Can you feed a dog catfood?

Question

My husband and I adopted a puppy from the dog pound a couple of days ago. The dog food we bought her is too big for her to chew, so we've been giving her our cat's food. (I've tried soft dog food, but it makes her stools really runny and we haven't house trained her yet) So can I continue giving her "Special Kitty" or will it mess up her digestion?

Answer 1

NO!!!!!!!!!!! Cat food has too much protein in it. An occasional dip in the cat bowl might do no harm, but cats and doga have different nutritional needs. Cats are carnivors...dogs are omnivors.

I'll never forgat a beautiful Afghan that I had to shave down for a lady whos dog got into the cat food. It ruined his coat!

Answer 2

Cat food is "too rich" for a puppy (or dog) to eat. A lot of them will eat it and like it.

A friend had a dog with diabetes and the dog ate the cat's food. It almost killed him. The vet gave the reason for this (can't remember the details). In any event, even though your puppy does not have diabetes, you should never give a puppy cat food. She is still growing and needs the proper nutrients.

She may still have runny stools for a while after you change her over to puppy food, but that should go away after a while.

Good luck.

Answer 3

If a dog eats the occasional cat food meal its not an issue but your dog will be severly deficient in certain nutrients if this continues. You cannot feed your dog a cat food diet. Dogs need certain things that are not present in the cat food. Cat food does not have too much protien for dogs, that is not true... it just doesnt have what they need. Get a high quality puppy food, not from the gorcery or chain store... go to a feed store and get a good food. If you must get it from Petsmart or something go with Nutro Ultra.

Just want to add that cats eating dog food diets commonly go blind due to a lack of nutrients they are not getting. Pets need the food made for them or serious issues will arise... and they need a quality food at that.

Answer 4

Not unless you want a fat dog. The extra fat in cat food will cause your dog to become obesse. If you got eats dog food it will miss out on essential fatty acids which could cause blatter probelms amoung other things. I dont know why all these people keep calling dogs omnivores. Its the craziest thing i'v ever heard. People are omnivores hence the sharp teeh in front and teeth for grinding in back. Dogs teeth are all sharp and used for tearing meat and breaking bones. Dogs also have shorter digestive systems than people, not because they are smaller, but because meat digests faster than plant matter. Peoplpe can survive quite a while without any meat in ther diet; a dog would die if on a veg diet for an extended period of time. Hence, dogs are carnivores. Sure they sometimes eat grass and plants, and so do cats, to help with digestion or an upset stomache.

Answer 5

UGH! First of all, stop feeding your cats Special Kitty--that crap will kill them.

Second of all, don't feed a dog cat food. Cats are complete carnivores, dogs are omnivores. Cat food is incredibly high in protien, way higher than is healthy for dogs. You could damage your puppy's liver. Go to the store, buy some more puppy food and feed your puppy the right food. And please, for the love of all that is holy, GO TO A PET STORE TO BUY YOUR PET FOOD! Any pet food that's sold in a grocery store or Walmart/Target is not good for your pets. NOT GOOD. It's the equivalent of feeding your children nothing but soda and candy and french fries.

Third of all, the other people replying clearly didn't read your entire question. Yeah, my dogs eat cat food every now and then too, when they can get their hands on it. But it isn't their main food, and I definately discourage this behavior. Every now and then a few pieces of cat food won't hurt, but feeding your dog cat food as their main food is a major no-no.

Answer 6

A dog can eat cat food, but it's best for your puppy to eat food formulated for its specific dietary needs. I would recommend finding some puppy food at the pet store... or maybe ask your vet for some suggestions.

Dogs are omnivores, meaning they consume both meat and vegetable matter. Dog food, therefore, will use a combination of both meat products and plant matter. Cats, on the other hand, are considered obligate carnivores, meaning they only eat animal products. Cat food, therefore, will be lacking plant matter and will also add other essential nutrients needed by cats, such as taurine.

Answer 7

It is way to high-fat for a dog. We feed our cats Special Kitty and when my dog eats it, she throws up, and besides, it will make the puppy obese in the long run, and she wont want dog food, because it has a lower fat content.

Answer 8

no< no< no< no

A DOG EATING SMALL AMOUNTS OF CAT FOOD WILL NOT HURT THEM, BUT FEEDING A DOG OR PUPPY CATFOOD FOR THEIR REGULAR DIET IS NOT GOOD. CATFOOD IS TOO HIGH IN PROTEIN FOR DOGS OR PUPPIES THEY NEED THE FOOD THAT IS MADE FOR THEM DOG OR PUPPY FOOD.

Cat food has taurine in it that could cause kidney an liver problems in dogs and especially puppies.

It is true that cat food is higher in protein than dog food. I have done the research on this.

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Answer 9

Cat food has too much protein for dogs. Have you tried soaking the puppy chow in water for a while to make it soft, then giving it to the puppy?

Be sure to take your puppy to the vet. She may need to be wormed and she definitely needs to get her vaccinations.

Answer 10

Its alright in an emergency, but you need to get some puppy chow. It is much easier on her digestion and contains the nutrients she needs. Get some Iams or Science Diet for puppies. The food bits are small in foods made for puppies.