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Can dogs and cats actually be vegan?

Short answer: Dogs do well on a properly formulated plant-based diet; cats need specific nutrients, not meat itself, and those can be supplied without an animal.

Exhibit A
Dogs reported with a health disorder, by diet
Conventional meat 49 %
Raw meat 43 %
Plant-based 36 %

An owner-reported survey, so it shows association, not proof, but vegan-fed dogs were reported with no more health problems than meat-fed dogs, if anything slightly fewer. Use only a nutritionally complete diet, never DIY.

Knight et al. (2022), guardian-reported survey of 2,536 dogs

The objection

“Fine for you, but my dog and cat are carnivores. Forcing veganism on them is cruel.”

The answer

Take dogs and cats separately, because they are different.

Dogs are omnivores. In the largest owner survey to date, dogs on a plant-based diet were reported with fewer health problems than meat-fed dogs, 36% versus 49%. The best independent review of the evidence (16 studies) found no overwhelming sign of harm from nutritionally complete vegan dog food, and in July 2024 the British Veterinary Association dropped its blanket opposition to it.

Cats are obligate carnivores, and this is where you have to be careful. Cats genuinely need certain nutrients: taurine, vitamin A, arachidonic acid. What they need is those nutrients, and not the meat as such. The nutrients can be made synthetically, and the taurine in almost all cat food, meat-based included, is already synthetic. A cat needs the molecules, which needn’t come from a dead animal.

The real risk is a badly formulated product. One lab analysis found several vegan pet foods fell short on key nutrients, which is why the rule is use only a nutritionally complete, properly formulated food, never a DIY bowl of rice and veg.

And the upside is enormous. Pet food drives a huge share of farmed-animal slaughter, and switching the world’s dogs alone could spare billions of animals. Most people wouldn’t accept “she’s a carnivore” as a reason to eat animals at their own table; it’s worth asking why the bar drops for the bowl on the floor.

Sources

  1. Knight et al., Vegan versus meat-based dog food: guardian-reported indicators of health, PLOS ONE (2022)
  2. Domínguez-Oliva et al., The Impact of Vegan Diets on Indicators of Health in Dogs and Cats: A Systematic Review, Veterinary Sciences (2023)
  3. Merck Veterinary Manual, Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals
  4. Zafalon et al., Nutritional inadequacies in commercial vegan foods for dogs and cats, PLOS ONE (2020)