A vegan living in Auckland Aya Oba has claimed that her cat is healthier and happier on a vegan pet food diet. She says she has seen improvement in the health of her cat since she stopped feeding her meat. She says now the cat is very healthy with a better coat and clearer eyes and her breath smells better and not like meat anymore.
Oba herself decided to stop eating meat for environmental reasons. She opted out of eating dairy products and cheese after she started feeling ill eating it at Christmas 4 years ago.
Hime, her cat was rescued from the SPCA nearly four years ago. She had been feeding her fish all the time unaware that cats can be vegan too. She says going vegan is itself such a big process that she points out, “I think cat food doesn’t come at the top of the list as a priority.”
But a year ago one of her friends recommended vegan pet food to her. And then Oba did some research and decided to try her cat on a vegan diet. She tried several brands before she found one her cat liked.
Oba says she started off half and half before going 100 per cent on vegan food. Now her cat likes the food. She accepts that feeding her cat a vegan diet cost more than giving it meat pet food. And she knows that the higher cost of vegan pet food may put owners off who want to give it a try.
A vet has warned against feeding a cat only vegan food for long term as its difficult for cats to get the essential nutrients they need and they eventually die early due to lack of nutrition. But Oba’s vet is happy with her cat’s health on the vegan diet.