat a carefully planned vegetarian diet and not necesarily suffer from any nutrient deficiencies, although it is still risky.
I agree with the above posted comment. If you are not comfortable with buying meat products for animals, then do not get an animal that requires this sort of diet! I'm afraid too many uninformed vegans and vegetarians are putting their pets at risk by omitting meat without properly adjusting their diets.
One solution is to buy organic, free range, humanely-raised animal products and cook your own pet food. There are many books out there that tell you how to do it. However, you must still understand how to provide the correct kinds and amounts of nutrients.

...whether they wanted to be vegan?

I agree that deciding to be vegetarian or vegan is a choice people can make, but it's cruel to force a natural carnivore to eat a vegan diet to placate the owner's feelings. (And anyway, the cat might not be vegan - it will hunt insects and rodents, and proudly crunch a moth in front of you or leave you a decidedly non-vegan present.)

A wiser choice would be for a vegan to keep a vegetarian pet.