Strict vegan adopts very first kitten, then realizes that her tiny carnivore needs meat for life, and cat owners have a tough message for her: 'Their wellbeing comes first'

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Oct 23, 2026 1:30 PM EDT

What happens when our purrsonal ethics conflict with the biological needs of an animal we chose to care for?

There are a lot of things about cat ownership that become so normal you quickly furrget how objectively weird they are. You scoop their bathroom business into a plastic bag multiple times per day, you spend money on furniture specifically designed to be destroyed, and you quickly learn the difference between their different kinds of meows. One can mean "I'm hungry" and another can mean "I saw a bug a few hours ago and you must know about it." You fellow cat pawrents know what I'm talking about.

And then there is feeding them meat. I don't think anyone likes it. All the wet foods have this weird smell that, even after 12 years of owning cats, I still can't get over. Don't even get me started on the ingredients.

Most longtime cat pawrents probably do not think very deeply about it every time they crack open a can. Cats eat meat, that is simply part of the deal. For one brand-new kitten owner, though, that realization caused something of a moral meat crisis.

They eagerly went out and bought them high-quality kitten food while focusing on giving their baby the best pawssible start. Then, as a strict vegan, they realized that every can of cat food represented an ethical equation they had spent years trying to remove themselves from. Smartly, they did want to force their beliefs onto their kitten, but they also wondered whether there was another way to make it work.

And this is where I think the story gets really interesting, because this is something a lot of vegans deal with. And, we all know that people have a lot of feelings about veganism, whether it's for or against.

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via khaled khazna

Kittens eating raw fish at home after getting adopted
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Cats don't understand your moral philosophy
Here is the slightly annoying (and charming) thing about cats: they do not purrticularly care what we believe. They don't understand veganism or sustainability labels. They certainly do not understand why their hooman is standing in the pet-food aisle staring with a disgusted face while holding a pouch of chicken pâté. They just know what their bodies need, and that's meat!
Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they evolved around a diet that supplied nutrients associated with animal tissue. The British Veterinary Association actually advises against vegetarian or vegan diets for cats, specifically talking about taurine, a nutrient that is crucial for cats' health and is pawsitivey difficult (or impossible) to supply through entirely plant-based ingredients.
Now, this doesn't mean that every conversation about alternative pet food should be immediately laughed at and discounted. Many pet food companies are looking into more sustainable ways to make pet food, but for now, we're not in a place where it can compete with traditional cat food. There is a difference, however, between asking those qeustions and making your kitten responsible for answering them.
To me, that's where the cat owner part has to come first. You took responsibility for taking care of this pet, so it's your job to meet its needs. Not yours.ue
Adopted a kitten
Rant but also looking for advice
I adopted a kitten last week and kind of forgot they are carnivores. I was so worried about taking the best care of him and bought a lot of (quality) kitten food, disassociating from the reality of what the food is. I’m a bit sick now realizing. Also the smell of the food is heart wrenching if I think about it too long.
This is also my first pet[.] Im feeling scared that I’m going to be responsible for him for the rest of his life. And feeling very disturbed that it also means I’ll be responsible for all these d**ths.
I don’t feel comfortable making him “plant based”
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Sign displaying 100% vegan food and drinks
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Wondering if there is a way to decrease the harm I cause, to both my kitten and the chickens/fish.
Cat owners, how do you justify buying pet “food”?
Im laughing at myself thinking carnist thoughts
“well if I didn’t buy it someone else would…”
“Well in the wild he would eat mice…”
“I have to keep him and feed him because I like his cuddles soo…”
Being a responsible pet owner sometimes means doing things you don't want to do
I actually think the original poster's discomfort is more interesting than simply mocking them for furgetting that cats eat meat. Was it a mistake they shouldn't have made? Yes. But, they clearly care about animals. This is why it bothers them so much.
But this is one of the most impurrtant lessons you have to learn when being a pawrent or parent: sometimes you will have to sacrifice something important to you for the betterment of your cat child (or hooman one). Sometimes it's taking money out of the vacation savings for a math tutor, staying home to spend time with an anxious cat instead of leaving them home for another night alone, or purrticipating in a system involving animal treatment you don't believe in.
Our cats are not lifestyle accessories. They do not exist to purrfectly reflect our values, routines, purrsonalities, or beliefs. Sometimes they want affection and we want space, they wake us up when we want sleep, and sometimes we have to put a thermometer in them where the sun don't shine. Part of agreeing to be someone's pawrent is accepting that their well-being sometimes gets the deciding vote… even when that vote smells like processed salmon pâté.
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Cat eating cat treat filled with pureed meat from vegan owner
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$Gumbo509 It pains me that you didnt think it through before adopting a cat :-\ Especially a kitten is so much work. Please familiarize yourself with the needs and behaviours of a cat. He/she is a$

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Kittens eating chicken in vegan household
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