Cats are obligate carnivores with specific nutritional requirements that cannot be met by dog food or vegetarian diets. Appropriate nutrition is fundamental to cat welfare.
Feline nutrition welfare is compromised both by inappropriate diets and by overfeeding. Cats are obligate carnivores whose metabolic systems evolved for high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets derived from whole prey. Feeding cats dry food as the sole dietary component can cause chronic dehydration predisposing to urinary tract disease and kidney failure. Vegetarian or vegan diets for cats create genuine welfare risk by depriving them of nutrients they cannot synthesize. Obesity — driven by overfeeding, often with calorie-dense dry food — is among the most prevalent and preventable welfare problems in companion cats, causing diabetes, joint disease, hepatic lipidosis, and reduced lifespan. Appropriate nutrition with moisture-rich food and controlled portions is a fundamental welfare requirement.