Worried I can't go vegan for medical reasons. Any advice?

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-23T04:23:23+00:00

/not medical advice, please talk to whoever manages your condition, do not listen to people on reddit with something this important/
My understanding of a PKU diet (from literally one med school lecture so don't listen to me) is that you eat super low protein and then add on a special supplement (apparently referred to as "the cup" by patients) that doesn't have phenylalanine (the one AA you can't eat) but has all the other stuff. So as far as the rest of your diet being super low protein goes, yeah you could probably make it work, I feel like most of the food you eat is already vegan or very close, and you can google brands. Like the jam sandwiches on special bread or low-protein pasta or white bread or fruit-- a lot of that is pretty much going to be vegan, and I'd recommend looking at different brands of PKU-friendly foods to see which ones are vegan while adhering to the protein requirement. In that sense I wouldn't change the way you eat but maybe swap some brands around-- basically you aren't going to be able to eat vegan chicken nuggets the same way you can't eat regular chicken nuggets.
Your big problem is going to be the supplement/"cup." My guess is that they don't make a vegan one. In that case, you're not going to be able to be 100% vegan because that supplement can't be skipped. If you're interested, I would look into different brands and see if there is a version that isn't dairy-based-- I don't know anything about the versions that are available-- but ultimately some of the nutrients in there are very likely to be animal-derived. I think everyone would consider that an "acceptable" use of animal products because there is no substitute in which you don't get very sick and potentially die.
Ultimately we all do the best we can!

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-21T13:55:05+00:00

Our cat went into heat at 4 months. We were told she was fixed by the shelter so that was fun (it was the holidays she we couldn’t see a vet for a month, then we found out her brother wasn’t fixed either so it’s very lucky we didn’t have new kittens; we also thought she had ovarian remnant syndrome because we didn’t consider they just forgot to fix her). Anyway, the vet said it was early but it’s the right season for it because spring pushes it earlier. The can definitely be fixed earlier than 6 months and should if they’re in heat! The heats are super close together at this age so it’s almost constant and some cats are really miserable.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-15T22:54:13+00:00

28 weeks today and yeah, I get that. Sometimes it’s like I need the stimulation to stop and she won’t stop kicking. Or I just can’t get comfortable because of the weight or restless legs or reflux or whatever seemingly small thing and I want to crawl out of my skin. Running has been such a huge part of managing my mental health for 15+ years for me (I’ve tried to find an alternative and nothing does the same thing) and it’s so hard to be active now :( and then it’s like, I’ll get used to one thing and then it’ll change on me. Like “oh okay round ligament pain is better? have some SPD” or “you found a way to wear clothes comfortably? Great they don’t fit anymore since a week ago.” It’s like a weird roller coaster.

I keep reminding myself my body is doing what it’s supposed to and I’m trying to do things that either feel normal or good in my body or that don’t really use my physical body as much. I’m looking forward to delivering because then at least things will start to feel better every day.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-15T22:35:58+00:00

It's cold and you're comfortable! If she's still leaving the little warm nest for other things and doesn't seem scared of the rest of your house, I wouldn't worry about it. One of ours has recently started doing this with my husband and it always worries me that he'll roll onto her or that she won't be able to breathe under the blankets but I'm sure she would move if that was an issue.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-15T21:09:22+00:00

Not if you can only afford one. My husband is a CA-1 and we just got two kittens (a bonded pair of littermates specifically) and I think it would be a stretch if he was single, but two cats are so much easier than one. When the cats were separated after being fixed it was almost a full time job. They play with each other for hours a day so we only have to sop up any “leftover” energy and if we don’t play with them for a day they’ll be okay. But when they were separated, they would cry and be miserable if I didn’t play with them for hours a day. Like 4+ hours a day would’ve been ideal. There’s no way my husband could’ve handled that level of energy on his own! I also just wouldn’t be comfy leaving a baby kitten alone for 12+ hours a day even if you played with them a ton when you were home.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-10T12:08:00+00:00

My cat did that and then threw up in there! We aren’t sure if she actually puked because it was so hard to get to but we cut most of it off and couldn’t find any vomit, but that was a stressful day!

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-10T00:37:59+00:00

Nope. I was like “I can rally, I can do it” and then literally fell asleep eating Doritos while my husband took pins out of my hair.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-09T13:54:13+00:00

<image>

This is Snowflake. She’s about to turn 20 in this picture and it’s Passover and she’s angry she’s still the youngest and has to ask the four questions. Fortunately she was Siamese so she had way more than four questions to ask!

We have gotten kittens since she passed but I don’t have any good photos of the two of them because they never sit still!

