Vegan diets have gained popularity in recent years as a trendy, sustainable, and supposedly more ethical (not to mention more expensive, although veganism and privilege is a whole other discussion) alternative to animal products. In case you’ve been living under a rock, a vegan is someone who not only doesn’t eat meat, but doesn’t consume any animal products. As omnivores, humans are able to survive and thrive on a vegan diet so long as they regularly consume healthy alternatives to animal products as sources of protein. Unfortunately, there are a concerning amount of people out there who have neglected to do their research before putting their pets on a vegan diet, claiming that it’s both healthy and ethical. Sure, a vegan diet might be healthy and ethical for a human. But dogs are opportunistic omnivores, and cats are obligate carnivores. To put it simply, dogs can survive without meat but cannot thrive without it, while cats will die if they cannot eat meat. While all living things require varying amounts of the same basic nutrients, each species has a preferred energy source. Cats and dogs get their energy from protein, which is found in meat. Unlike vegetarian animals such as cows, both cats and dogs struggle to gain energy from carbohydrates alone. If your pet isn’t getting enough nutrients in their diet, they will inevitably become very sick. Furthermore, the digestive system of a cat is designed for protein consumption, and they have difficulty digesting carbohydrates. Cats also require an amino acid called taurine that can only be sourced from animal-based foods. If they are denied meat they will develop a taurine deficiency which can lead to fatal heart diseases and blindness. So while it might seem ethical to feed your cat or dog a plant-based diet, it’s actually an irresponsible and unsafe thing to do. If feeding your pet the diet it needs to survive isn’t pro-animal welfare in the eyes of a certain subsect of vegans, then I don’t know what is. Maybe consider getting a rabbit instead.