London, UK: A new study has suggested that a vegan diet may be healthier for pet cats.
The researchers discovered that owners who fed cats vegan diets reported fewer vet visits and reduced medications, and vets described their pets as healthy.
The findings provide reassurance to a growing number of owners who are considering alternative diets for their pets, the researchers remarked.
“Biologically, what cats need is not meat but a specific set of nutrients. There’s no scientific reason why you can’t supply all the necessary nutrients through plant additives,” said Professor Andrew Knight of the University of Winchester, who led the research.
“The same supplements are used for vegan food to make sure it’s nutritionally sound,” Mr. Knight added.
The study was published in the journal Plos One. The researchers have surveyed 1,369 cat owners, about 9 percent of whom reported feeding their cats a vegan diet.
When asked about 22 specific health disorders, 42 percent of owners whose cats ate a meat-based diet reported at least one disorder, compared with 37 percent of owners of cats on vegan diets.
Overall, the vegan cats scored better on all health indicators, although these differences were not statistically significant, as per the statement.
The researchers couldn’t dismiss the possibility of cats getting meat from other sources, but they considered this to be unlikely to affect the results. Mr. Knight explained, “Most of the cats on vegan diets were indoor cats. They weren’t going outdoors and hunting. It could’ve been for the other ones that there was some supplemental hunting going on.”
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