Can a pet cat be vegan?

[Anonymous1502]

If not is it OK to buy meat products to feed a pet cat?

 

[Lou]

We have a member here who may be the foremost expert on vegan cats. Her (his?) name is Vegan Dogs

We also have a few threads on the subject.

Vegan pet foods

Do you think that feeding your pet vegetarian/vegan pet food is cruel? Obviously I'm not talking about feeding herbivores like rabbits vegan, rather, people who feed their dog/cat vegan food. These animals are natural carnivores - especially cats, who are obligate carnivores - meaning they can't...

www.veganforum.org

It seems like most of the threads have more to do with vegan dogs but maybe a little more digging will uncover an older vegan cats thread.

 

[silva]

Cats are obligate carnivores, they can only absorb some nutrients that are preformulated from meat. Some nutrients, like taurine and vitamin A, need to be further processed, humans and other omnivores and herbivores can do this, as well, same with converting aminos, but cats and other carnivores need them from meat-already formulated.
There are vegan cat foods that have them converted, as well as supplements, but, if you choose to feed a cat these foods I strongly suggest monitoring their health with a vet.
While commercial cat food is far from ideal, it does have a known track record, so the typical vet checks know what to expect and check for. Vegan cats are far from ordinary, so more monitoring is needed for the unknown.,
I would hope you would take into consideration how you would respond if the cat were not to do well on a vegan diet. Would you be willing to feed them meat based? If not, please don't try this experiment and choose a companion known to do well as vegan- many dogs, and rodents.
Cats cannot go long without food, if they won't eat they can go into liver failure rapidly. A cat cannot survive two weeks without food, and even a week can start organ damage

 

[David3]

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has published two peer-reviewed studies on the nutritional adequacy of veg diets for cats, and the health status of cats being fed a veg diet. Here are a link to one of those studies (there is another AVMA study, but it requires payment for viewing ):

Link to AVMA study

In the United States, nutritionally-complete pet foods are certified by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Pet foods that comply with the AAFCO's recommendations will carry an AAFCO statement like this:




The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published this peer-reviewed study of vegetarian vs. meat-based diets for companion animals:

Link to NIH study

The British Veterinary Association hasn't published any peer-reviewed studies on veg diets for cats. They have, however, published an unscientific and unprofessional commentary on such diets: The trouble with vegan cats and dogs .
.

 

[Anonymous1502]

Cats are obligate carnivores, they can only absorb some nutrients that are preformulated from meat. Some nutrients, like taurine and vitamin A, need to be further processed, humans and other omnivores and herbivores can do this, as well, same with converting aminos, but cats and other carnivores need them from meat-already formulated.
There are vegan cat foods that have them converted, as well as supplements, but, if you choose to feed a cat these foods I strongly suggest monitoring their health with a vet.
While commercial cat food is far from ideal, it does have a known track record, so the typical vet checks know what to expect and check for. Vegan cats are far from ordinary, so more monitoring is needed for the unknown.,
I would hope you would take into consideration how you would respond if the cat were not to do well on a vegan diet. Would you be willing to feed them meat based? If not, please don't try this experiment and choose a companion known to do well as vegan- many dogs, and rodents.
Cats cannot go long without food, if they won't eat they can go into liver failure rapidly. A cat cannot survive two weeks without food, and even a week can start organ damage

I do not have a pet cat but I would perhaps like to own one in the future and as a vegan I just wanted to know if it would be ethical to feed my cat a meat diet or not and whether a cat can be vegan or not.

 

[Second Summer]

There are vegan cat foods that have them converted, as well as supplements, but, if you choose to feed a cat these foods I strongly suggest monitoring their health with a vet.
While commercial cat food is far from ideal, it does have a known track record, so the typical vet checks know what to expect and check for. Vegan cats are far from ordinary, so more monitoring is needed for the unknown.,

Agreed - that sounds like good advice. Cats are also notoriously fuzzy eaters.

Link to AVMA study

I'm a little bit confused by this abstract:

• "34 cats that had been exclusively fed a commercial or homemade vegetarian diet and 52 cats that had been fed a conventional diet for ≥ 1 year"
• "... 14 of 17 had blood taurine concentrations within reference range".

I guess they didn't check all the vegetarian cats for blood taurine concentrations? Also, it doesn't say anything about blood taurine concentrations in the control group - the 52 conventional diet cats. And access to the full text study appears to require payment.

 

[David3]

Agreed - that sounds like good advice. Cats are also notoriously fuzzy eaters.


I'm a little bit confused by this abstract:

• "34 cats that had been exclusively fed a commercial or homemade vegetarian diet and 52 cats that had been fed a conventional diet for ≥ 1 year"
• "... 14 of 17 had blood taurine concentrations within reference range".

I guess they didn't check all the vegetarian cats for blood taurine concentrations? Also, it doesn't say anything about blood taurine concentrations in the control group - the 52 conventional diet cats. And access to the full text study appears to require payment.

Agreed. Research on veg diets for cats is sparse.
.

 

[Luis Halson]

I don't think cats could go vegan, because even if you fed them vegan food at home, they will go out at night and eat birds or mice and others, so you can't really make your cats go vegan.

 

[silva]

I don't think cats could go vegan, because even if you fed them vegan food at home, they will go out at night and eat birds or mice and others, so you can't really make your cats go vegan.

I would think someone wanting their cat to eat vegan would keep them indoors only!
I imagine this is looked at differently in New Zealand than in the US

 

[Nekodaiden]

If not is it OK to buy meat products to feed a pet cat?

