Reader Question: Can Cats Be Fed a Vegan Diet?
Don’t get me started on vegan cats and vegan cat owners forcing their cats to be vegan.
Forgive me if some of the terminology and physiology seems beyond the scope
of this blog, but it’s important that I make clear ALL of
the reasons why vegan diets for cats cannot and should not be done.
Cats are strict carnivores and need to consume animal tissue
to avoid nutritional deficiencies. There
are specific, essential nutrients that are limited or scarce in plant
material.
For example, cats require
dietary taurine. This is an important
amino acid which, if fed in inadequate amounts, can lead to cardiac and vision
problems. If someone is crazy enough to
try to formulate a vegan diet for their cat, they better supplement the diet
with taurine.
Cats cannot synthesize sufficient niacin from the amino acid
tryptophan, and plant material tends to have relatively low levels of this
vitamin, so supplementation is necessary.
Cobalamin (vitamin B12) is scarce in plants. Any vegan diet will require supplementation.
Cats cannot synthesize retinol (vitamin A) from
beta-carotene, which is the precursor of vitamin A. Thus, preformed retinol
must be provided in the diet. Cats also
require a dietary source of vitamin D, and plant-based materials are a poor
source of vitamin D. It can be added,
but owners should make sure that the form that they add it in the proper form,
i.e. cholecalciferol, which is used much more efficiently than ergocalciferol.
Arginine is an essential amino acid for cats. It plays an important role in the urea
cycle. Trust me, this is super
important. If cats do not get enough arginine in their diet, the ammonia level
in their blood will elevate, and cats will experience neurological
problems. Arginine is found in low
amounts in plant-based diets.
Cats require dietary lysine, another important amino
acid. If grans are the only major source
of protein fed to cats, lysine levels will be deficient.
Cats also have a limited ability to synthesize arachidonic
acid, an essential fatty acid.
Arachadonic acid is derived from animal tissue. Even if you supplement the vegan diet with
arachidonic acid, the arachidonic acid you’re adding to the diet comes from
animal tissue, so the diet isn’t really vegan after all. So, technically, you CANNOT fashion a truly
vegan diet for cats. If you decide to leave
out the arachidonic acid, you’ll end up with a dead cat.
To
those companies who say that they can manufacture a vegan
diet that can meet 100% of a cat’s nutritional needs, I say, “Prove
it.” What does “proof” consist of? Two things: the diet has to meet
the minimum
nutrient amounts cited in the Association of American Feed Control
Officials
(AAFCO) Cat Food Nutrient Profiles, and it has to be used in actual
feeding
trials in which cats are fed these diets for years and are shown to not
result
in deficiencies in cats. I’m still
waiting.
SEE: Vegan Cats — Possible? on CatChannel.com
Meat. It's what's for dinner... and breakfast, and lunch. |
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