what to feed your cat if you are vegan

Important Nutrients For Cat Vegan Diet

• Vitamin A. To remain healthy, your cat requires a high dose of Vitamin A daily. Failure to receive this vitamin can...
• Taurine. Taurine is another essential nutrient for your cat's survival, and it is exclusively found in animal-based...
• Arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is an essential fatty acid that cats require in high amounts...

Full Answer

Can I Feed my Cat a vegetarian diet?

To this end, veterinarians like Dr. Armaiti May, DVM, CVA work with people who are considering feeding vegetarian diets to their cats. Dr. May's position suggests also paying attention to her urine to make sure she's doing well on her new vegetarian or vegan cat food diet.

What is the best vegan food for cats?

You should also ensure that the food is appealing so that your cat will eat it. During our reviews, we found Wysong vegan food to be the best. It is a base food, which allows you to add supplements and other ingredients. This means that you can create a tasty and healthy treat for your cat and potentially avoid feeding them meat.

How much does it cost to keep a cat on vegan food?

For one thing, between the added expense of commercial vegan food and the twice-yearly urine tests, you can count on spending at least an extra two hundred dollars each year to keep your cat on a vegan diet.

What nutrients do cats need to be healthy?

Taurine – Taurine is another essential nutrient that cats are unable to produce themselves and that must come from their diet. If a cat has too little taurine in their diet, they can go blind and their heart can become enlarged, leading to serious heart conditions.

Can a cat survive on a vegan diet?

The short answer is no, cats can't be vegetarian or vegan. Cats are obligate carnivores which means they need meat in their diet.

What do vegans feed their pets?

Regardless, dogs can and do easily thrive on a properly formulated vegan diet, and this can be accomplished by feeding them a ready-made vegan dog food, of which several brands exist, or preparing a whole foods vegetable diet for them that includes things like rice, sweet potatoes or carrots, lentils, and other veggies ...

Do vegan people feed their pets vegan food?

As you can see in this graph, all the omnivores and pescatarians and nearly all of the vegetarians fed meat-based foods to their pets. Conversely, 10 percent of the vegan cat owners and 30 percent of vegan dog owners raised their companion animals on completely plant-based pet foods.

How long do cats live on a vegan diet?

Cats ranged from 4 months to 23 years old – and in their conclusions researchers reported no differences in lifespan between diet types, and that more owners of cats fed plant‑based diets reported their cat to be in very good health.

How do vegans justify having pets?

Many vegans feel that given the existence of domesticated cats, dogs and other animals, keeping them as respected and cared for companions is preferable to any other option. The Vegan Society state, “As vegans, we should be working towards a world in which no animal is held in captivity” and this clearly includes pets.

Is it ethical for vegans to have pets?

It's morally preferable to keep pets as respected companions versus the deadly risks of sending them back into the wild, euthanasia or keeping them in shelters. For these reasons, the consensus is it's okay for vegans to have pets.

Can ethical vegans have pets?

Rabbits are perhaps the best choice for a vegan pet. They are natural herbivores, and once weaned remain generally uninterested in any meat or animal products whatsoever. They are also intelligent, social animals, and can be very responsive pets.

What vegetables can cats eat?

Superb vegetables to offer your cat are chopped carrots, peas, frozen corn, broccoli florets, green beans, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, winter squash, and pumpkin. This produce should be cooked (steamed is best) since felines, just like us humans, lack a sufficient way to break down plant cell walls.

Is it cruel to make a dog vegan?

Recent research into the evolutionary history and gastrointestinal tracts of both dogs and cats proves that it is unwise, if not outright cruel, to feed them a truly vegan diet.

Do vegan dogs live longer?

Not only are these diets beneficial for senior dogs (they have natural anti-inflammatory properties that can help with conditions such as arthritis), but dogs who switch to a vegan diet often go on to live into their late teens and early twenties -- even in breeds with a much shorter life expectancy.

Do vegans ride horses?

Do vegans dare to ride horses? Spoiler alert. Yes, some vegans ride horses (and that's okay). The ethics of horse riding are highly debatable and somewhat controversial.

How much does it cost to have a vegan cat tested?

Each urine test will cost at least seventy dollars. But that’s a pittance compared to the surgery and hospitalization costs associated with undetected urinary problems. More importantly, these tests can eliminate the suffering and life-threatening risks that arise from a blocked urethra.

How many amino acids do cats need?

Humans require just nine types of amino acids, all of which are found in abundance in many vegan foods. Cats, by contrast, require eleven different amino acids. And these extra two amino acids, taurine and arginine, aren’t normally found in plant-based foods. Taurine and arginine aren’t just desirable for cats, they are essential—without sufficient taurine, your cat will go blind.

How to help a cat with urinary tract health?

Even if the urine pH is in the healthy range, you can provide additional support for urinary tract health by encouraging your cat to drink plenty of water. One way to accomplish this is to provide two sources of water: plain water, and water flavored with vegan bouillon cubes. Many cats will drink extra water if it is provided by a flowing water fountain. Serving wet rather than dry food can also boost your cat’s water intake, although this may diminish your cat’s dental health.

