Can you feed dogs and cats a vegetarian diet

�

�

Q.� Why is feeding cats a vegetarian diet a problem

A.� Because, as natural carnivores, they can't get sufficient amounts of necessary nutrients from plant foods.

�

Cats fed on vegetarian diets are likely to look elsewhere for their preferred meat diet, hunting for mice and birds.

�

Q.� What are the necessary nutrients that my cat needs and why

A.� Taurine is essential for cats, but not for other mammals, for aspects of metabolism, eye sight, cardiac function, bile formation and reproduction. Without it a cat can become irreversibly blind.

�

Arachidonic acid is an essential fatty acid which cats, unlike humans, cannot synthesise from other acids, and so it needs to come directly from their diet. Arachidonic acid deficiency takes some time to develop but can severely affect your cat's health.

�

Cats cannot synthesise their own vitamin B12 and a dietary source is necessary.

�

Rich sources of taurine, Arachidonic acid and Vitamin B12 are only found in meat.

�

A cat needs more than 25% of its diet to be comprised of protein, which would be problematic on a vegetarian diet.

�

Q.� Is a vegetarian diet dangerous for my cat

A.� It could be if it was especially high in fibre and polyunsaturated fatty acids. High fibre foods fill your cat up without providing necessary nutrients while excess polyunsaturated fatty acids in vegetable oils can lead to a vitamin E deficiency related illness.

�

Q.� I'm a vegetarian and can't stand normal cat food but don't want to feed my cat a vegetarian diet, is there an alternative

A.� Yes, you could use concentrated dry cat food rather than canned. The concentrated dry foods are usually less noxious and obviously 'meaty' than canned food, but still provide your cat with necessary nutrients.

�

Q.� Why is feeding vegetarian diet ok for dogs, aren't they natural carnivores too

A.� Dogs are omnivores and as such can be fed a balanced vegetarian diet.

�

Do you have a pet and want to know what you should feed it Click here to ask.

�

by Lisa Cardy