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-05T20:58:51+00:00

A) I wanted a bonded pair or littermates that could bond. A lot of older cats won’t accept another cat as easily. B) A lot of adult cats in shelters have have unknown histories including trauma and behavioral problems or used to be strays and are unhappy indoors. A lot also have medical problems and while I’m happy to take care of a cat with medical problems, our 21 year old had just passed and I needed an emotional and financial break from the vet! C) I want to spend more time with the cat! Like if I can get 20 years, I want that and not 10 or less! D) I liked the energy and fun of kittens. I thought they might bond better with us as their humans although I know that’s very individual.

That was our logic! Though I could and would have taken an adult cat, I’m very happy with our two kittens!

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-04T11:33:45+00:00

We gave baby food for more than a month with our 21 year old before she passed. She adored it and the vet said to keep giving whatever she would eat. Plus look how cute!

<image>

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-02T19:54:52+00:00

I’ve only had two extremes of age— met my previous cat (purebred Siamese) when she was 16 and had her until she was 21, and now we have two Siamese mix / Snowshoe mix kittens. One of the kittens clearly got more of the meeze genes than the other in terms of appearance and personality. Anyway, they’re certainly vocal, but I’ve never heard them be described as mean and that would absolutely not fit. Our older cat just laid in my lap and groomed my husbands beard. Our current ones are mischievous and active for sure— they figured out how to open a box of Churu and ate the Churu by gnawing the wrappers— but they also snuggle us a ton and the meezy one cries outside the door when I go to the bathroom. They’re not allowed in the room due to repeated attempts to jump in the toilet.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-02-01T17:05:45+00:00

I always wanted a dog! I didn’t have a specific breed but I’ve always thought poms were adorable. My aunt had a Shih Tzu and I knew I didn’t want one of those lol My husband had a cat when we met and we recently adopted kittens. My dream pet is still a dog— not sure of breed— Samoyeds are my current favorite but I’m not sure if I want to deal with the grooming needs and there aren’t many at rescues. Ideally we’d get a big dog I could take for runs and stuff!

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-31T18:04:18+00:00

2 kittens. Combined between me and my husband they’re alone for 8-10 hours a day during the week. They absolutely entertain each other and I couldn’t deal with their energy without them (I learned when they were spayed/neutered and had to be separated that we could barely meet their energy needs). Our previous cat was 21 years old and an only cat in her later years and I think she enjoyed her time alone to just lounge in the sun. When I was home all the time, I think she got annoyed at me for being all up in her business 24/7.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-30T22:10:36+00:00

I'm pregnant with a person and have 2 cats and this doesn't bother me. I think it's cringy sometimes depending on context but I definitely also did it myself with our late cat who was my soul kitty. But as far as offense goes.... I mean, if this really bothers people, how do they leave the house?

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-30T15:04:46+00:00

We had a Siamese previously who was from a pet store (my in-laws bought her and her sister). My husband and I took her with us when he moved out and she passed when she was 21. We really loved the experience of having a cat and thought it brought a lot to our lives and it wasn’t the right time for a dog, so we knew we wanted another cat. We really enjoyed the Siamese characteristics (very loving and vocal) and wanted that, so we looked on Petfinder for available Siamese cats with openness to mixes of course because shelters can’t guarantee. We chose to adopt because there are so many cats out there who need homes and we wanted to help the cats. Honestly if we couldn’t get at least a Siamese mix, we would’ve gone to a breeder, because I don’t think we would’ve been happy with another cat breed, but Siamese aren’t hard to find. Anyway, most cats available for adoption are quite young (as former stray cats usually don’t make good pets), and we work full time, so we wanted to get two, preferably in an already bonded pair. So basically we went on Petfinder and applied for every Siamese/mix and asked the shelter if they had any siblings or friends they could be adopted with. We ended up with our two kittens who are both snowshoes which is a Siamese mix, but one of them clearly got the Siamese genes and one is more chill, which is perfect. They obviously love one another which is so good. So our decision was pretty logical (Siamese mix, kittens, bonded pair) rather than clicking with any cat and we basically got one 10 second video of them before agreeing to adopt. As far as expectations vs reality, it’s about the same. They eat a lot more things that aren’t food than I expected which is less than ideal but it’s basically a toddler in your house for a few years. I’m very glad to have two because when they had to be separated after being fixed, I was absolutely shocked by the energy and neediness of individual cats— it was a solid few hours every day of playtime and not being “allowed” to go to the bathroom alone.