How to prevent struvite stones in cats?

The most reliable way to prevent struvite stones is to conduct urine tests. You must do a urine test two weeks after changing your cat’s diet. About 15 to 20 percent of vegan cats will develop FLUTD if they do not undergo proper urine tests.

What to do if cat's urine is too alkaline?

If the urine is too alkaline (if the pH is above 6.5), consider adding acidifiers to the diet. These acidifiers include methionine, vitamin C, and sodium bisulfate. They’re all discussed at length in Gillen’s books. Be sure to consult your vet before using a methionine supplement, since these can produce gastrointestinal problems or anemia. If you’re preparing cat food from scratch, rather than purchase an acidifier you might switch to a cat food recipe that contains naturally acidifying foods like asparagus, peas, brown rice, or oats.

Why do vegans need to collect urine samples?

Now why would you need to collect urine samples? Haven’t we already concluded that correctly formulated vegan food offers all the nutrients a cat needs? Sampling urine turns out to be an absolute necessity because vegan diets, even if nutritionally complete, tend to be more alkaline than diets that are based on meat.

What pH should a cat's urine be?

Note that you should only resort to acidifiers or acidifying recipes if urine tests indicate a necessity to do so. You want your cat’s urine pH between 6.0 and 6.5. Unwarranted use of acidifiers can cause health problems. Ironically enough, inappropriate use of acidifiers can cause those wretched urinary tract stones again. In this case—when urine is too acidic—the crystals will consist of calcium oxalate rather than struvite.

What to feed a cat that is vegan?

In particular, you will need to find meals that include nutrients like taurine and arginine, which are just two proteins that come from meat and would otherwise be lacking from your cat’s diet. They are also essential to the good health of your cat. Alternatively, you can include or feed supplements on top of their vegan diet that include these ingredients.

How much protein should a cat have?

A young adult cat, up to the age of 6, needs approximately 35% protein in their diet, and this is easier to achieve with meat. It is possible to reach these levels with plant-based food but do ensure that the food you feed meets this criterion. Arginine – This amino acid is found in meat.

What is Evolution's fondue cat food?

It is a designed as a complete cat food, which means that it includes all taurine, protein and other vitamins and nutrients that your cat requires. You shouldn’t need to add any supplements or other ingredients to ensure that your cat is getting a healthy, balanced diet.

How long does B12 last in cats?

B12 cannot be stored in the body for long. In a healthy cat, it is stored for around 12 days , but if your cat gets ill, its body will only be able to retain B12 stores for around half this time.

Why is dry cat food cheaper?

Dry food tends to stay fresher for longer and it hasn’t been weighed down with water so, although premium dry food looks expensive on the face of it, it can work out cheaper because your cat will require much less of it at meal time.

What is Evolution diet?

View Latest Price. Evolution diet vegetable stew moist cat food is a pate style food made from plant and natural ingredients. It has added taurine, which helps ensure good digestive health and maintains eyesight. It is a pate, which means that it has a moist texture, which most cats will find more palatable.

Is Ami cat food vegan?

AMI Cat Food – Best Value. View Latest Price. AMI vegan cat food is made entirely from plant based and natural ingredients and does not contain any animal or slaughterhouse by-products. It has also been formulated so that it is a complete cat food.

What amino acid do cats need?

Cats require a variety of amino acids, including the sulfonic acid taurine. Unlike dogs and people, who can synthesize taurine from the plant-sourced amino acid cysteine, cats need preformed taurine. In nature, taurine is found in raw meat, especially raw organs.

What to do if you have a cat in your house?

One is to disrespect your cat’s needs and desires by feeding him a diet that’s morally meaningful to you and perhaps other animals, but utterly unnatural to a carnivore.

Can cats eat tuna?

Cats don’t eat beef, chicken, turkey, or tuna in the wild, yet they’re the basis of most cat foods. Just as vegan foods demand a slew of supplements to provide the nutrition cats need, so do cooked cat foods. And most non-vegan dry foods are loaded with corn, wheat, and soy.

Can cats eat vegan food?

Even if it does appear to be nutritionally complete and balanced, feeding your cat vegan food demands great faith in the human ability to parse nutrition.

Is it possible to feed cats vegan?

Even more importantly, the goal in feeding pets is not simply to avoid diet-related illness but to promote optimal health and wellbeing. I sincerely doubt this is possible with vegan cat food.”

Can cats be vegan?

Until the first cat decides to reject his carnivorous nature, no. Cats can’t be vegan.

Is cat food natural?

And no, ordinary non-vegan cat food isn’t much more natural than a plant-based diet.

What are domesticated cats' ancestors?

Domesticated cats' ancestors were desert-dwelling predators, whose die ts consisted of lizards, snakes, birds, rodents, and even some protein-containing insects. Even today's most domesticated house cats are often very skilled hunters—if they want to be.

