Pet food commercials are everywhere these days. In the ads, animal caregivers debate and deliberate over the ingredients they feed their cats and dogs. Pet food has become such a cultural phenomenon that even “Saturday Night Live” spoofed a television spot equating the high cost of pet food and the meatiness of the product as a measure of love. However, in vegan households, having a pet observe the same diet as the rest of the family is incredibly desirable. After all, if it’s possible to avoid participating in animal consumption and commodification, why not apply that to everyone?

Stateside, plenty of households have collaborated with their veterinarians to find the right balance for taking a pet vegan. According to a study by The Insight Partners, the vegan pet food market was worth $8.6 million in 2020 and is projected to reach $15.6 million by 2028. However, restrictions have been placed on vegetarianism and veganism for pets in the United Kingdom. That country’s Animal Welfare Act demands that humans put their pets on a suitable diet where all of their nutritional needs are met. If not, caretakers can face stiff fines and even jail time. The United States still allows freedom of choice, but is veganism for pets safe?

In a report by the BBC, Daniella Dos Santos, the president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), explained: “If your personal belief system means you don’t want to eat any animal protein, that’s fine, but that diet is not designed to meet the welfare standards of your pet.” She later added, “Cats are obligate carnivores, and they require certain amounts of amino acids to be healthy, and the lack of these can lead to health problems. For that reason, you wouldn’t advise a vegetarian diet, let alone a vegan one.” As for dogs, U.S. News and World Report spoke with Andrew Knight, a veterinary professor of animal welfare at the University of Winchester Center for Animal Welfare in the United Kingdom. He explained, “We have sufficient confidence, scientifically, that dogs can be healthy — and indeed, thrive — on nutritionally sound vegan diets.”

The first commercially available pet food surfaced in the late 1800s in the U.K. However, dog food didn’t become an everyday convenience in the U.S. until the 1920s. By the 1960s, table scraps gave way to canned food and kibble. As for cats, canned food became popular in the 1930s and 1940s as World War II rations created the need for reliable food sources for pets. In contemporary society, animal rights, the advent of social media, and the rise of celebrity animals like Grumpy Cat, Jiffpom, and Manny the Frenchie make humans more likely to view their pets the same way they do each other, hence a heightened interest in pursuing the healthiest food options available to them. 

Veganism for pets is a personal choice that each household should make. Based on veterinary consensus, dogs can go vegan under the right conditions and supervision, but cats are better left to balanced diets high in protein with a healthy balance of fat. While it can be unsettling for a vegan human to handle wet, meaty food, some animals won’t eat anything else. In this case, respecting the animal’s appetite is more important than personal preference. Conversely, there are plenty of animals that naturally flock to vegetables and grains. In those cases, consulting with a pet specialist to ensure animals get a full roster of nutrition is imperative. 

Sources: U.S. News and World Report, BBC, The Insight Partners