Vegetarian Cat Food Diet

Margaret was a vegetarian and she was considering putting her cat on a vegetarian diet. In doing her research, she collected points of view from various sources.

One source was Dr. Richard Pitcairn, author of “Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to the Health of Dogs and Cats,” Rodale Press, who notes that the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom reported that cats did well on meatless diets in Great Britain. However, he warns that cats, being true carnivores, have dietary needs that can only be fulfilled by ingesting animal tissue. He states that unlike people and dogs, cats cannot convert beta-carotene to vitamin A and that they also need sufficient taurine, which is not found in plant material. He does not feel that meatless or near meatless diets supplemented with taurine are healthy for cats.

Even the Vegetarian Society, a UK organization founded in 1847, warns against feeding cats a vegetarian diet. The society notes that cats are a) natural carnivores and b) are likely to find their meat elsewhere by hunting rodents and birds. The society also reminds us that cats require nutrients that are found only in meat. They include: taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A, vitamin B12, niacin, thiamin and protein. Meat is the only major source of arachidonic acid, and cats cannot synthesize niacin from protein. The society explains that cats cannot use the B12 in cereals, and egg and dairy products are poor sources for the vitamin.

Wysong, a premium pet food manufacturer, has a vegan cat food formula but warns that the food does not meet feline protein requirements. Wysong advises that choosing to feed a pet that is a natural carnivore an all vegetarian diet brings “inherent risk” with an artificially imposed, imbalanced and deficient diet. The vegan food formula the company offers is to be used for specific purposes:

1. For when a pet has food allergies, use the vegan cat food as part of an elimination diet to see what meat products your pet is allergic to.

2. Use the food as a base and add fresh meats and organ meat.

Also, Wysong notes that since not 100% is known about nutrition or nutrition of cats in particular, calling a food 100% balanced cannot be truly accurate. One can extract from that statement that how can we truly know what other nutrients may be missing from a cat’s diet that is meatless and how can we be sure we are supplementing sufficiently?

For vegetarians, Dr. Pitcairn suggests that they can reduce the amount of meat consumed by cats by using the recipe below once a week but balanced by four other meat feedings that contain high-taurine meats like chicken or beef hearts.

Dr. Richard Pitcairn’s Cat Polenta
2 cups polenta cooked
4 eggs beaten
½ cup grated cheese
1 tablespoon Healthy Powder*
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1,000 mg calcium
50-100 IU vitamin E
200 mg taurine
1-2 teaspoons protein powder (egg albumin)
1 teaspoon vegetables
Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add polenta, stirring briskly. Cover, simmer 10 minutes. While still hot, stir in eggs and cheese. Feed 1 to 1 ½ cups a day, more if cats are active. Store remainder in refrigerator.

To make the Healthy Powder, he has a batch recipe: mix 2 cups nutritional yeast, 1 cup lecithin granules, ¼ cup kelp powder, ¼ cup bonemeal, 1,000 mg vitamin C.

Selecting vegetarianism for your pet tends to be more of an ethical choice instead of a health-based one. If this is a decision you are considering, experts suggest that you give consideration to the ethics of forcing an animal to eat a diet that goes against its nature and that could put its health at risk. If your own ethics are driving your decision, you may wish to consider instead feeding your cat an organic, homemade diet that uses free-range meat. If you are considering placing your cat on a vegetarian diet, consult your veterinarian.

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