2006-11-09 17:03:31 · 16 answers · asked by Vicki O 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
Yes. Cats and Dogs have complete different digestive tracks and require different vitamins and minerals to stay healthy.
I asked my petfood supplier about this issue and he said he would be more worried about a cat eating dog food than a dog eating cat food.
Dogs and cats should not eat diets that are not specifically formulated for their individual species. This is because dogs and cats have different nutritional requirements. A dog eating a diet formulated for a cat may leave the dog deficient in specific nutrients and vice versa. For example, cats require higher protein levels and the amino acid taurine. Stealing a bit of one another’s food occasionally is not going to harm your pet but in order to meet the specific day to day nutritional needs, a diet formulated for their own species should be fed.
2006-11-09 17:13:25 · answer #1 · answered by ? 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In small quantity's no. As a steady diet yes. Dog food doesn't have enough protein for cats. I once had a dog that only liked Happy Cat food. My vet told me he was getting way to much protein so the opposite would be true in your situation.
2006-11-10 00:38:24 · answer #2 · answered by Classy Granny 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It probably wouldn't hurt them as in poison them. However, cats need to eat meat where dogs can happily survive on things like soy based food. It's best to get your cat a quality cat food with a good nutritional balance.
2006-11-09 17:10:05 · answer #3 · answered by Yumicho 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The correct answer is YES. Your cat cannot survive and be healthy on dog food.
Taurine is an essential amino acid that the cat cannot manufacture in its body. Humans and dogs can. It took vets a long time to figure out that lack of taurine caused cats to go blind and have heart problems. The taurine is destroyed by any cooking and all commercial foods use cooked meat. Because of this "discovery" taurine is added to all commercial cat foods and your cat MUST have it. It is not added to dog food because they don't need it. Humans manufacture taurine in their bodies too from the food they eat.
Cats cannot manufacture Vitamin A in their bodies either. They get the taurine and Vitamin A from eating raw meat, vitamin A is in the liver of the prey.
It is an interesting fact that humans cannot manufacture Vitamin C in their bodies and must get it from their food. Cats can manufacture the Vitamin C and so don't need it added to their food.
So cats, dogs and human all have different requirements in their diets. Your dog can eat cat food. The cat cannot eat dog food and remain healthy.
2006-11-09 17:54:41 · answer #4 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No it won,t hurt your cat to eat dog food in a pinch,if your cat likes it,however I do not suggest you do it all the time.Cats have certain needs and cat food has the type of nutrients that your cat needs.Cats has a tendency to have certain types of kidney and other types diease and cat food supplies these needs....Cats also get hair balls and their is an ingredient that helps cats with that problem in the cat food.Hope this helps
2006-11-09 17:14:48 · answer #5 · answered by slickcut 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
YES, dog food is for dogs, cat food is for cats. Their systems r different. So stick with the cat food. Ur cat will love u for it.
2006-11-09 18:36:58 · answer #6 · answered by L 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nope it's fine... my cat always used to steal my dog's food, and she lived to the grand old age of 18. The dog never did anything, because the cat was the queen in her eyes!
2006-11-10 02:55:54 · answer #7 · answered by Trina 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No it wont hurt at all i have 3 cats and 2 dogs and they all eat dog food. and sometime we switch to cat food but its all mainly the same stuff so it really dosent matter its just the size make sure its small enough for the cat.
2006-11-09 17:12:40 · answer #8 · answered by andy s 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
It wont cause them pain just discomfort then pain if you feed it to them regularly and in large quantities because we had a dog and cat and we used to give her large amounts of dog food and some cat food and then she started to have blood in her urine so we took her to the vet and they tested it and found she had bladder crystals so we had to feed her special cat food and then it cost heaps so we cut down and eliminated it and dog food and then we just fed her cat food and now she's still healthy so I don't recommend feeding dog food or at least in large quantity's.
2006-11-09 17:12:51 · answer #9 · answered by Mutt-lover 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hello- No not really, make sure the cats eat their food as well. Dry and wet.
Take Care!
2006-11-09 17:10:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