In a groundbreaking study published by the University of Winchester in England, scientists have discovered a whisker-twitching revelation: cats thriving on vegan diets! As plant-based lifestyles have been growing in popularity again, the debate over vegan pet diets has come back into the spotlight. In the past, veterinarians widely suggested against changing a pet cat’s diet, but with the reports of new evidence, this may begin to change.

The vegan versus meat-based cat food study was conducted by Professor Andrew Knight, who is a visiting Lecturer at the University of Winchester’s Faculty of Health and Wellbeing. In this study, scientists were able to compare the lifestyles of more than 1,300 cats, with nine percent of the population being on a vegan diet.

“After making allowances for the cats’ age, sex and neutering status, the study found that average vegan cats were: 7.3 percent less likely to visit a vet with unusual frequency, indicating treatment for illness. 14.9 percent less likely to be on medication. 54.7 percent less likely to be on as special therapeutic diet,” a report on the study stated.

Another very important impact of these findings is their ability to reduce the amount of protein- consuming pets by approximately 400 million worldwide, helping to reduce the high carbon footprint, or in this case, carbon paw print.