The answer to the question in the title is in one easy step! But there are important warnings about this. Please see below.
It is a myth that cats can’t be vegan because there is a well-established dry cat food on the market which is NUTRITIONALLY COMPLETE VEGAN CAT FOOD containing “all the nutrients an adult cat needs, including a wide range of vitamins (including A, B, D, E, K), essential fatty acids and taurine, without the need for slaughterhouse meat. Although obligate carnivores in the wild, domestic cats still need nutrients they would normally source from prey. Thankfully Benevo Cat contains all those nutrients in a bioavailable kibble.”
The quote and information are from the Benevo website. This is not a promotion page. It is just factual. There are so many websites saying that it is impossible for a cat to be vegan but it is untrue PROVIDED the plant protein is supplemented with all the necessary nutrients demanded by domestic cats. And this product is supplemented with these nutrients. That’s why it is balanced and complete.
In addition to the fact that a cat fed vegan food is said to be healthier for them (BUT see the caveat below), this food is great for the planet. Buying it is a contribution to curbing global warming as you won’t be supporting cattle farmers in the Amazon jungle (for instance) that has been burned to make way for cattle farms. And there will be less cows so less methane and less global warming. Methane is far worse than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas. There are so many advantages.
Word of warning
There needs to be a word of warning about giving a cat a vegan diet. Just because there is a commercial vegan dry cat food product on the market which is successful as far as I know and which has been approved by the authorities, does not mean that cat owners can start feeding their cats a home-made vegan diet. That has occurred on occasions and it is a surefire way to harm your cat quite quickly. The well-worn phrase that the cat is a ‘strict carnivore’ holds true but the vegan cat food referred to does not go against that principle.
I’ve written about that in a warning about feeding your cat a vegan diet.
Plant versus animal proteins
But the question here is whether plant proteins are as good as animal proteins in terms of a cat’s diet. And the answer is yes which is the reason why this commercial pet food manufacturer can make Benevo. Click here to read about plant and animal proteins.
The core ingredient of this product is plant protein to which the manufacturers add all the nutrients that the cat needs for a complete and balanced diet. If that plant protein was not as good as animal protein, the project wouldn’t have worked.
I have another article on whether domestic cats and vegan diets are healthier than those on meat-based diet which you can read by clicking on this link.
Commercial vegan cat food is artificial
I know my colleagues think that it’s impossible to feed a cat a vegan diet and they may criticise me for writing this article but I’m afraid they are incorrect. It’s just a question of how you go about making the vegan diet and because cat food is entirely artificial it’s possible. Benevo is an artificial product in which the manufacturers piece together all the nutrients and components of a healthy cat diet and they just happen to start off with plant protein which allows them to call it a vegan diet.
