How to Make Vegan Cat Food

Buying cat food for feline companions can be a difficult ethical choice for a vegan. It's true that cats are naturally carnivorous creatures, but supporting this diet also supports the meat industry. Vegan cat food is commercially available, but the cost is often prohibitive. You can, however, make your own nutritionally complete vegan cat food from scratch.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Find out about your cat's taste. Letting your cat sample various vegan foods and taking note of his tastes will help you customize vegan cat food to make something he will enjoy. Many cats enjoy the taste of kelp or other seaweeds, spirulina, cooked pureed pumpkin or squash, avocados and cantaloupe, so these may be good places to start.

2. Order supplements. The most reliable supplement to use as a basis for vegan cat food is Vegecat, made by Harbingers of a New Age, which comes with its own set of recipes. You can order Vegecat and download the recipes at the Harbingers of a New Age Vegepet website.

3. Understand the ingredients and results. You will be cooking with flours, oil and whole ingredients, creating meals that will not necessarily look like cat food to you. Knowing this beforehand can lead to more satisfaction with the end product.

4. Shop for ingredients. Purchase organic whenever possible, and buy dry beans rather than canned to avoid extra sodium. Buy some of your cat's favorite vegan treats while you get the cat food ingredients.

5. Pre-mix dry ingredients for kibble, using the recipe that comes with Vegecat, or the supplement you decided to purchase. Mix dry ingredients with the correct proportions, as indicated in the recipe. Roll thin, bake, cut into small kibble shapes and store in an airtight container.

6. Cook up a pot of wet food. Let cool and store in the refrigerator.

7. Serve it up at room temperature. You may want to gradually transition your cat to the new vegan food, replacing a little more of his normal cat food with the vegan food at each meal. Sprinkle something you know she loves over the food (or next to it), and serve kibble with a sauce rather than dry.

8. Watch for health problems. Cats sensitive to magnesium can develop urinary tract problems on a vegan diet. However, you can purchase low-magnesium Vegecat, which should solve any urinary tract problems.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient. Your cat may take some time to get used to the new food. If you have a finicky cat, transition him to the new food over a month or so.
• Expect people to disagree with you about your decision to feed your cat a vegan diet. Researching the health of vegan cats will arm you with knowledge for these discussions.
• Do not try to feed your cat a homemade vegan diet without supplements specifically designed to fulfill a vegan cat's nutritional needs. Your cat will quickly sicken and may go permanently blind.

Resources

• Buy Vegecat from the Harbingers of a New Age Vegepet website.
• Read about vegan cats at VeganCats.
• Learn about health problems at the Cornell Feline Health Center.

[LXN271]

on 12/18/2008 clambii ... Vegan diet is extremely healthful ... less disease, less biological stresses. My physician went vegan after he met me and saw how low my cholesterol was, how fantastically perfect my BMI was, how richly oxygenated my blood was and how quickly I recovered from a car accident which ripped up my right arm to shreds. He did research (unlike you) and now recommends conscientious and nutritionally aware veganism to his patients. Thanks.

[LXN271]

on 12/18/2008 Ask a Veterinarian. There is no problem with this as long as you can supply the taurine which cats bodies cant manufacture. It's the naysayers who are retarded-- or more accurately...ignorant.

[blaukind]

on 11/13/2008 There are cats who have been on vegan food for over a decade. Naturally, in the wild, cats are obligate carnivores, but cats and dogs are far from living 'natural' lives anymore. With the availability of vitamins that cats would not normally have access to outside of meat sources, it's easy and healthy to feed a cat a vegan diet.
A home-made vegan diet is healthier than any pre-packaged diet, and ethically and environmentally responsible.

My cats eat Vegecat and have for years with no problems. They really love theirs with green peas.

[CurbsideWriter]

on 11/11/2008 You are ABSOLUTELY wrong! If anyone tries to feed their cat a non-meat diet, the cat will become ill, and probably die. Buy organically raised meat, do what you will, but don't be an idiot, your cat is a natural carnivore, and it is your responsibility to feed them.

[clambii]

on 9/29/2008 Also, almost forgot...I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, which may seem barbaric to you. I think it's fine. I only eat cage-free organic eggs, mind you and milk from local dairy farms. I have two cats whom grew up on dry kibble. One cat, Kingsley, became seriously ill and developed a urinary blockage which could have killed him. I am thankful that the RAW MEAT diet I subsequently researched and utilised has completely fixed the problem. Now, why would you think a vegan diet would be proper and/ or healthy for an obligate carnivore when it isn't even healthy for human omnivores? Vegans die at faster rates than meat eaters and vegetarians, like myself, are only surpassed by semi-vegs whom also consume fish. I know, the ethical reasons are varied and I agree with most of it, but come on now...don't kill cats.