A couple of youtubers come to mind - happyhealthyvegan and hench herbivore who both (if I'm not mistaken) look after cats and feed them vegan cat food.

VeganDogs (member on site) by her own statements keeps cats confined indoors and only provides vegan cat food.

I think the basic idea behind this is something akin to "if it can be done, why not? Less harm etc" I disagree with this. Cats are obviously built as carnivores - teeth, claws, digestive system - and while it's certainly possible for them to survive using a vegan cat food that includes some ingredients only possible from lab derivation (making it exclusive and adding to expense), I don't think this is the only consideration worth looking at.

To make a cat completely vegan seems in itself unethical to me. It is like robbing them of a major part of their nature and pride of being. I know from looking after my own feline friend she is very proud of her catches and often tries to bring them inside to show me. Of course, I have scolded her for bringing prey inside, but otherwise don't - it would be like saying "don't be what you are". She hunts a lot less because of the grain based food I give her (that does contain a few animal products) - but she still hunts and I wouldn't ever try to rob her of this natural instinct.

 

[Calliegirl]

No, they shouldn't be fed a vegan diet. If it bothers you to feed them meat, it would be better to look for a naturally vegan pet, like a rabbit. Although a few may seem to have survived a vegan diet, there is no way to know how they actually felt on the diet.

Just like you can survive on big macs and fries, you'll feel like crap while doing so. Think how much better you feel on a healthy diet than you do eating junk food. The same would go for cats, they might survive on an unnatural, unhealthy, carb filled diet, but no doubt won't feel as well as they would on their natural diet.

Cats were not made to be pets for for humans, so I think it's incredibly selfish to make them go on an unhealthy diet just so that they can fit into your lifestyle to be a pet. How is it any different than declawing/mutilating them to fit into your lifestyle?

 

[Luis Halson]

I would think someone wanting their cat to eat vegan would keep them indoors only!
I imagine this is looked at differently in New Zealand than in the US

In NZ we usually let our cats outdoors at night, don't know about the US

 

[silva]

In NZ we usually let our cats outdoors at night, don't know about the US

At night? In urban/suburban areas I believe most cats are indoor only. Most that do let their cats out bring them in at night. We have coyotes by me, and just too much danger in general.

 

[Dolores]

Hi all,

I'm Dolores and I'm new here. THis is my first post. I'm a person who wants to go vegan, not even vegan yet. I say all of this because I want you to understand where I'm coming from when I put my two cents in for what it's worth. I'm getting a new cat soon, and have done extensive reading on the subject of feeding my cat an exclusively vegan diet. I do not believe based on all I've read that it is in the best interest of the cat as other folks on here have stated. To me, there is not enough evidence to support switching your cat to an all-vegan diet. Since cats are obligate carnivores, with short intestinal trats, teeth, claws, etc, i would be very afraid I'd put my cat's life in danger by making them subscribe to my vegan lifestyle. They eat meat in nature, it's just how they are, that being said, I will however search for the best commercially produced good quality cat foods available. If you really want a vegan pet, you can get a bird, or some other pet. I am keeping my cat indoors, as I feel it's safer for them.

 

[beancounter]

IMHO, making a natural carnivore (like a cat) go vegan, is like trying to force someone who is gay to be straight.

 

[VeganPoet]

The truth is most people overfeed their cats with regular cat which lead to chronic disease since it is not a natural diet either (whole birds and mice, etc), so if one uses a vegan cat food supplemented with taurine (the important amino acid) and made sure not to overfeed the cat, they would probably stay in better health than a typical meat-eaters kitty. But perhaps someone has some experience with this, I had an ex that did this so I know it's ok for a couple years at least.

 

[Ohzen]

Cats can be cruel... sure, there are many examples of old n' happy vegan cats. However, I grew up in a remote village and.... noone was feeding that despicable creature yet it thrived......... "Riccardo" from Italy, round 17 pounds in his best days, no fat, pure hate! He "Hit & Run" me more often than I can count.... dunno why exactly that demon spawn despised me. Guess it was just part of his egregious personality.... lost an eye but it just made him fiercer....

What Im trying to say... cats also have their own personality and when its a cool, decent cat it may have no problem with a vegan diet, but if your cat is lower trailer park material (happens... you save a cat from the shelter and turns out as a human it would be voting for Trump) and you move to the countryside? I somehow have the feeling most owners of (not totaly settled yet) vegan cats would soon find a little suprise in their bed or at the doorstep...

 

[Ohzen]

IMHO, making a natural carnivore (like a cat) go vegan, is like trying to force someone who is gay to be straight.

This comparison is not adequat. Among the most important things in nature is not to waste any energy. So if a cat gets all the nutrients it needs, and its not like we let that poor fellow just chew on some Broccoli.... the only thing that actually changes is the taste and I doubt cats care much especialy if they are used to something and dont have to hunt in order to survive.

Special products for vegan cats are rather expensive compared to just letting it hunt some mice. I dont want to upset anybody but this seems a bit like a first world problem. I suppose it can be rather challenging to raise a vegan cat somewhere else than a closed flat.

 

[Vegan Dogs]

Hi if you search you will find plenty information and links on the topic vegan cats I diddo.

Perfectly species appropriate by law and nutritionally complete also by law.

20 year old healthy indoor vegan Fed cats exist.

One of the websites with plenty info and suppliers list is

Www.vegepets.com

 

[Vegan Dogs]

Vegan cats age 20 years old examples | Vegan Forum

www.veganforum.org