 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. 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. Protein. 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. Carbohydrates. 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. Cats need meat and lots of it. Cats also need much more protein in their diets than other animals. Kittens require one and a half times more protein than puppies, and adult cats need two to three times the amount adult dogs require. The reason? While other mammal species use most of the protein they consume for growth and body maintenance, cats use it for this purpose plus as a source of energy. When other species don't get enough protein in their diets, their bodies make adjustments to conserve amino acids to manage the deficit. But your kitty's body must continue to use protein even when it's missing from his diet, which is why protein malnutrition is common in sick, injured, and anorexic cats. In addition to their increased need for protein, cats have a higher requirement for certain amino acids found naturally in animal tissue, including taurine. Taurine is found in animal muscle meat, particularly in the heart and liver, and a deficiency causes serious health problems in cats, including cardiovascular disease and blindness. 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. Since 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. The livers and fatty tissues of prey animals are rich in vitamin D. Kitties must also get arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, from their diet. 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. 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 or 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. Can cats eat fruits? Fruits and berries are indeed superb products for a human's diet. They are high in water, and provide essential vitamins and fiber. But is it the same for cats, and can they safely consume any fruit? Before sharing a berry or two, don't forget that cats are carnivores, meaning that they rely on meat and not so much on other food which we humans consume daily. If you want to introduce fruits into your kitty's diet, learn which ones are suitable for felines and which ones to avoid. An interesting fact is that cats have no sweet taste receptors. That means that your cat is unlikely to be interested in most fruits' flavors. Also, fruits and berries are not that nutritionally dense compared to vegetables, and most importantly, meat. But they are still full of water, an essential part of a feline's diet. Before offering your cat an apple or orange, make sure you understand how fruits impact your kitty's health. In most cases, the sweetness of fruits and berries comes from sucrose and fructose, two simple sugars that create more work for your kitten's pancreas. Since felines mostly rely upon lean meats, sugar is usually an unwanted additive, which you should emit whenever possible. 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. If you enjoyed this video, kindly press the like button. Also don't forget to subscribe with notifications on, so that you don't miss out on videos like this. Thank you for watching.