Is not having good nutrition bad for your pet?

For example, not having good nutrition has been known to worsen preexisting conditions such as heart disease, urinary tract disease, diarrhea, and more according to PetMD. It has also been linked to heart and eye disease without prior conditions being reported. Your pet's health is not worth the potential risk.

Do vegan cats hunt other animals?

Human vegans and vegetarians can balance a diet of veggies and live healthily, but this isn't always the case with cats. If you are feeding your cat a vegetarian or vegan dish—or just considering it—take a look at the following and be sure to consult with your veterinarian on your cat's specific needs.

Is vegan cat food good for cats?

Cats are nature's classic carnivores, and although the vegetarian lifestyle is alright for your human family members, serving vegetarian or vegan cat food is not a good choice for your feline friend. Considered "obligate carnivores," cats are genetically "obligated" to hunt other animals for their nutrition.

Can vegetarian cat food be used for cardiac ultrasound?

Even if you are feeding a well-known dish of vegetarian cat food, blood and urine content may be used to track her overall health, but it can be much more extensive as cardiac ultrasound and retinal evaluation may be needed to look for problems associated with deficient vegetarian cat foods.

Do cats hunt food?

When they do hunt their food, they eat the whole thing. The majority of this "catch" is digested for the energy a cat needs every day, whereas the rest is regurgitated in the hairball-style fashion you may know all to well. This is important because although your cat's "natural" eating habits don't come into play as often as they do for her wild relatives, they're the best way to keep her healthy unless your vet recommends otherwise. In other words, most cats do not seek out things like grains and vegetables because they aren't what their bodies are built to survive on.

Can a vegetarian cat eat natural cat food?

In fact, for a vegetarian cat food to meet the needs of your cat, it will still require synthetic amino acids, so it is not possible to have a true natural vegetarian cat food ...

Why do people feed vegan pets?

Clearly, most people trying to feed a vegan pet diet are doing this out of love for their pet and strong beliefs about animal welfare, environmental concerns, etc.

What is the condition in which cats have taurine deficiencies?

Taurine deficiencies, for example, lead to a fatal cardiac condition in cats called dilated cardiomyopathy. These cats do not show symptoms until their heart is already failing.

Can you feed a vegan cat?

Feeding your cat a vegan diet? If so, you may be risking nutritional deficiencies in your cat — which could have devastating consequences. Photo: Surprise

Can dogs eat vegetarian food?

My answer is simple: I don’t recommend vegan or vegetarian diets for dogs or cats. You put your dog at risk for nutritional deficiencies without a meat-based diet. You put your cat at extreme risk if you eliminate meat from a feline diet.

Can dogs survive on meat?

Although their protein and other nutritional needs are met more easily and safely with meat in their diet, a dog can survive on a carefully formulated supplemented vegetarian or possibly vegan diet.

Do cats need meat?

As an obligate carnivore, cats not only require protein in their diets, but also they require protein from meat to thrive and survive. They are unable to make amino acids and essential fatty acids — building blocks essential for life — without meat.

Is a cat a carnivore?

The vast majority of nutritional pet experts believe that cats are obligate carnivores while dogs are more like us — omnivores.

What is a Vegan Diet?

A vegan diet is vegetarianism taken to the next level by excluding any animal-derived ingredients, such as eggs, milk, and dairy products.

Why do cats need amino acids?

Amino acids and proteins are vital for body functions such as tissue growth, repair and healing, making haemoglobin, myoglobin, and as part of the vital immunoglobulins that make up our immune system. So switching back to cats, they need protein of ‘high biological value’ such as meat, with all the amino acids ready supplied. If they don’t get everything they need, there is no compromise; they become taurine deficient and extremely ill.

What is the short name for taurine deficiency in cats?

The response was so marked that they named this new condition ‘taurine deficiency induced myocardial failure’, but this being a bit of a mouthful to say, the shorter name DCM (which describes the appearance of the heart) took off.

Why are cats able to survive in arid environments?

The major metabolic differences are: Cats require high quality protein to be healthy. Cats require a supply of taurine in their diet.

Can cats eat vegan food?

If you feed your cat a vegan diet there is no doubt that they will become taurine deficient. Taurine is needed for:

Can cats eat meat?

But whilst you choose to eat a plant based diet, it is important to remember that your cat is an ‘obligate carnivore’ and they MUST eat meat. Unfortunately, no matter how good your moral intentions, feeding your cat a vegan diet is a recipe for disaster.

Can vegetarian cats die from heart failure?

It was as late as 1987 that the link between a lack of taurine and DCM was first made. For decades it had been recognised that cats on a vegetarian diet fared badly , of which a classic sign was early death from heart failure. This was also around the time when cardiac ultrasound scans were in their infancy, and vegetarian cats supplied a steady source of cases to veterinarians to study.

Can Cats Be Vegan?

See more on allaboutcats.com

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