Unfortunately the problem with the feline diet goes well beyond wheat gluten in cat food, mentioned by Deborah Duchon yesterday in "The Best Cat Food." These days some people are trying to place dogs and cats on a vegetarian diet because they themselves have eschewed meat as part of the human diet.
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This article is a good reminder to compassionate animal guardians to be conscientious about the nourishment of their companion animals. Neglecting essential nutrients will cause ill health leading to death. The bias in this issue is similar to the controversy about raising vegan children. When a child of vegan parents dies of malnutrition, the story always makes the national news, while many other child neglect cases barely make the local news. Some "experts" publish articles stating that imposing a vegan diet on children is child neglect, even though the American Dietetic Association has endorsed the practice.
The fact is, vegans have, for the most part, been successfully nourishing their companion animals on plant based diets for decades (due to biological characteristics of individual felines, some may require small quantities of meat and/or veterinary monitoring). The vegan sourced supplements your cat needs are readily available and affordable. I speak from experience. I have a cat adopted from a shelter as a kitten nearly four years ago. She has been on a fortified plant based diet from day one (she is not allowed outdoors). She's never been sick, and is indeed the picture of health, with bright eyes, soft shinny coat, and an extremely active, inquisitive and playful personality. The author uses the oxymoron "misguided compassion" to describe ignorant animal guardians. Compassion can never be misguided, IT IS ALWAYS GOOD. Just don't be ignorant! There are plenty of resources available to support you in providing a cruelty-free, plant based diet for your cat. Please, just do your homework on this, OK?