I'm really interested in this topic. Yes, cats are obligate carnivores, but just think about what kind of cr*p goes into highly processed cat food (and other pet food for that matter). I had a vegan cat for many years; had to re-home her when we moved. It was a specially formulated cat food with the taurine, etc. that cats need. She loved the food and was very healthy (both wet and dry food; her favorite snack, which she went crazy for, was corn).
I was often told that this wasn't a "natural" diet for a cat. Well, neither are the common ingredients in cat food — poultry, beef, lamb (which domestic cats would not wouldn't hunt in nature); fish (which they love, but being water-aversive, wouldn't hunt); plus a lot of filler. The natural diet for small cats are birds and rodents, but those aren't ingredients in commercial cat food. So maybe this is why cats get so many human diseases.
There are a lot more brands of vegan cat food now than there were when we had our cat, so when I have cats once again, I won't hesitate to put them on a specially formulated plant-based diet!
Thank you for sharing this. You make a thoughtful and often-overlooked point. Most commercial cat food is far from “natural,” even if it contains animal products. Factory-farmed beef, lamb, or fish bear no resemblance to the prey cats evolved to eat. And you're right, the highly processed nature of standard pet food, along with the fillers and byproducts, may very well contribute to the rise in modern diseases among cats.
It's encouraging to hear your cat thrived on a well-formulated vegan diet with all the essential nutrients like taurine. The key, as you said, is proper formulation. With more options now available, supported by nutritional science and decades of real-world experience, it’s becoming a more viable and ethical path.
Your story is a great example of thinking critically and compassionately. Thank you for speaking up. This deserves more open discussion.
The answer is yes.
I'm really interested in this topic. Yes, cats are obligate carnivores, but just think about what kind of cr*p goes into highly processed cat food (and other pet food for that matter). I had a vegan cat for many years; had to re-home her when we moved. It was a specially formulated cat food with the taurine, etc. that cats need. She loved the food and was very healthy (both wet and dry food; her favorite snack, which she went crazy for, was corn).
I was often told that this wasn't a "natural" diet for a cat. Well, neither are the common ingredients in cat food — poultry, beef, lamb (which domestic cats would not wouldn't hunt in nature); fish (which they love, but being water-aversive, wouldn't hunt); plus a lot of filler. The natural diet for small cats are birds and rodents, but those aren't ingredients in commercial cat food. So maybe this is why cats get so many human diseases.
There are a lot more brands of vegan cat food now than there were when we had our cat, so when I have cats once again, I won't hesitate to put them on a specially formulated plant-based diet!
Thank you for sharing this. You make a thoughtful and often-overlooked point. Most commercial cat food is far from “natural,” even if it contains animal products. Factory-farmed beef, lamb, or fish bear no resemblance to the prey cats evolved to eat. And you're right, the highly processed nature of standard pet food, along with the fillers and byproducts, may very well contribute to the rise in modern diseases among cats.
It's encouraging to hear your cat thrived on a well-formulated vegan diet with all the essential nutrients like taurine. The key, as you said, is proper formulation. With more options now available, supported by nutritional science and decades of real-world experience, it’s becoming a more viable and ethical path.
Your story is a great example of thinking critically and compassionately. Thank you for speaking up. This deserves more open discussion.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/04/lab-grown-meat-britain-eu-us