My two cats of 1 year eating dog food!?

Question

I'm not sure how this got started but they both look forward to eating some dog food when I put it down. How do I stop this and is it all that bad for them if they do eat a few pieces. Yes I give them their own can and dry food at free will. Any suggestions or comments of the same would be helpful.

Answer 1

Cats need taurine, an amino-acid, to keep their hearts and eye sight healthy. Dog food doesn't have any taurine. If cats eat more dog food than cat food, they are at risk for irreversible hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (the heart hardens) and blindness.

Sometimes cats just want to try new things. My cats eat dog food sometimes and I don't think it harms them. Giive it to them in moderation. (they just want to try something new)

Answer 2

My vet says it's ok for the cats to eat the dog food once in a while. But it's really bad for the dogs to eat cat food because the taurine in it can make the dogs go blind. If the worst you're doing is giving them a couple of pieces of dog food there's no harm/no foul. It's the same as giving them a couple pieces of cat treats.

Answer 3

Oh dear...Both pets cant share the same kind of food for several reasons regarding nutrients and diet.My advice stop encouraging the poor feline.Coax some dry cat food at small intakes along with baked fish or chicken (boneless first) and feed the cat in a n enclosure away from the dogs.This will lead the cat to accept its own kind of food. The only place to have both Babies eating together is when you reward them like a whole baked Turkey during special ocassions...a time for " children " to share.
Remember dear....the have different needs,care and they also have a different life span...The joy would be sharing a life with god creation, and they dont TALK BACK either...all they do is give UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
Be happy.

Answer 4

Yes this is quite normal for cats 2 eat dog food as there is not much diference. Although if u would not like them 2 continue doing this then (if you have a dog) seperate the dog food from the cats and feed the cats their normal food.

Answer 5

Just a couple of niblets will be okay for cats.

But keep in mind that cat and dog foods are extremely different nutritionally. Dog food is a great deal lower in protein and higher in fillers. Cats also need an essential amino acid in their food that isn't present in dog food. If they become severely deficient they can die.

The only way to stop them sneaking dog food is to watch your dog while it's eating or put it behind a closed door for its meal.

Answer 6

Find some really nice cat food. . .something you think they might like, and make them love the cat food more than the dog food. However, my cats eat dog food all the time. I don't think there is anything wrong with it. . .

Answer 7

My cat does the same thing. He seems find. But if it bothers you, you can always just seperate them when they eat. I find it funny my cat is only a year old, and this big dog will not go near the food when this little cat is eating his food.

Answer 8

My 2 cats do this too. They've been doing it since I got the dog as a puppy 2 years ago. They don't eat much because the dog gets in and wolfs it down and when I mentioned it to my vet, he didn't seem very concerned about it since they're not eating very much of it.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Answer 9

Use as a treat only. Dog and cat food are different in that they have the specific nutrients needed for each specific species.

Answer 10

I believe IAMS makes food that is interchangable between both your cats and dog. Perhaps this would be the easiest way to solve your problem