We can understand why humans decided to maintain a vegetarian diet because of various health reasons. We also know that human may possibly live a healthier lifestyle on a vegetarian diet, but is it the same for cats? Is there a need to transform your cat’s diet into a vegetarian one just because you are one?
Like me, if the vegetarian cat diet issue has bothered you for a long time, I hope this little research article can help you clear some doubts on whether a vegetarian cat diet is a healthy diet:
Source 1. Dr. Richard Pitcairn, author of “Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to the Health of Dogs and Cats,” Rodale Press, notes that the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom reported that cats did well on meatless diets in Great Britain.
Nevertheless, he warns that cats are true carnivores and have dietary needs that can only be satisfied by ingesting animal tissue. He states that unlike humans and dogs, cats cannot convert beta-carotene to vitamin A. They also need sufficient taurine, which is not found in plant material. In short, Dr. Pitcairn does not feel that meatless or near meatless diets supplemented with taurine are healthy for cats.
Source 2. The Vegetarian Society, a UK organization founded in 1847, warns against feeding cats a vegetarian diet. The society explains that cats are natural carnivores and are likely to find their meat elsewhere by hunting rodents and birds. They also reminds cat owners that cats require nutrients that are found only in meat. These nutrients include: taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A, vitamin B12, niacin, thiamin and protein.
Explaining that meat is the only major source of arachidonic acid, and cats lacking the ability to synthesize niacin from protein. There are little replacements as cats cannot use the B12 in cereals, and egg and dairy products are actually poor sources for the vitamin.
Source 3. Wysong, a premium pet food manufacturer, has a vegan cat food formula on it’s list, but guess what, they themselves warns that the food does not meet feline protein requirements. Wysong advises that the decision to feed a cat that is a natural carnivore an all vegetarian diet brings “inherent risk” with an artificially imposed, imbalanced and deficient diet. The vegan food formula the company offers is to be used for specific purposes:
- For when a pet has food allergies, use the vegan cat food as part of an elimination diet to see what meat products your pet is allergic to.
- Use the food as a base and add fresh meats and organ meat.
Also, Wysong notes that since not 100% is known about nutrition or nutrition of cats in particular, calling a food 100% balanced cannot be truly accurate. One can extract from that statement that how can we truly know what other nutrients may be missing from a cat’s diet that is meatless and how can we be sure we are supplementing sufficiently?
At the moment of time, the decision of most cat owners to go with a vegetarian diet is really more of an ethical choice than of a health-based one. If you are thinking along the line of ethics, maybe you can consider the reasons why you are forcing your cat to eat a diet that goes against its nature and possibly put its health at risk. If you decide to stick with a vegetarian diet for your cat, do consult your veterinarian regularly and bring him for an extra checkup annually.
