Apologies if this topic has been recently discussed, but my search of the forum only brought up a 2006 discussion where views were all over the place. I'd like to switch my cats to a vegan diet and am wondering if anyone has vegan cats and how they are doing on their diet. I found the VegeCat brand and it has recipes for hard and soft food using its mix and isn't too expensive. I'd assume it has all the required cat nutrients, but the recipes include a lot of flour. This seems odd to me. I'd think they'd be mostly tofu based.

Right now they're eating what I call "human-quality" cat food, with no byproducts or anything strange sounding. Usually BlueBuffalo brand. Someone in the 2006 discussion said feeding them the crappy food is actually more humane, though, because the cats, who would eat the whole animal in nature anyways, get the parts of the animal that humans will just toss. So, less animals killed.

I was also going to try to do a raw diet, but have no idea how to get high quality animal parts, like chicken necks. Plus can't imagine myself grinding and preparing it, even if it is what's best and most natural for my boys!

So, to get back to my main question: any opinions on vegan cat food brands from people with experience?

I have two cats that have been vegan for as long as we have had them (one from a shelter 6-7 years ago, another rescue 4 years ago or so). We use evolution (wet stuff in the AM and dry in the PM). vegancats.com sells it for the cheapest (that site owned by vegan essentials). We've never had any health problems so far. We always say that they will be switched to meat if there is any problem, but so far so good.

Make sure whatever you get has taurine in it. Cat's can't make this amino acid, like people can, so they need it. There are a few other nutrients they need but i forget the specifics.

Another caveat is to look out for diabetes. When the protein in meat is replaced, it is often replaced with carbohydrates, which can lead to diabetes in certain instances. If you make sure your cat doesn't eat too much, and get them checked at the vet often you should be OK.

We were lucky to start this experiment in SF, which while still rare even there people and vets knew about it and didn't just freak out. Definitely do your research first before you go in to the vet, because you want to know how to respond to their concerns and show that you know what you are doing.

The bad thing though is that other than catnip, silvervine , and wheatgrass, there aren't any vegan cat treats. I'm straightedge, so i try to avoid the first two, but the cats love the wheatgrass and it keeps them from eating my houseplants.

Laura,
I am actually a dog person, but before switching my dogs to a vegan diet years ago I read James Peden's book Vegetarians Cats and Dogs. Peden was the developer of Vegecat and Vegedog which are micronutrient mixes added to home cooked foods according to recipes in the book. The book details the nutritional concerns of keeping companion animals on vegan foods, so was good to read to be aware of the biochemistry behind it.
The only real problems I have heard of with keeping cats vegan are that the cats may not like the foods well enough to eat heartily, and thus lose weight and run into problems from this. There are tricks listed in the book that can be used to interest the cats more in the food, like using nutritional yeast and other flavorful and aromatic things. The other problem, according to vegancats.com, is that the more basic (less acidic) nature of the vegan diet can cause some cats to develop urinary tract problems. There are remedies for this as well, like using or adding acid forming ingredients in the food, and serving the food moist (to increase water intake and keep the urine more dilute). I have used Evolution dog food for years, and while dogs are easier to feed and are not as carnivorous in metabolism as cats, the Evolution cat formula is nutritionally complete with taurine. The people I have known who have had trouble with the Evolution cat food is when their cats did not like the food enough to eat heartily, so flavorful adds ins might be needed. Vegetarian mock meats, like Lightlife Veggie Turkey slices, make good cat treats.
Joe Espinosa

Thanks guys for the recommendations. I plan on getting the Deluxe Starter Kit, so we can try both brands, but it's on backorder right now. I like that the Evolution brand is already prepared. However, I do I enjoy cooking, and have never been able to make my boys anything, so that aspect of VegeCat seems nice. They have a pH kind for UTI prone cats, which I'll try. My cats also have a "drinking fountain" water bowl which has helped get them drinking.

Nessie, do the Evolution containers give any serving suggestions? I have a 10 lb and 15 lb cat and am creating a price analysis chart of different methods, but can't find Evolution's serving sizes anywhere.

Also, my 15 pounder (a Maine Coon) will eat most anything and I discovered the other day he loves salted Plaintain chips (and I have to hide all breaded items from him). I wonder if those would make an acceptable treat (couldn't find anything about them being poisonous; please let me know if otherwise.) I got some fake turkey sandwich meat a while ago for myself and didn't like it, so I also ended up using that as a treat for them.

The evolution serving sizes I think are the same as with regular wet/dry food. Marius, our Maine Coon eats less than Friday, our black shorthair, so he is small still. The cans have no serving sizes, and the dry stuff I have in a bin and the bag is long gone.

The cats have shown no interest in bread, but Friday LOVES coconut milk. She will whine if she thinks you are opening a can. Also she likes veg sour creme and the sauce from macaroni and chreese, but I try not to give them too much people food. Nutritional yeast flakes are good for them, and can even get them to eat the food already in their bwla when it's not yet time for dinner and they're whining.