Can a cat be vegetarian?

Lol, my cat likes fruit too, and yogurt, strawberry is his favorite!!! BUUUT, he also looovvveeesss his meat, chicken, turkey, ham, etc. and his normal dry food. I guess he just likes everything…

NO ABSOLUTELY NOT. Cats have to have meat in their diet, unlike dogs who can eat and all veggie meal, cats must have meat or they will go blind, suffer other debilitating conditions and ultimately die if fed on a vegetarian diet. Cats are obligate carnivores - meaning they must eat meat to survive!

Cats are natural carnivores and are unlikely to willingly forego meat from their diet. Cats fed on vegetarian diets are likely to look elsewhere for their preferred meat diet, and many cats will hunt and kill small rodents and birds.

Cats require certain nutrients from meat that cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts from plant foods. These include taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A, and vitamin B12.

Taurine Taurine is an amino acid essential for cats but not for other mammals. In the prolonged absence of taurine, a cat’s retina slowly degenerates and the cat suffers eye problems and can become irreversibly blind. This condition is called central retinal degeneration (CRD). Cow’s milk is a poor source of taurine and there is none in plant foods. The only rich source is meat.

Arachidonic acid Cats need a dietary source of essential fatty acids which they can then convert into other essential substances. A dietary source of the essential fatty acid, arachidonic acid, is not needed by humans as they can synthesise it from linoleic acid present in vegetable fat. However, cats lack the necessary enzymes to synthesise arachidonic acid and so a dietary source is essential. Fatty tissues and milk contain almost none and only small amounts occur in eggs. Meat is the only major source. Arachidonic acid deficiency takes some time to develop but its effect on the cat is profound.

Vitamin A Cats cannot utilise the provitamin A of vegetables and therefore require preformed vitamin A (retinol) which occurs only in animal foods. There are only small quantities of vitamin A in eggs and dairy produce. The richest source is liver.

Vitamin B12 Cat’s cannot synthesise their own vitamin B12 and a dietary source is necessary. Vitamin B12 is present only in animal products.

Niacin Unlike other mammals, cats cannot synthesise useful quantities of this vitamin from protein and therefore require a good dietary supply. Eggs and dairy produce are very poor sources and the niacin in cereals is largely unavailable to cats. A diet based on cereals, milk and eggs will always be deficient in niacin for cats. Meat is a rich source.

Thiamin Cats are very susceptible to deficiency of this vitamin, which is rapidly destroyed by heat. Eggs and dairy produce are poor sources, wholemeal cereals and pulses are fair sources, meat is a good source.

Protein Cat’s require large amounts of protein in their diet and this can be a problem on a vegetarian diet. Over 25% of a cat’s diet should be a protein.

While cats may enjoy certain plant foods, vegetarian diets high in fibre and polyunsaturated fatty acids may be detrimental to a cat’s health. High fibre foods can fill the cat’s digestive system without providing the necessary nutrients in sufficient concentrations. Excess polyunsaturated fatty acids in vegetable oils can lead to a vitamin E deficiency related illness.

If you do decide to give your cat a vegetarian diet, then a supplement is available. This is a powder which can be added to your cat’s meals. If you do not feel it is appropriate to feed your cat a vegetarian diet, then you may find it preferable to use concentrated dry cat food rather than canned. Most major cat food manufacturers now produce concentrated dry foods which may be less offensive to handle for vegetarian cat owners as well as conferring health benefits for your cat in comparison with traditional canned food

You have a strange kitty. Nah, cats can be finicky and like weird things. They don’t have to just like fish or meat. By ‘vegetable type’, do you mean ‘dry food’? Dry food is good for them. It’s a lot better than canned food or tuna.

But how did you know that she liked bananas & Yogurt? I’m sure she didn’t just grab a banana, peel it herself and eat it or open the frig and take out some Yogurt & try it.

Did you feed those things to her? I’m not saying that those things are bad, necessarily, but you probably shouldn’t use your kitty as a Guinea Pig.

The best thing for them is Meow Mix. They love it.

Remember the TV commercial?

Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow

Maybe. Humans do not have a natural affinity to meat, but must instead be conditioned to like it. That’s why most people are disgusted by the thought of eating animals they’re not used to eating.

…maybe it’s teh same for cats?

I think cats need animal protein. why dont you mix veges with the sstuff that she likes or if there are supplements, put it in her food.

cats can live off only dry food so yeah… I guess she could…

they phsically CANNOT be vegetarians it would kill them they can’t survive without meat

I am vegan and I am eating a species-appropriate diet. I also have cats, and I am feeding them a species-appropriate diet. Cats are obligate carnivores. That means that they must have meat in their diets to survive. Cats have zero need for carbohydrates. They are not omnivores like us or like dogs, we can get nutrients out of any kind of food that we eat but cats only get the nutrients that they need from meat. Cats also need Taurine in their diets or they will go blind, and the best natural source of Taurine is meat.

It is dangerous and irresponsible to try to feed a cat a vegan diet, even one that is synthetically created to approximate meat. Don’t we as vegans know that no synthetic food is going to nourish us the way that raw, natural, real food does? Feed your cats the best quality canned food that you can afford - NOT dry kibble - and preferably one without grains - or a diet of raw meat if you have the time to learn how and prepare it. We have a responsibility to feed our pets a species-appropriate diet. Cats are NOT like us. They do not thrive on the same diet that we do.

If people do not want to contribute to the industry that makes pet food from dead animals, then those people should get a gerbil. That is a vegan pet.