[Controversy] Vegan Cats and Dogs? Yes, No, Maybe??

by Michael Corthell, The Vegan Project Global

Some vegans and vegetarians extend their diets to include their companion animals, mainly cats and dogs.

 Vegans who do this feel that it is hypocritical to personally avoid animal products while supplying them to dogs and cats, thereby supporting factory farms and meat processors. 

Vegans who give their dogs plant-based food sometimes call their companion a 'veggie dogs'. Veggie dogs eat specially formulated kibble or homemade meals. Some dogs like the diet but some according to reports do not. 

A nutritionist at Cummings Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University, Cailin R. Heinze, VMD, MS, DACVN, said on the Petfoodology website in 2016, “Most dogs can do quite well on a carefully designed vegan diet that meets all of their nutritional needs”

Many vegans insist that their companion animals are as healthy and fit as other dogs who eat animal products. 

Cats, however, have very strict dietary needs. They cannot synthesize vitamin A from plant sources and they need vitamin C and amino acids like taurine to be healthy. 

Although vegan cat foods contain supplements, the complexity of a cat's dietary requirements makes veganism difficult and potentially dangerous. 

Dr. Ernie Ward, coauthor of the book ''The Clean Pet Food Revolution: How Better Pet Food Will Change the World'' and chief veterinary officer at pet food company Wild Earth, tells us that we've got to get the terminology right. And “vegan” is a loaded term that belongs to people and not animals.

“I don't think the term ‘veganism' applies to dogs and cats,” Dr. Ward says. The term “veganism” can stand for both a diet free of animal products as well as a philosophy about how animals can and should be regarded in the world. Many would agree with that assessment. 

“That's an ideology with an ethics structure and political implications,” he says. “We need to get past that and ask whether cats and dogs can survive without eating other animals.”

This is where Dr. Ward leaves many veterinarians and pet owners who believe either 1) that we don't know enough about nutrition to try to build a plant-based diet for animals used to eating animal products or 2) that animals should be eating more whole foods (thus, getting their nutrients from natural food sources, often from other animals).

 He is almost positive that improvements in nutrition science and technology can make it possible for animals-even those known as “obligate carnivores” like cats to survive and thrive on plant-based diets.

Even some vegan groups only tentatively support feline vegan diets, with many veterinarians saying that a properly formulated plant-based diet could be safe for cats but it is too early to tell, and more studies are needed.

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