This is just plain untrue. L-Methionine is one of the amino acids that is specifically deficient in legumes, and in the plant kingdom as a whole. It must be made up by whole grains.

It is true, commercial cat foods are so scientifically artificially formulated, that they are hardly any different in many ways from a vegan formula, except that there may be “essential non-essential” amino acids which the cat does not synthesize in large enough quantities to thrive well, which may be missing in a vegan diet. A spectrum of amino acids might be a good supplement.

It is also true, for anyone who cares to do the research, that cat and dog lab animals suffer the most horrible, gruesome, ongoing neglect in laboratory settings, and some of these abused and maltreated animals are former housepets bought up by the big labs.

http://www.peta.org/

Find out for yourself.

However, I have very strong reservations against using a plant-based cat formula, or even a meat-based health food formula, for different reasons. I had 2 unrelated cats that, for a time, were eating the same meat-based healthy cat food formula. Both cats (a male and female) developed FUS at more or less the same time. It is the magnesium content of plant supplements to a cat’s diet which is a concern. The less magnesium, the better.

The male cat, having a more narrow urethra, was for a short while in danger of his life, but quickly rebounded. After that, I never fed either cat the unscientifically tested formula again.

I also don’t think I would ever feed a cat an exclusively dry cat food based diet ever again – not enough moisture and too much grain causes too many health problems. The female cat, on a dry diet, eventually developed diabetes and died. I still blame the dry formula for this. Cats shouldn’t be eating grains, period.

I’ve read that tofu is an excellent source of magnesium, by the way.

If a mouse got into your house, how long do you think it would take you can to revert? 10 secs?

Cats are the most recently domesticed pet. Centuries of breeding? Mousers in a barn, not much more than that, except for a few minor exceptions. Just look at the hundreds of breeds of dogs, compared to the few unique breeds of cats.

Over the past 25 years, my partner has had probably 50 cats (maybe more, shudder) in total. Some live longer than others. Even with more data points than most, extrapolating anything from anecdotal observation is not scientificly rigorous.

Extrapolating from one data point (20 yr old cat) is just plain childish.

note: “poultry by-product meal” “animal fat” “animal digest” “salmon, tuna.”
the poultry and “animal” ingredients are sources of taurine, the fish is a source of fatty acids available in vegetable oils. anyone calling packaged catfood “natural” can take a look at all the other ingredients listed.

the only animal products in Iams catfood are “chicken by-product meal,” and “fish meal” with a note below the ingredients stating: “chicken is a natural source of taurine.” if the taurine is replaced by a supplement, and the fish oil replaced by vegetable oil, there is no change in what your cat eats. I am not vegan, but it is dumb to think that conventional catfood is any different from vegan catfood. if you want your cat to be natural, let it hunt mice and birds, and don’t feed it at all. if you are going to feed it catfood daily, vegan cat food is no different from animal by-product cat food. this should put an end to the argument.

As far as artificial Taurine goes the following was found here (quick search mind you, I didn’t have all night)http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/taurine.php

Today, Taurine supplements are usually the result of synthesis by Sodium Sulfite sulfonation of Ethylene Chloride followed by ammonolysis with anhydrous NH3 (Ammonia without water) or with aqueous NH3 (Ammonia with water) and Ammonium Carbonate.
However, references from 1901 and 1918 point out that it can also be isolated from ox bile or from the large muscle of abalone.

who has genetically manipulated cats through breeding over centuries to create the domestic cat?

regardless, if the food makes cats healthy and yes I have known vegan cats living to 20 years of age and being healthy

then what difference does it make?

everytime I take my cat to the vet, he always remarks on how healthy she and and how shiny/soft/well kept her fur is. She has tons of energy, loves to play and is affectionate.

a healthy cat is all anyone wants, vegan or not and if my cat for some reason stopped liking her vegan kibble I would feed her some organic meaty kibble but as of yet there is no need

just today I was reading about the new confirmed case of mad cow disease in the US, notably at a plant that converts diseased and dying animals not fit for human consumption into pet food. disgusting!

(I feed evolution diet and she also loves homemade vegecat seitan, and vegitables like squash)

Vegans trying to reorder nature to their whim by making their cats vegetarian is the very definition of narcissism.

Shame on you.