It may seem like a difficult task, but switching your dog or cat from a meat-based diet to a complete and balanced plant-based one is nothing to worry about. The good news is that it can be done very easily over a period of two weeks. While some sensitive animals may need longer time and extra care, vast majority of cats and dogs of all ages and sizes do very well when transitioned with the proper guidelines.

But why switch to a vegan diet?

There are a number of benefits for cats and dogs that come with a plant-based diet:

Step #1: Research 

A good place to start is with these 2 overview articles on vegan pet food for cats and dogs:

Vegan Dog 101

Vegan Cats 101 

This recent study shows that vegan cats live just as long (or even longer) than cats on a meat-based diet.

We also recommend that you take online assessment for your cat or dog. And within a few steps you'll know whether vegan pet food is suitable for the individual needs of your furry friend. At the end of the assessment you can opt to receive a FREE VEGAN sample pack with 3 flavours. 

TAKE VEGAN PET FOOD ONLINE ASSESSMENT

Step #2: Transition

Gradual transition is the key to a successful transition, as it will give the body the time it needs to adapt to new food. To get your dog or cat started, mix 1 part plant-based food with 4 parts of their current food. Gradually increase the proportion of the plant-based product until you only feed 100% plant-based meals at the end of two weeks. Add some water to soften the kibble, and be sure to always have a clean bowl of water available.

While this is not a requirement, we also recommend adding enzymes for better digestion. Some dogs and cats have sensitive stomachs and adding enzymes can aid in the transition to a plant-based diet. Furthermore, enzymes allow greater absorption of the nutrients found in your pet’s food, while decreasing the food requirement. Read about benefits of enzymes here. 

Picky Eaters

While most transitions to a plant-based diet go smoothly, some cats and dogs may need more time and extra care during this period. Your pet may not like the taste of the novel food right away. If this is the case, we recommend adding nutritional yeast to the plant-based product (1 tsp. yeast : 1 cup of vegan food). Then during the following two-weeks gradually reduce nutritional yeast to Zero. Nutritional yeast makes the food taste like cheese, which is the flavor pets like very much. In addition, the nutritional yeast has important health benefits too, so you can continue adding nutritional yeast long after the transition is finished.

Step #3: Monitor

Plant-based diets tend to make urine more alkaline and this must be monitored. We recommend measuring the pH of urine prior to the transition to a plant-based diet (to establish the baseline for comparison) and then 1 month after the transition (to see what effect the new diet has on the pH). We also recommend checking the pH of urine every 2-3 months after that.

• To monitor pH of urine use the Checkup kit for cats or dogs
  CheckUp kit for Cats
  CheckUp kit for Dogs

• Add Cranimals Gold cranberry powder for optimal urinary health

Try a Sample

To help you start the transition, do try a Vegan pet food sample with nutritionally complete food.

The sample includes everything we mentioned earlier - the nutritional yeast to boost the flavour, the enzyme for better digestion and Cranimals Gold powder for optimal urinary health.

Contact us at support@vecado.ca for questions regarding transition or use our Chat window and someone on our team will assist you. We are here to help!