Vegan Cat Food Implications For Your Cat

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There are many intricate issues surrounding vegan cat food. Plus the query of whether vegan cats can live. I’ll try my best to clear up the many misconceptions that exist on this subject.
While most people find being vegan to be hard, converting your cat to a vegan diet is even harder. Cats are carnivores by nature. Plus they have a completely different digestive system from humans.
 
They have characteristics of real carnivores. Shorter intestines, sharper teeth, and stronger stomach acid.
 
Finding food that cats will eat is the first issue with transitioning them to a vegan diet from a normal cat diet. Cats are infamous for being resistant to eating new meals. Most people don’t try to meet you halfway because they have no interest in cooperating with you. After all, these are creatures that can reject a certain food on a single sniff. Although it doesn’t seem fair, cats are like that.
vegan cat
Vegan cat

Is vegan cat food sufficiently nutrient-dense?

As a result, there is no one-size-fits-all method for feeding cats. I’ve known cats who adore eating vegetables that have been pureed.
 
Pablo, my cat, is not, one of these obedient kinds. Even if you gave her an endless supply of catnip, he wouldn’t touch a tablespoon of vegetables. Pablo loves fruit and will happily eat something that few cats will. She’ll eat all kinds of fruit. Apples, bananas, cherries, and even blueberries have all been given to Pablo. Pablo is the happiest lady on earth as long as I hand-feed him the fruit and split it up so his tongue can rip into it.
 
In fact, fruit doesn’t even come close to meeting a cat’s nutritional needs. Thus, creating a diet that provides your cat with enough nourishment is important. Like finding vegan items that they will eat.
 
Furthermore, feeding veganism to cats is a difficult mission.
 

The Nutritional Needs of Vegan Cats

There are only nine different types of amino acids that humans need. And many vegan foods include plenty of each. Contrarily, cats need eleven distinct amino acids. Additionally, taurine and arginine, the amino acids, are not present in plant-based meals.
 
Without enough taurine, your cat would go blind.
Fortunately, it is simple to synthesize taurine and arginine from vegan sources. As a result, taurine and arginine will be found in the ingredients of any good vegan cat food brand.
 
But, a vegan cat’s nutritional requirements are not just taurine and arginine alone. The majority of the vitamin A and D that cats consume comes from animal products.
 
Then there’s the issue of arachidonic acid, a substance derived from animals. It is unknown to anybody outside of the cat food industry. But once more, you can get all these nutrients from plant-based sources. All these essential nutrients should be included in any vegan cat food on the market. Check the ingredients list on the label of the item to confirm their existence.
 

Choosing Food That Your Cat Will Enjoy

So why did I make a big deal about how tough it is to feed vegan cats? All you need to do is make sure the vegan cat chow you choose contains each of the vitamins and minerals.
 
Sadly, it’s not quite that easy. As we’ve already seen, switching to vegan cuisine can be challenging. Regardless of how nutritionally sound the brand you’ve chosen is. Worst of all, since there aren’t many vegan cat foods available, your cat may reject them all. So what do you do?
 

The Cost Savings of Vegan Cat Food Made at Home

For some people, homemade cat food is preferable. With no doubt, doing so reduces costs. Vegan cat food made at home is substantially less expensive than commercial cat food.
This is due to the fact that making the food yourself will cost far less than purchasing vegan cat chow. Commercial vegan cat food can cost up to ten times as much as some traditional brands. Making your own cat food will therefore result in significant financial savings. Especially if you have multiple cats. If you decide to cook your own meals, always add the supplement mixture to every batch. If not, your cat will unavoidably develop major fatal deficits. A batch of food that will keep in the refrigerator for two weeks can be ready in less than 30 minutes.
 

Concerns for Vegan Cats from Veterinarians

I mentioned at the beginning of this essay how challenging it is to transition your cat to a vegan diet. The amount of work necessary must appear overblown at this point, halfway through. After all, it’s not that difficult to experiment in the kitchen until you come up with a recipe your cat will eat. Test a few different vegan cat food companies.
 
Yet, introducing your cat to a vegan diet that is nutritionally sound is only the first step. Unfortunately, it is also the portion that is enjoyable and simple. Because there is another, less appetizing part of the task to be done once your cat has turned vegan. Have you prepared? You must have your veterinarian collect urine samples from your cat for pH testing. Although I wish I were making this up, it’s real.
vegan cat
Cat licking tongue
 

Should vegans own vegan cats?

So, is it morally required for vegans to feed their cats a vegan diet? Maybe not. I don’t intend to cut anyone who wants to try in any way by offering my analysis.
 
But it’s difficult to argue that switching your cat to a vegan diet offers the best value in terms of reducing the suffering of farmed animals. For starters, maintaining your cat’s vegan diet will cost you at least $200 more each year. Plus the added cost of commercial vegan food and the twice-yearly urine tests.
If you’re prepared to make the food from scratch, you can cut down on a lot of this extra expense.
 
However, this will require you to spend maybe twelve hours a year making cat food. Many vegans might not have the time or resources to commit to this.

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