<p>A large cross-sectional survey of cat carers has found that cats fed vegan diets had lower rates of overweight and related body weight problems than cats fed conventional meat-based diets, although the difference fell short of statistical significance. The study, published in Frontiers in Animal Science, analysed carer-reported veterinary assessments for 1,305 cats that had been fed either a conventional meat-based diet, which accounted for roughly 90 percent of the sample, or a vegan diet, accounting for about 10 percent, for at least one year. After accounting for factors including age, sex, neuter status, activity levels and feeding practices, the researchers calculated that vegan-fed cats had 34 percent lower odds of being assessed as overweight.</p> <p>However, this difference was not statistically significant, in part because relatively few cats in the survey were fed vegan diets. For several body weight-related problems, no vegan-fed cats were affected at all. The authors describe the results as an interesting trend that warrants further investigation rather than a conclusive finding.</p> <p>Overweight and obesity are common in domestic cats, with veterinary studies estimating that around 30 to 60 percent of cats are overweight or obese