 People choose to adopt vegan diets for a myriad of personal reasons, some over animal welfare concerns, and some to improve their overall health. And since living a vegan lifestyle is now easier than ever, some vegans may want to extend that aspect of their lifestyle to their pets. But is a vegan, plant-based diet safe for your pets? The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center says that while it is possible, though challenging, to keep dogs healthy on a plant-based diet, a vegan diet is not appropriate for cats at all. If dogs can do it, why can't cats? Well, cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they need to eat meat to survive. There are a number of reasons why cats don't do well on a vegan diet, but it all essentially comes down to this, they aren't adapted to it. Feeding a cat a plant-based diet is a lot like feeding a cow a meat-based diet, their digestive system isn't geared to handle it, and they will not thrive on it. Cats are not only carnivores, they're hyper-carnivores. Also called obligate or true carnivores, all felines, both wild and domestic, big and small, must eat meat to survive. They can eat small quantities of plant-based food, but the meat must be the main ingredient in their diet. True carnivores simply aren't designed by mother nature to digest vegetable matter. Cats must eat animal meat and organs to meet their nutritional needs, and plant-based proteins, grains and vegetables, are not a substitute. Your kitty lacks the specific enzymes necessary to use plant proteins as efficiently as animal proteins. The proteins derived from animal tissue contain a complete amino acid profile. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Plant-based proteins don't contain all the amino acids critical for the health of an obligate carnivore. Humans, who are omnivores, have the physiological ability to turn plant proteins into the missing pieces needed for a complete amino acid profile. Obligate carnivores do not. What specific components make a vegan diet unhealthy for cats? Taurine Taurine is an amino acid, the building block of protein, essential for cats. Taurine can only be found in animal sources such as meat, milk, etc. It is not found in plant sources. Taurine can be synthesized in humans and dogs, but cats are unable to do this and require a direct source from an animal product. Cats who are fed a vegan diet will often develop a deficiency of taurine because the diet doesn't provide them with this essential amino acid. Cats with a taurine deficiency can develop a heart issue known as dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM. In cats with DCM, the heart muscle becomes very thin and weak, preventing them from pumping blood and supplying oxygen to the body normally. This is a fatal disease if not corrected early on. A lack of adequate taurine can also cause severe eye problems in cats, including blindness. Cats require a diet high in protein. Plants simply don't have high enough levels of high quality, highly digestible protein to meet a cat's dietary requirements. Cats are not good at digesting carbohydrates. They don't get much energy from them, and a carbohydrate-rich diet is not appropriate for cats. They need calorie-dense options that meat provides. The bottom line is that because cats are obligate carnivores, their gastrointestinal tracts and metabolism have adapted to eating meat. They can't digest plant material well, and they require essential nutrients that only meat can provide to them. They aren't adapted to digesting a plant-based diet, and meat absolutely needs to be on the table when you are feeding a cat. However, you can still improve the lives of farm animals and be mindful of animal welfare by seeking out animal food brands bearing meaningful welfare certification labels, which represent more humane and transparent farming practices. Cats have vitamin requirements that a vegetarian diet can't provide. Felines have a special need for vitamin A, which is naturally available only in animal tissue. They lack the intestinal enzymes necessary to convert the beta-carotene in plants to the active form of vitamin A, which is essential for vision, bone and muscle growth, reproduction, and the health of epithelial tissues. Cats also require five times more dietary thiamine, vitamin B1, than dogs do. A thiamine deficiency can result in a poor quality coat, loss of appetite, hunched posture, neurologic problems including seizures, and even death. Its vitamin B1 isn't stable in commercial pet foods, and levels drop significantly the longer the food is stored. Many cats may be thiamine deficient unless they're eating a freshly made real food diet or are receiving a quality supplement. Cats must consume vitamin D in their diets because they can't synthesize it through their skin. Hello. This video is sponsored by Beemix Pets. Are you looking for high quality cat collars at an affordable cost? Check out, BeemixPets.com. Use coupon code KittenLife, to get 20% off. Why do cats need meat? Caroline Ray, head of veterinary services at Blue Cross wearing Blue Cross uniform. This advice has been approved by our head of veterinary services at Blue Cross. The problem here is that cats require a much higher level of protein than dogs and humans, and their ability to digest and use carbohydrates is much lower. Additionally, taurine, an amino acid, which is the building block of protein, is an essential part of a cat's diet. Taurine can only be found in animal-based proteins and it's really important for their eyesight, growth, and immune system. This means that cats need to eat meat to get important nutrients that aren't available in vegetables. Cats can become very ill if given a plant-based diet. Your cat needs a proper nutritionally balanced diet throughout their life. Pre-existing conditions, such as heart and kidney disease, will often need a special diet recommended by a vet and a vegan or vegetarian diet can make matters worse. If you are still considering feeding your cat a vegan diet, please speak to your vet beforehand. Offer a variety of meats to your cat, but avoid most fish. My recommendation is to feed your cat a nutritionally balanced, species-appropriate, meat-based fresh food diet. Give him a variety of meats like chicken, beef, rabbit, and lamb from high-quality sources, and on a rotating basis, to reduce the risk of food intolerances. I don't recommend a diet that's exclusively fish protein. Most seafood today is heavily contaminated with toxic metals, industrial chemicals, and pesticides. In addition, the fish meal in most commercial pet foods contains the potentially deadly preservative ethoxyquin, as well as mycotoxins. Too much fish in your cat's diet can also create thiamine and vitamin E deficiencies over time, along with health problems associated with too much dietary iodine and magnesium. With that said, it's true that fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which cats need to stay healthy. So I recommend sardines packed in water, or wild-caught salmon, and supplement his diet with krill oil. Your cat also needs a moisture-rich diet. Yet another distinctive biological feature of cats is their need to get most of their water intake from the food they eat because they're not as responsive as other animals to sensations of thirst or dehydration. Unlike dogs, who drink frequently from their water bowls, cats fed a dried diet aren't compelled to search for another source of water to make up the difference between what their bodies require and what their diet provides. This can result in chronic mild dehydration, a condition that will ultimately result in disease, especially of the lower urinary tract and kidneys. In short, your cat can't be a vegetarian. He needs a fresh, whole meat-based diet to stay healthy. Please don't make your cat a vegetarian. If you want to cook for your cat, and can deal with having meat in your vegan refrigerator, then that's okay, as long as you realize that it is very difficult to make a homemade, nutritionally balanced diet for your cat without screwing something up. If you want to attempt it, make sure it's recommended by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, that does not mean trying whatever you stumble upon on the internet, as it will require appropriate electrolyte, vitamin, and mineral supplementation, especially focusing on phosphorus, calcium, vitamin A balance, among a few other things. If you enjoyed this video, kindly press the like button. 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