Digestibility of Vegan and Vegetarian Diets for Dogs and Cats

저자: Knight Andrew
출처: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2026
DOI/링크: 10.3390/ani16101454
분야 태그: #반려동물 #동물복지
정리일: 2026-07-11

TL;DR

Such diets are not normally significantly less digestible than conventional meat-based diets

1. 연구 배경 및 동기

다루는 문제: There is growing interest in vegan and vegetarian (veg*n) diets for dogs and cats, due to factors including pet health, environmental sustainability and farmed animal welfare
기존의 공백 / 왜 필요한가: Such diets should be carefully designed and manufactured in order to be nutritionally sound. Digestibility is a key, although not the only, determinant of this, and it has sometimes been claimed that dogs and cats cannot effectively digest and utilize plant-based proteins

2. 관련 연구

기존 연구 흐름: Thirty-one studies were included: 22 specific to dogs, two specific to cats, and seven applicable to both species
이 논문의 위치: Animal Welfare 분야 내 기존 문헌 검토

구분	기존 연구	이 논문
주제	일반적 접근	Digestibility 중심

3. 핵심 기여

Nevertheless, even in studies where vegan protein sources showed lower digestibility for specific nutrients, overall digestibility remained high
These findings support the use of nutritionally sound veg*n pet diets
Such diets are not normally significantly less digestible than conventional meat-based diets.

4. 제안 방법론

전체 접근 논리: Across various study designs, populations, digestibility metrics, dietary ingredients and processing methods, digestibility values of veg*n diets were consistently high and broadly comparable to those of conventional meat-based diets
단계: In all five studies that assessed apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of veg*n pet diets, ATTD values exceeded 80% (dry matter), 85% (organic matter), 80% (crude protein), 89% (fat), 88% (nitrogen-free extract), and 86% (energy). These studies also indicate that individual vegan protein sources can be well digested by dogs and/or cats, including those derived from legumes (such as soy-derived ingredients), pulses, grains and microbial fermentation

5. 실험 설정

항목	내용
대상/재료	These studies also indicate that individual vegan protein sources can be well digested by
처리 조건	In all five studies that assessed apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of veg*n pet diets, ATTD values exceeded 80% (dry matter), 85% (organic matter), 80% (crude protein), 89% (fat), 88% (nitrogen-free extract), and 86% (energy)
대조군	-
측정 방법	Discrepancies exist regarding whether these ingredients are more, less or equally digestible compared to animal-based alternatives

6. 실험 결과 분석

지표	변화(Δ)	조건 · 유의성
-	-	Nevertheless, even in studies where vegan protein sources showed lower digestibility for specific nutrients, overall digestibility remained high

제안 기전(인과 사슬): Nevertheless, even in studies where vegan protein sources showed lower digestibility for specific nutrients, overall digestibility remained high. These findings support the use of nutritionally sound veg*n pet diets

7. 비판적 평가

강점

Such diets are not normally significantly less digestible than conventional meat-based diets.

한계 · 의문

표본 크기 및 장기 추적 데이터 부재 가능성

8. 향후 연구 방향

Such diets are not normally significantly less digestible than conventional meat-based diets.

9. 결론

There is growing interest in vegan and vegetarian (vegn) diets for dogs and cats, due to factors including pet health, environmental sustainability and farmed animal welfare 연구에서 across various study designs, populations, digestibility metrics, dietary ingredients and processing methods, digestibility values of vegn diets were consistently high and broadly comparable to those of conventional meat-based diets을 통해 nevertheless, even in studies where vegan protein sources showed lower digestibility for specific nutrients, overall digestibility remained high. Such diets are not normally significantly less digestible than conventional meat-based diets

Keywords

Digestibility, Vegan, Vegetarian, Diets