Vegan diets and table scraps: The changing face of pet food

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However, despite the increasing number of owners feeding their pets a vegan diet, research on the effect of vegan diets on pets remains slim, and most studies rely on owner assessments of their pets’ health. The few that have measured an animal’s health directly have only used small sample sizes – although found little evidence of a vegan diet’s adverse effects.

“As medical professionals, we’re always going to rely on the data. And unfortunately, right at this very moment that objective data and the studies aren’t there,” says Lee.

Part of the controversy behind pets and vegan diets lies in how pet nutrition has been traditionally understood. While dogs are omnivores like humans, and can digest plant matter, cats are obligate carnivores. This means that, by definition, they need meat to obtain essential nutrients and amino acids.

However, there are some vegan pet foods – including the type Uma eats – that incorporate plant-based derivatives of the essential nutrients animals need.

Earlier this month, a study published in PLOS ONE looked to find out if a vegan diet could be healthy for cats. Of the 1369 cat owners surveyed, 65 per cent were themselves vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or reducing their meat consumption. They found that there were no detrimental health effects in the cats fed a vegan diet, and even found that “cats fed vegan diets tended to be healthier than cats fed meat-based diets”.

But Alexandra Whittaker, a senior lecturer in the School of Animal and Veterinary Science at the University of Adelaide, says the jury is still out.

Since the study relied on owner-reported health outcomes of their pet, there may be some bias involved. “I’d be a little bit critical of that given they’ve not really studied the health of the cat. It’s coming from a survey of owners’ opinions on their cat’s health, which could be a little skewed. They’re not medically trained.”

“What I take away from the research is that cats are able to survive on these diets,” says Whittaker. “Whether they do really well on the [vegan] diet, I think is still very much the debate.”

Feeding pets on a budget

For some pet owners, the rising cost of living – rather than ethics – has prompted them to seek out alternative, more affordable diets.

Melbourne’s Tennille Langley switched her three-year-old bulldog Tank to a homemade diet 18 months ago, after finding that commercial food was getting too expensive.

When she raised this concern with her vet, he suggested she put Tank on a diet of meat, bones and table scraps.

After doing further research, and under the guidance of her vet, Langley came across a popular diet called BARF, short for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. While there are several variations of this, she follows a ratio of 55 per cent meat, 25 per cent plant matter, 10 per cent bone, 5 per cent offal and 5 per cent liver.

Langley estimates she’s saving between $20 and $30 a week with this new diet, but says it does require a small investment of her time to shop for and prepare the meals.

“I buy in bulk once a month. All human grade meat and all under $10 a kilo for me.”

Tank gets about 10 different proteins a month, including quail, goat, lamb, beef, turkey, rabbit and venison, as well as offal, raw bones and vegetable scraps.

Still, homemade diets can be expensive, especially if you’re having to feed multiple pets.

Dr Nicole Rous, owner of Mont Albert Vet in Melbourne, says owners short on cash can supplement a kibble diet with small amounts of fresh food to keep costs down.

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“Look at your finances and pick the kibble that has the highest percentage of animal-based protein that you can afford. [As a vet] I would be comfortable downgrading your kibble,” says Rous.

“And then just feed a bit of fresh food on the side. Get a tin of sardines in spring water, crack an egg over the kibble, or put a dollop of Greek yoghurt on top,” she suggests.

Rous says table scraps can also be a healthy – and cheap – addition to a pet’s daily diet, pointing to research from the University of Helsinki that surveyed dog owners on their pet’s health status. Its findings suggested that those who ate table scraps, alongside raw food and leftovers of human food, experienced fewer gastrointestinal issues later in life compared to those who ate kibble.

Advice given in this article is general in nature. Pet owners should do their own research and seek professional guidance before making changes to their pet’s diet.

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