Can Cats Be Vegan?

can cats be vegan if you don't plan to watch this video then here's your quick answer [Music] so obviously every species has different dietary needs whether you're a pig a dog a human a cow a cat we all need different things even within our species we have different dietary needs at different ages for instance these little kittens are bottle babies and they should have had their mother's milk which has all of the nutrients they need but because they were orphaned they have to have a formula that very closely stimulates those same nutrients in the work that I do I've unfortunately seen it all and I can tell you how tragic it is when somebody feeds a kitten something that is not nutritionally complete for them hopefully it is obvious to you that oat milk or soy milk or almond milk or even cow milk doesn't contain the nutrients that kittens need they need cat milk or a formula that closely simulates that now these kittens are turning five weeks old and they are going to be weaning onto a diet of meat and that's because meat is what feet cats are obligate carnivores which means that they have evolved to require a diet of meat in order to stay alive and healthy now you'll often hear vegans talking about how humans can thrive on a plant-based diet because our bodies very closely resemble herbivorous species for instance we have these broad flat teeth which are perfect for chewing and grinding plant matter and we have these very long digestive tracts which are perfect for digesting plants and all of that is true and obviously 20 years into being vegan I can tell you that I am thriving on that diet but if we are acknowledging that all bodies are different and need different things then we've got to acknowledge that cats bodies are pretty different from our own cat's teeth look nothing like ours they have these very sharp carnassial teeth which are designed for hunting and ripping and tearing flesh they have relatively short digestive tracts which are designed for digesting meat but most importantly cats lack the ability to produce certain nutrients that they need in order to stay healthy and Alive like vitamin A vitamin D and taurine taurine is really important it's an essential amino acid that cats need in order to survive it's something that's naturally synthesized in the pancreas for humans and dogs but cats bodies are unable to do this they instead have to get their taurine directly from eating other animals when a cat doesn't receive enough taurine they can have problems at almost every level cardiovascular issues blindness tooth decay gastrointestinal distress diabetes lethargy and other issues that can lead to the death of the cat now I don't know about you but for me veganism is all about compassion towards animals and there's nothing compassionate about depriving an animal of what they need to survive and be healthy we have to remember that the animals in our care depend on us 100 percent for all of the things that they need in life there food their water even their enrichment cats can't just go out and get these things for themselves so if you're not willing to care for an obligate carnivore that's okay nobody's forcing you to but you really should not have a cat in that case there are plenty of herbivorous species out there who need our help too there are so many rabbits and guinea pigs in animal shelters awaiting foster homes and adopters so if you only want to work with plant-based species that's totally okay but hey don't let me catch you feeding a vegan diet to cats that is just silly and misinformed and honestly incredibly cruel

Channel: Kitten Lady

Views: 174,819

Keywords: kitten, kitten lady, cat, orphan, orphaned, baby, neonatal, infant, newborn, found, find, kittens, rescue, adopt, rescued, foster, fostering, help, how to, what do i do, how do i, cats, animal, hannah shaw, animal planet, feed, pee, poop, babies, shelter, cute, veganism, ethics, vegan, vegetarian, vegan diet, can cats be vegan, can I feed, vegan food, why can't, healthy, safe, urinary, taurine, supplement, obligate, carnivore, herbivore, ethical, unethical, vegan cat food, dog, vegan dog, is it okay, plant-based, plant

Id: Bv_5mw9HQVQ

Length: 3min 58sec (238 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 22 2023