Eating only vegetables is a humane choice that many impose on pets. However, nature has given it an organism that requires much more… Science says so. And common sense
What do we put in Fido’s bowl? A chop? No, a carrot. This is what vegan owners of dogs and cats who have chosen to feed them the same way they feed themselves claim. It is of no use that veterinary associations around the world advise against it for understandable reasons, namely that they are animals that nature has created carnivores. Vegans believe that ethical reasons, such as protection of living beings and the environment, or hypothetical health benefits, are stronger than rationality.
Last month the results of a study from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham arrived to add fuel to the fire. “Plant-based diets, when formulated correctly, can be a healthy and viable alternative to meat-based options. Then, they are better for the environment”, we read. “But there is still no evidence that vegan nutrition is safe in the long term for our pets,” the British Veterinary Association promptly replied. «It is not enough to add taurine and other nutrients to their diet, we need to see how available they become to the animals if they are in synthetic form. They could even interfere with the action of other nutrients since they are not natural foods but feed created in a laboratory. Although many Pet foods contain supplements and synthetic nutrients, there is no scientific evidence that they extend their lives. Indeed, at the moment more nutrient deficiencies are observed in “vegan” pets, with consequences on the quality of organs and bones, than benefits”, their statement reads.
Despite this, having a “vegan pet” has become a matter of status among celebrities. Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton moved the world by remaining at the bedside of his Roscoe, a bulldog who died of pneumonia and had been on a vegan diet since 2020. «Since he became vegan, his legs have healed, he doesn’t limp from the pain of arthritis and his breathing is deeper», declared the Ferrari driver just a few months ago.
“I started feeding my dogs a vegan diet 20 years ago,” writes actress Alicia Silverstone on Instagram. “They all died at an average age of 16. For me it’s thanks to what they ate.”
Katy Perry went vegan in early 2025 by involving her dog Nugget in this “food adventure.” Travis Barker, drummer of Blink 182 and husband of Kourtney Kardashian, is so happy with his dogs’ vegan diet that he created a line of vegan food for Pets called Cbd.
They don’t even have the doubt that the intestines of their best friends are shorter than those of herbivores because they don’t need to ferment the material of plant origin to digest it. As well as the fact that, when feeding an animal, one should think about its good, not that of the environment. «Dogs and cats are carnivores. It is nature that made them this way. Would you feed meat to a panda, which is a herbivore?”, explains Pier Paolo Mussa, former professor at the faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Turin and leading expert in animal nutrition. «We know the nutritional needs of dogs well today and can be traced back to more than 40 nutritional principles including amino acids, minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids. Their integral coverage is very problematic without the contribution of products of animal origin. Natural selection that has taken place over millennia has made these carnivorous animals completely different from herbivores.”
From a technical point of view, using products currently available on the market, it would be possible to formulate complete foods, but there is a lack of scientific data relating to parameters such as the degree of assimilability, palatability and metabolic response in the long term. Complications may not arise in the short term, but in the long run you could find yourself faced with problems regarding life expectancy, resistance to diseases, and the functionality of the immune system. «Vegan pets are an entirely human idea, because an animal doesn’t think about eating exclusively vegetables», continues Mussa. «Indeed, by feeding them vegetable proteins we are only making their digestion difficult. It’s not true that we make it easier for them. Vegetable products are useful, but in low quantities, for intestinal peristalsis. The concept of animal welfare cannot ignore its characteristics. In this case, being carnivorous.”
The vegan diet for Fido is a relatively recent topic. There is no official data on its effectiveness yet. What is certain is that nature sets insurmountable limits for all living beings. «If your dog could talk, what would he say? Treat me like a dog. Nature made me a dog. Changing natural rules never gives good results. Wanting to instill our belief in the animal is not love” concludes the expert, “it is selfishness. I would never do something like this to my dogs.”
There are cases in which the vegan diet is prescribed by specialists, but generally it is because pathologies are present. «If the dog or cat has intestinal problems, I can administer an “elimination” diet», clarifies Giuseppe February, veterinary doctor expert in gastroenterology and endoscopy at the Einaudi Center in Bari. «And a diet based exclusively on starch and hydrolyzed soy, waiting to find out which protein of animal origin bothers him. Once discovered, you return to your usual diet but without that protein. In practice, we bypass the problem with vegan nutrition. Other dogs have dermatitis, allergies, or congenital pathologies. Specifically, dogs with leishmaniasis take Allopurinol. If they eat meat or fish proteins while being treated with this drug, they risk the formation of xanthine stones, which are typical of the disease. With the plant-based diet they don’t have this problem.” But these are borderline cases. The dog is sick and therefore needs a different diet than a healthy one. «However, if the animal is well, I would absolutely not recommend the same diet. It is not a herbivore. It is a carnivore that has adapted over millions of years to being omnivorous while maintaining its specific needs. In my experience, a prolonged unintegrated vegan diet can also lead to dilated myocardiopathy. For a dog, eating well is not eating vegan. But the owners now consider them like children and feed them what they would give to their own children, thus messing up their health.”
