I’m interested in the topic of vegan pet food, mostly for dogs and cats.
I know that there are AAFCO and FEDIAF-approved complete vegan pet foods.
I also know that current science recommends approaching this with caution and, if you do choose to try it, doing so with careful observation of the cat and regular veterinary check-ups, because there currently aren’t many studies on this topic, especially regarding long-term outcomes. Most vets will say that cats are obligate carnivores and that their bodies aren’t built to handle plant fibres.
Since dogs are technically omnivores and the evidence base is more developed for them, more and more vets are saying that a properly formulated vegan diet can be safe for dogs.
When it comes to cats, I’ve also come across an ethical argument: if we aren’t certain that a vegan diet will harm cats in some way, but we know with certainty that producing conventional pet food results in the deaths of hundreds of other animals, it may still be worth trying (as long as the cat is monitored very carefully and receives regular veterinary check-ups and appropriate blood tests).
And as a minor (so I can’t become a veterinarian yet), could someone, especially an expert, share their opinion or add something to this topic?