Vegan versus meat-based dog food: guardian-reported indicators of health

Increasing concerns about environmental sustainability, along with competition for traditional protein sources, are driving considerable development of alternative pet foods. These include raw meat diets and in vitro meat products, and diets based on novel protein sources such as plants, insects, yeast, fungi and potentially seaweed. However, some claim such diets may compromise cat welfare. We surveyed 1,418 cat guardians, asking them about one cat that had been living with them, for at least one year. Among 1,380 respondents who played some role in cat diet decision-making, health and nutrition was the factor considered most important. 1,369 respondents provided information, each relating to a single cat who had been fed a meat-based (1,242 – 91%) or vegan (127 – 9%) diet for at least one year. We examined seven general indicators of ill health: unusual numbers of veterinary visits, medication use, progression onto a therapeutic diet after initial maintenance on a vegan or meat-based diet, guardian opinion and predicted veterinary assessment of health status, percentage of unwell cats and number of health disorders per cat. We also considered the prevalence of 22 specific health disorders, based on predicted veterinary assessments. For the latter, we limited to 988 cats who had been seen by a veterinarian within the last year, and for whom guardians were reportedly sure of their veterinarian’s assessment. The percentages of cats in our sample who suffered from at least one disorder were 42% (meat-based) and 37% (vegan). Considering these general health indicators and 22 specific disorders overall, the cats fed vegan diets appeared at least as healthy, and in some respects healthier, than cats fed meat-based diets.