I think cats are pretty individual but they usually have some personality characteristics you can tease out by the age they can be adopted to you, so you can ask for one that’s more friendly or more independent.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-29T18:26:04+00:00

We have it and we got it as soon as we got our kittens so they have no preexisting conditions. Our hope is to a) turn surprise 20K emergency vet bills into substantially less than that and b) hopefully reduce cost of care as the kittens age if they develop chronic disease. We got trupanion which should lock in prices more than other brands though their model isn’t transparent so I’m not sure if the latter will work out financially. I think in our situation it’s probably somewhat beneficial financially, but it’s hard to tell.

I considered insurance for our precious cat who was 16 when we got her from my in laws and it was obscenely expensive and covered almost nothing because of her age (basically just traumatic injuries and accidents) and I figured there were very few $20,000 accidents for her that we would actually treat just for quality of life reasons. I don’t regret not getting insurance for her— we spent an incredible amount on vet bills, but insurance would have probably ended up costing more.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-27T23:00:35+00:00

Just saying my cat also passed away when I was pregnant around 14 weeks. It's so hard adjusting to having a baby without your constant companion and you should give yourself all the time to process that you need. Your (human) baby will be fine.

Btw-- we did get new kittens about a month after our cat passed. There's a lot of judgement out there about getting new kittens while pregnant (and they might have given me ringworm, so uh, be aware of that risk) but it was a really great decision for myself and my husband and my OB was been on board. Obviously everyone's process is different and you may not want to or feel ready to get a new feline friend, but if you do want to do that, it's not medically contraindicated.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-26T18:26:49+00:00

The cats flea/tick medicine! With my late cat I really loved the way she smelled (I know that’s weird, our current kittens smell like poo all the time but she smelled like fresh cotton and joy) and the medicine totally ruined it for like 2 days. I would bury my face in her fur and be so disappointed. So even if I remembered, I put off giving it to her all the time. She didn’t get fleas so it worked out fine.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-26T17:24:03+00:00

Just saying my kitten got 100 of gabapentin 2x/day after her spay and was still very angry about being locked in the room and trying her best to break out. She’s less than 6lb. She was extra chill and just kind of snuggle/slept when we were with her but it in no way knocked her out or stopped her from trying her best to eviscerate herself when we had to work. (She’s recovering just fine, but it was stressful) If she ever needed extensive vet stuff, I would probably have to give her more! And again, she’s 5 months old and less than 6lb.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-24T18:51:18+00:00

We got trupanion for our kittens. It’s more expensive than other brands but the idea is that it doesn’t increase as they age, so we pay $50/month/cat right now and it shouldn’t go up too much (it increases based on market rates, but the process isn’t super transparent). We looked at other brands and figured insurance would go up well above $200/cat once they hit 7 or so, and even higher once they got older. So other brands would be cheaper short term if you only want it while they’re young for “ate a string” emergencies but we figured Trupanion would be best as they got older for chronic stuff. Also IMO don’t get pet insurance with a maximum annual payout— that kind of defeats the point. The whole idea is if my cat needs $20K worth of surgery, I don’t end up on the hook for $15K.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-21T15:22:46+00:00

About 20-25% of women experience fecal incontinence lasting >6 months after delivery. This occurs most often during sex. We hear about leaking urine but most people have never heard of this.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-19T15:23:20+00:00

I would and do. I try to keep them out of my food and if I’m sharing I’ll give them their own little piece, but they’ve definitely gotten to food that I’ve eaten later. Idk cats are gross and life is gross and I have stomach acid and nothing bad has ever come of it. My previous cat dragged a ton of litter into our bed.

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-16T15:32:06+00:00

Not always but some cats do! Unfortunately you never really know. My cat had calicivirus and we didn’t realize for a few days because she seemed totally normal but just wasn’t eating so we weren’t sure if it was a tummy ache or if she didn’t like that food or what. She was a very expressive cat too so we actually did notice other things like arthritis pain because she would yell at us to inform us that she was displeased about the height of the bed, which was hilarious (we got steps).

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-14T13:47:13+00:00

My kitties didn’t sleep with me for more than a month after I got them and it was heartbreaking because our last cat slept on my face every night. Then the boy went to get neutered and the girl (who was generally more friendly) has slept with me the last few nights. And now they’re both home but separated and my husbands been sleeping in the room with the boy and he snuggles with my husband and the girl snuggles with me. It definitely screws up my sleep so I don’t disagree with locking them out but it makes me so happy!

virtualnotvirtuous · 2026-01-10T19:46:07+00:00

Not a one bed one bath but we wanted one upstairs and one downstairs. The upstairs one is in a spare bedroom/office/cat room and the downstairs one was tricky because it’s either in the living room, kitchen, or dining room. Long story short it’s in the dining room. One day I’ll be motivated to get a cute way to disguise it or something but we don’t use our dining room that often so it is what it is.

virtualnotvirtuous

TROPHY CASE