Can you feed cats and dogs a vegan diet?

As veganism has risen so has the idea of feeding our companion animals something other than offcuts from the meat industry. But can our cats and dogs can give up meat, or go completely vegan?

Aside from nutritional facts, a pet owner’s personal views can come up against specific legislation designed to protect pets’ welfare. “In the UK, under the Animal Welfare Act the owner has the obligation to feed the animal an appropriate diet,” says Daniella Dos Santos, the president of the British Veterinary Association.

“Cats are obligate carnivores, and they require certain amounts of amino acids to be healthy, and the lack of these can lead to health problems,” says Dos Santos. Cats cannot produce certain proteins – such as taurine – themselves. They instead have to absorb it from their food, with beef, chicken and fish being rich sources. Cats that don’t have enough taurine are at risk of developing a potentially fatal condition called dilated cardiomyopathy. Cats have issues processing carbohydrate as well.

But what about dogs? Here, the science seems to be a little more nuanced. Part of the reason dogs went from the wild to becoming our companions was because of the food that was offered if they came closer to the campfire.

In the wild, wolves eat meat, but they are also known to eat eggs, berries and even grass if vitamins are lacking. Dogs may have adapted to a diet with less meat and more plant starch. Crucially, they have amylase genes which means they can digest plant starch – an adaptation that may have developed as they ate the scraps left for them around prehistoric campfires.

(Courtesy BBC)