I’m delighted share the link to this illuminating conversation that Jennifer Van de Kieft had with my dear friend, Terri Grow—one of the best mentors and most imaginative “co-conspirators” I’ve ever had in unraveling the many mysteries of cat nutrition.
Terri brings decades of balanced expertise—from holistic health to behavior, herbal therapies to species-appropriate diets—that make every insight she shares not just persuasive, but deeply grounded in understanding how cats really thrive.
Terri’s clear-eyed dispelling of the idea that cats, as obligate carnivores, can be sustained on vegan diets isn’t just science-based—it’s a bit of a righteous revolt against a trend that ignores their very biology.
Let’s face it—trying to make a cat vegan is like trying to teach fish to climb trees. Cats aren’t quirky little humans; they’re obligate carnivores, built by evolution to subsist on prey—not peas.
Plant-based diets for cats may sound virtuous, but the idea that you can swap out meat for soy and still meet their biological needs is a nutritional sleight of hand. Cats need specific nutrients that simply don’t exist in sufficient forms in plants
Let’s not kid ourselves—we owe our feline friends better than ideology-driven guesswork. Feeding a cat a vegan diet? It’s not compassionate—it’s counterproductive, and potentially harmful.
