Vegan diet nowadays is a very popular lifestyle. People start this campaign for the purpose of saving the world. Surprisingly, humans that practice vegan diet also apply this lifestyle to their pets, such as dogs and cats.
This lifestyle is believed to be good for humans as it is cruelty-free, good for health and environment as well. However, it is not for animals.
Pets, such as dogs and cats are naturally carnivores, if you know what it means, meat-lover. So, literally, vegan diet does not match with their nature. Vegan diet is simply consuming meat-free products, anything that doesn’t come from animals.
Vegan diet is believed to be able to kill your pets; dogs and cats. Before seeing how dangerous vegan diet is to your pets, especially cats, read do the cat can be feeding by vegan diet.
Let’s see 3 reasons why you shouldn’t let your pets have a vegan diet.
Why is vegan diet dangerous to your pets?
Pets, such as dogs and cats are born naturally as carnivores. Due to this fact, the nutrients that they need comes mainly from meat or other animals.
If they are forced to consume something that is not supposed on their diet, then some dangerous effects might happen. These are the dangerous effects that are elaborated in 3 reasons you shouldn’t let your pets have a vegan diet.
- Some components don’t fulfill your pets’ need
Regarding to their nature again as carnivores, pets, such as dogs and cats need some important elements for their body. These important elements are taurine and protein.
Unfortunately, in spite of being needed by dogs and cats, these elements are absent in vegan food. Taurine can only be found in animal sources, such as meat, milk, egg and cannot be found in vegetables.
Protein can be found in plants, but it is not sufficient enough for cats and dogs. If this condition keeps continuing, then your pets might be led to death.
In conclusion, vegan food is not suitable for your pets and might be dangerous as it is insufficient.
- Not suitable for their digestive system
Plants are known less digestible and need more time to be digested. On the other hand, when dogs and cats are eating and digesting meat, they only need less time to digest the food. Their digestive system is designed to process meat better than plants or vegetables.
A vegan dog, for example, when it is exposed to vegan diet, it might experience some digestive problems, such as diarrhea, vomiting, and the worse is mineral and vitamin deficiency.
Then, when your pets’ digestive system is not working well, then there is a possibility of experiencing malnutrition or losing weight. If you experience so, tips to help malnourished cat or puppy to gain weight.
- Damaging effect to their body
There is a study comparing a meat-eating dog and a plant-eating dog that like to exercise vigorously. The study found that the plant-eating dog has a damage on its blood while the meat-eating dog has normal blood.
If this continues to happen, then there is a great possibility that the other body systems of the dogs could get damaged as well.
Dogs that are lack of essential vitamins and minerals are likely to experience some health problems, such as urinary tract infections, blindness, and cardiovascular diseases.
Same thing happens to cats. When they don’t get the essential vitamins and minerals on their food, such as taurine, they will be more likely to experience heart issue called DCM (Dilated cardiomyopathy).
This DCM leads the cat to have weaker heart muscles that makes it hard for pumping blood and oxygen throughout its body. Severe blindness can also be the effect of this DCM issue. Heart and blood vessel disorders in cats is another thing you need to pay attention.
Those 3 reasons why you shouldn’t let your pet have a vegan diet give you an enlightenment, don’t they? So, is vegan diet safe for your pets? It is truly NOT if you are talking about totally vegan diet.
Vegetables and some other meat-free products might be good for your pets, but it does not mean that you can make it as a lifestyle for them. Meat is their main diet, so make sure you provide it in your pet’s meal. Vegetables and other vegan products can be combined with the meat to enrich the nutrients your pets need.
Remember, always do research before giving something for your pets! If you want to try homemade food for your pets, making animal food by ourselves at home might give you a brilliant idea!