Study shows vegan cats are healthier than meat-fed ones

The University of Winchester studied over 1,300 cats for over a year, comparing the health of traditional meat-fed cats to those fed a vegan diet.

7 general indicators of ill health showed key differences between meat and meat-free diets.

Indication of overall better health

While the following results were not statistically significant, they do reveal a trend:

• Vegan cats made 7.3% fewer visits to the vet at an unusual frequency, suggesting fewer emergency illnesses.
• They also experienced a 14.9% reduction in medication use and were 54.7% less likely to progress onto therapeutic diets.
• There was almost a 4% and 8% reduction in veterinary assessment of cats being unwell and displaying severe sickness. Their guardians’ opinions of their cats being unwell were also 23% lower.
• Additionally, the number of health disorders per unwell cat decreased by 15.5%.
• The survey also examined 22 of the most common feline health disorders and found a higher percentage of meat-fed cats (42%) suffering from at least one disorder than cats fed a vegan diet (37%).

Nutritionally complete food

Cats had better outcomes when fed vegan diets for every health indicator, representing a strong and consistent trend. 

Andrew Knight, the study lead and Veterinary Professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Winchester, notes, “It indicates that pet food manufacturers are now designing and creating vegan pet foods to include all necessary nutrients but with fewer of the dietary hazards that are prevalent within meat-based pet foods. Cats consuming vegan diets have better health outcomes, as a result.”

The study corresponded with other results from 2021, where among a pool of 1,000+ cats, vegan-diet-fed cats better reported health, had more ideal body condition scores, and were less likely to suffer from gastrointestinal and liver disorders than cats fed meat. This pool showed no diseases were more likely to be found in the vegan-fed cats.

Combating climate change

Knight further notes the exciting potential the study’s results have when addressing the environmental impact the livestock sector creates through pet food production in addition to improving feline health.