A recent study from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph investigated owner-reported health and well-being of cats fed plant-based or animal-based diets. Dr. Sarah Dodd, a practicing veterinarian and a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Adronie Verbrugghe, reported findings from the study at the European Society of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition Congress in Turin, Italy in September of this year.

Initial results from the study show that cats fed plant-based were reported to be in “very good” health, had mostly ideal body weight, and were comparable in age to cats fed animal-based diets. Reported prevalence of disease in cats fed plant-based were comparable or lower than those in cats fed animal-based diets, and a few cats were changed to a plant-based diet because of allergies, weight management, urinary issues, a new disease diagnosis or on veterinary advice.

Ethical consideration was the most common reason for feeding cats a plant-based diet. Based on the reported lifespan of previous cats, no difference in longevity could be seen between cats fed plant- or animal-based diets.

Further analyses of this data set are currently under way. When the full study is published by the University of Guelph, a link will be made available.

How does plant-based diet for cats work? Visit our Vegan Cats 101 page to find out.

Vecado Plant-Based Pet Food is a distributor of healthy plant-based food for cats. We source our products only from 100% vegan suppliers.

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