This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: In response to a recent article on vegan diets for cats, Phys.org received numerous messages from concerned readers. People raised a lot of concerns, mainly arguing that cats are obligate carnivores and that vegan diets could be very harmful to their health.
Now, we have collected all these comments, questions and concerns and asked the researcher behind the original paper to address them. Andrew Knight, Veterinary Professor of Animal Welfare and Associate Professor at Murdoch University School of Veterinary Medicine, offers his response below. Excess body weight is one of the most significant health concerns for domestic cats today.
Veterinary assessments indicate that 30%–60% of cats are overweight or obese, and these numbers appear to be increasing. In nearly a decade treating cats and dogs in veterinary practice, I became all too familiar with the consequences: debilitating or life-threatening diabetes, urinary tract disease, osteoarthritis and subsequent reductions in mobility, quality of life and lifespan. Hence, our recent study showing that modern vegan diets may be associated with reductions in such problems is potentially exciting.
Vegan dog and cat diets have been rapidly increasing in popularity, driven by increasing awareness of the devastating impacts of animal agriculture on deforestation, greenhouse gas production, freshwater use and farmed animals. Over 92 billion land animals are currently consumed worldwide each year. Over 95% are farmed at high stocking densities in very barren environments, which markedly compromises their welfare.
Land clearing to grow crops to feed them, or to create pastureland, is the leading cause of deforestation on Earth, and has been the largest historical source of greenhouse gases currently in the atmosphere. We have long understood that to address the developing climate and environmental emergencies, more sustainable lifestyles are required, and that more sustainable diets are a key part of this. However, we've wrongly assumed that this applies only to human diets.
In fact, as the most recent research shows, the diet of an average-sized dog has 40% more impact than that of an average person. Another major study showed that even after accounting for the partial use of animal byproducts within pet diets, pets consume around 9% of all farmed land animals globally, rising to 20% in nations such as the U.S. with high pet ownership. And with pet numbers growing faster than those of people, a major focus on sustainable pet diets is warranted.
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