Is It Cruelty To Feed A Cat On A Vegan Diet?

[ToraToraTora]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-46390867/animal-welfare-is-it-safe-for-cats-to-be-vegan
Feline's are naturally carnivorous surely this will lead to digestion problems and malnutrition. Whilst I respect the lady's right to feed herself how she wants surely this demonstrates huge arrogance to assume a cat would live happily on a non natural diet.

[ummmm]

Yes, it's cruel, they need meat.

[dannyk13]

Although naturally meat eaters, many cats have been fed on a diet consisting of mainly fish, so probably a vegan diet would not do any harm.

[ToraToraTora]

crikey, ummm agrees with me, I need a lie down!

[ummmm]

I do agree with some of what you say,TTT :-)

Danny....I've had cats all my life and none of them would live on veg.

[douglas9401]

Cats can never be truly vegan due to their inability to declare it to all within earshot.

[dannyk13]

ummmm, I bow to your superior knowledge.

[ummmm]

I had a cat that really liked peas but that's about it.

[shoota]

How do you stop a cat catching mice and birds?
It isn't going to go trawling the hedgerows for a nice bit of tofu is it?

[dannyk13]

It would seem that a vegan diet is not suitable for a cat, but is it cruel to feed it that diet?

[ladybirder]

It ain't gonna stay vegan long once it's outside now is it? You'd have to keep it in as well so what an awful life it would have. Some people shouldn't have animals.

[wolf63]

This is an article about Vegan Cats

https://www.plantbasednews.org/post/vegan-blasted-for-feeding-cat-a-plant-based-diet?fbclid=IwAR0DAa9xr2XJzcWAdE5nqaiVwmj-8dSm33Q-zucW4xMzXovv-24QV8AM6P0

Dogs are scavengers and could survive on a vegan diet but cats are obligate carnivores and need to eat meat/fish etc.

[ToraToraTora]

danny, fish is a million miles from a vegan diet.
shoota, good point the cat probably feeds itself outside the house.
Danny it would be cruel to deliberately give a cat malnutrition which is what would happen.

[woofgang]

I agree its cruel. I think its not justy cruel because of the malnutrtion risk but because its limiting the cat's natural behaviour and not offering an acceptable alternative.....you can satisfy a cat's instinct to hunt by giving it toys and the right environment, but limiting its diet in that way for no reason that benefits the cat is not right IMO.

[hereIam]

I would never feed a dog or a cat a vegan diet, very unfair in my opinion ..

[woofgang]

hereIam sometimes (rarely) its needed for allergy reasons but then its not vegan by principle butformedical reasons and supplemented to make it safe.

[ummmm]

My cat has stopped going out. We have new neighbours who have two cats and think he feels bullied. I feel sorry for him, he looks depressed. There is always access to outside for him 24/7

Plus my son, who is his real owner, is at uni, and the coming and going is confusing him. When my son leaves to go back to uni the cat just sits and stares at his bedroom door.

I might get another cat.

[Rockrose]

My friends had a dog that lived to 15 and was healthy and happy on a veggie diet.
As for the op I don’t think it’s cruel just unwise, unless that is kept in then it will find meat elsewhere.
My cats happily eat vegetables if they are mixed with meat or fish

[New Judge]

Whilst dogs can exist and remain healthy on a plant based diet (though I would not say “happily”) cats most certainly cannot. Here’s a couple of reasons why (which is not my own work):

“Cats need a considerable amount of vitamin A, which they cannot biosynthesize from carotene, as dogs and humans do. Insufficient amounts may cause loss of hearing, as well as problems with skin, bones, and intestinal and reproductive systems. Cats also need taurine. A feline lacking taurine can lose eyesight and could develop cardiomyopathy.”

That is a veterinary opinion shared by most vets. Some vegans adopt their diet because of their taste but most do so for ethical reasons. Forcing a cat to adopt ethical principles followed by humans is simply inane. Cats (and other animals) do not endure ethical considerations when choosing their diet. Forcing an animal to adopt a vegan diet because of your ethics is about as sensible as a Jew insisting his pets only eat Kosher food. There is a simple answer for vegans who object to their pet cat eating meat – they should not keep a cat.

[ToraToraTora]

rockrose "My friends had a dog that lived to 15 and was healthy and happy on a veggie diet. " - the dog told them did he? Cobra, lob him pork chop and see how happy with a veg diet he is. All this cobras is just idiot owners who have imposed their own stupidity on innocent pets.

[Old_Geezer]

IMO it's cruel to force anyone onto a vegan diet.