The study they referenced had 127 cats, less than 10% studied were on a vegan diet. That's not a very good sample size. Considering cats are obligate carnivores, going to take this with many grains of salt.
this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2025
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It IS possible for a cat to have a vegan diet as long as the essential nutrients are supplemented and you work with a vet. One big thing is taurine, but the way meat is processed in cat food removes the taurine so it is added back with synthetic taurine anyway.
You can read more about this in this thread:
https://lemmy.world/post/18691022
Also what is an obligate carnivore, does it mean they have to eat meat?
"Some carnivores, particularly cats (family Felidae), are obligate carnivores, meaning they cannot obtain all the nutrients that they need from the plant kingdom and bacteria. In particular, obligate carnivores lack the enzyme needed to split carotene, obtained from plants, into vitamin A. Instead, these animals obtain vitamin A from the liver of their prey. Obligate carnivores are similarly unable to synthesize some essential very-long-chain, highly unsaturated fatty acids that other animals can make from shorter fatty acids found in plant."
So, an obligate carnivore is an animal that needs to (is obligated to) obtain some nutrients by eating the flesh of other animals (or those nutrients would have to be supplied in a form the cat can absorb by means of supplementation). Cats do not have the long digestive tracts of ruminants to efficiently ferment raw starch or fiber, but that doesn’t mean they cannot digest plant matter at all. It also does not mean they are unable to obtain any nutrients from plants or from fiber. However, being an obligate carnivore does mean that their diet MUST provide certain nutrients from the flesh of other animals or from supplementation.
https://rawfedandnerdy.com/what-is-an-obligate-carnivore
Studies on cats eating a vegan diet? Science says we need more studies because it is not as black and white as all the people kneejerking about it are saying.
Whilst the quality and amount of evidence needs to be considered in formulating recommendations, there was no overwhelming evidence of adverse effects arising from use of these diets and there was some evidence of benefits. It is, however, recommended that future high-quality studies, with standardized outcome measures and large sample sizes, be conducted. At the current time, if guardians wish to feed their companion animals vegan diets, a cautious approach should be taken using commercially produced diets which have been formulated considering the nutritional needs of the target species.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9860667/
I learned a lot by listening to the original commenters I linked above. Hope this helps.
So, you can make vegan cat food, but it would be heavily processed, which to me seems antithetical to the vegan movement.
... what?
Cats are currently fed very processed food recommended by veterinarians. They would rather you not feed your cat (or dog) homemade meals unless they have some serious digestive issues going on and is done with a vet's instructions and directions. Some vegans might prefer vegan pets. Some vegans don't like the idea of a pet. But I don't think processed food is a part of opposition. You could even say processed food is a part of the vegan movement since you need vitamins met. Maybe you think processed food is unhealthy? I disagree with that notion but don't feel like debating it rn.
If someone wants a vegan pet, a cat should be at the bottom of their list. They're cute af but they are literally murder machines. If a cat goes outside, it will kill no matter how well it is fed.
Are you trolling? Like seriously wth are you even talking about anymore? I said some vegans prefer vegan pets, as in bunnies and guinea pigs. You know what, just disengage at this point. You are wasting my time and not ready to talk about veganism.
I’m sorry you had to deal with a concern troll.
Ummm that’s a red herring.
I'm pretty sure cats do not have a strong enough digestive system for a plant based diet. I'd be interesting to see what they fed them
Cats do not have the long digestive tracts of ruminants to efficiently ferment raw starch or fiber, but that doesn’t mean they cannot digest plant matter at all. It also does not mean they are unable to obtain any nutrients from plants or from fiber.
True, but just read a 3rd grade biology textbook. you'll see how plant eating animals usually look fatter with how much more bowels they have.
They work the same (mostly), but you just need more of it
Our cats eat this, our older cat became allergic to meat protein and almost died, vet suggested hydrolyzed protein food which he was still allergic to so last resort was vegan cat food, 6 years later he's still going strong at 17 years old. We had just got another cat around the time we switched him to the vegan food, she won't eat anything other than that benevo food. My partner and I went vegan not long after that. According to most people our cats are zombies or something 🙄
The whole obligate carnivore bs only works if the cats are wild, domestic cats esp indoor cats diet are mostly cooked processed foods with plant based fillers and added taurine/vitamins to make up for the nutrients lost due to processing/cooking... Don't often see obligate carnivores cooking their food and chugging multivitamins.
I am sorry to hear that, I'm glad your cats are okay. Your cats eat quite some additives and processed food. At least they're doing well, that's the important part.
Thank you, yes they both get regular checks now for blood/pee. The older one is understandably a lot happier his entire digestive tract/spleen aren't massively inflamed, we get a lot more cuddles now 😻
In hind sight this testing is something we should have been doing even before they went on the plant based food but i was always taught that cat is just an animal not a person so don't treat them the same (grew up on a farm). Any change in diet for a person/pet/animal friend should be approached with caution and monitored.
How'd you manage to get a cat allergic to meat? I know only one mechanism for that
Accusation without reason, didn't supply your unsubstantiated uneducated guess because its likely something bizarre.
But in case your question was actually genuine... I altered the DNA of my cat to give him a semi common allergy using magic.
...our older cat became allergic to meat protein and...
You said this, not accusing you of anything. Just wondering how it happened. It's a cat after all.
Darn troll
You were accusing me of getting a cat allergic to meat... "How'd you manage to get a cat allergic to meat?". Your question was also an accusation, and you even doubled down on it with your allusion to a reason with supplying it.
Now since that backfired and you didnt get the desired response you are resorting to gas lighting. Not sure why you think I can't scroll back and read what you said. Gas lighting works better on people who aren't looking for it.
Next step after gas lighting is usually a personal attack, a last ditch effort to elicit the desired response.
I'd guess you might have NPD, dealt with it before, the cycle is pretty predictable.