this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2025
29 points (78.4% liked)
Vegan
1358 readers
27 users here now
A place for solarpunks working toward a world without speciesism
Rules
- This is not a place to debate veganism
- There is no place for (carnist) trolls
- No promotion of commercial products
- No speciesism
- No promotion of violence in any way
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
If this is possible for dog food, would it be possible for cats as well?
I get the feeling that dogs would more easily accept a new diet than cats.
I have seen at least 11 studies for dogs and 4 for cats supporting the evidence that a plant-based diet can be healthy. But one must buy the pet food that has the essential nutrients such as b12 and taurine.
For cats? Are you sure? I read the exact opposite
You're correct. Cats are obligate carnivores. It's literally abuse to not feed them meat, so they don't really jive with a vegan lifestyle regardless of your views on animal companionship.
Cats cant be vegan it's a philosophy however they can thrive on a plant-based diet.
I was not discussing the philosophy of cats. Cats can not survive, let alone thrive, on a plant based diet. They require meat as a part of their biology.
https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/cats-are-carnivores-so-they-should-eat-like-one/
You literally just said " they don’t really jive with a vegan lifestyle" They can't chose it for themselves.
That's not necessarily true, they just need the nutrients. Research in the last 4 years contradicts that claim.
I think there may be a language barrier here. Stating cats don't "jive with a vegan lifestyle" is referring to the lifestyle of the individual with the cat, not the opinions cat themselves. A few studies in a controlled environment were they kept cats alive is not the same as what's best for the cats. There are definitely ethical concerns with attempting that at home.
You’re calling cats “vegan” when that’s not possible.
A cat isn’t going to care about the animals they hunt.
I literally didn't. There is clearly a barrier that can't be surpassed here, so I'll disengage. Best of luck to you.
Recent studies in the last 3 years point to the contrary as synthetic taurine, b12 and vitamin a can be provided in a plant-based diet through the form of reputable kibble.
Sources:
https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-021-02754-8
https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/vetn.2022.13.6.252
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0253292
https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/1/52
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0284132
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402411609X
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/6/9/57
https://sustainablepetfood.info/
Thank you! I will read into that.
Like all creatures, cats require specific nutrients, not ingredients. 'Obligate' carnivore is not a thing. But regardless, there should be far fewer domestic cats.