Promising or problematic? Controversial study suggests vegan diets for cats may have health benefits
Vets have long maintained that feeding cats a meat-free diet is a big no-no. But a new study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE challenges this assumption.
The researchers write in the abstract: [...] cats fed vegan diets tended to be healthier than cats fed meat-based diets. This trend was clear and consistent. These results largely concur with previous, similar studies.
So, are vegan diets really more healthy for cats? When we start to pick apart the findings, we see the evidence is far from conclusive.
What the study involved
The authors of the study surveyed 1,369 cat owners, who fed their cats either a vegan or meat-based diet, about their cats' health. Respondents were mostly female (91 per cent) and represented a range of ages. Most lived in the UK, with others residing in Europe, North America or Oceania.
Most (about 65 per cent) had themselves adopted some form of diet to reduce meat consumption — being either vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian (fish only), or reducing their meat consumption. A small portion (9 per cent) fed their cats a vegan diet in spite of their own dietary choices.
The owners were asked about their cat's health, including specific health conditions, medication use and how often they saw a vet. They were also asked their opinion on how healthy their cat was, and what they believed their vet would say about their cat's health.
What did the study find?
Overall, the study found no evidence of detrimental health effects in cats fed a vegan diet. In fact, the authors suggest a vegan diet actually leads to health benefits for cats.
The researchers looked at seven indicators of illness and found non-significant reductions in all of them in cats on a vegan diet. These included reduced
