cat food for dog food?

Question

i have a 4 month old poodle puppy.
he is very very active. he goes for a run in the dog park every day for an hour but he still wants to run more.
i can feel his ribs and hip bones etc. vet says nothing to worry about until he is losing weight. he is not losing weight which is good.
i heard though that cat food is not good food for dog as it's too high in protein. but would that not be good for my puppy now? so he gets some protein to put on muscle weight?
please just let me know if it's ok. if not what can i give him to make him put on more weight?!
thanks

he is on neutro choice right now

Answer 1

Don't feed him cat food. Its too hard for them to process, especially a puppy. Sometimes its ok to give a sick dog cat food, but the vet will let you know that. Leave dry food and water available all the time and give him whatever brand of puppy food you are feeding him now. The puppy food has more fat and nutrients in it.

Answer 2

It's not good to get your pup used to cat food, dogs will almost always want the cat food over dog food because it's higher in protein and fat and thats not a good thing to get your puppy to have.

Dogs and cats need different nutrients and balances. (for differences, look at this site: http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm )

I know you're worried about your dog being too thin, but dogs even puppies should have that swoop under their bellies and you should be able to feel their ribs. Poodles are built differently than other breeds that may look fatter than yours. For example, Labs are muscular and broad and even look plump, while poodles are more narrow.

They're too thin if their tail bone looks raised with no fat under the skin. There is a picture here (scroll down a tiny bit): http://www.datelinecanine.com/nutrition.html
of underweight, normal and overweight dog. You can see in the underweight dog, the back bone, tail bone and ribs are visible.

Also are you feeding the right kind of dog food? Dog foods are not all the same quality or nutrition. Generally supermarket dog foods are not the best. Brands like Innova and Canidae have an excellent reputation for being dog foods that give optimal health benefits and you can really notice the difference in your dog when feeding the better food not only the immediate difference, but in the long term your senior dog will be healthy for what you do now as a puppy.

EDIT** I dont know about neutro, but I asked a bit ago here what the best dog food was and I got a huge amount of help, so if you're thinking of changing dog food you might want to read the answers i got here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhK0K2gUJYfHLxyqF6SN9xrty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070729180806AA3pomH

Answer 3

No...PUPPY food would be good for your puppy now. Cat food is formulated for cats, dog food for dogs. Cat food has even more protein than puppy food...too much for dogs!!

Maybe you could have a nice talk about nutrition with your vet at the next vaccine visit!

You should have already been to the vet for a check up and shots. A fecal sample should have been run also to check for parasites. If the pup was not on a good worming program before you got it..it HAS worms. Puppies are generally born with roundworms. So, get to the vet, get some puppy care and then go from there. The vet will tell you if the pup is too thin. If the pup has parasites and you increase the food and protein...you are still feeding the parasites!

Answer 4

I don't know about dog nutrition, but I do know about cat nutrition and your cat will not be healthy on dog food. It doesn't contain taurine which is essential to a cat. Aslo I'm sure it's full of grain, which is basically carbohydrates and your cat can develop diabetes and become fat. You need to be strict for their own sake and feed them high quality species appropriate diet. Feed them at the same time in different rooms. Take the food away after 30 minutes if they don't eat it and refrigerate it. Try again in a few hours. No animal will starve itself just out of being fussy about their food. The cat would be harder to adjust, but the dog will give in pretty fast. Pour some tuna juice over the cat's food, it should make it more appealing. You can try mixing it gradually, but you need to make a change or you are risking your pets' health in the long run. More about cat nutrition here:

Answer 5

Absolutely not! Your puppy would be getting too much of the protein and not enough other nutrients he needs. Stick with a quality puppy food and he will be fine. Feed him 3 to 4 times daily right now. At about 8-9 months you can cut him back on the number of times but if he is maintaining a good weight, don't cut back on the amount of food. At a year, put him on a quality adult food and follow the directions on the package as to how much to feed him. I feed my adult dogs twice a day, some people only feed once a day. Just a matter of personal preference.

Answer 6

It is not OK to give your puppy cat food. Feed him a good quality puppy food. As long as he is not loosing weight everything should be fine. I had a dog that was so skinny that he looked emaciated! He was very healthy, just skinny. He died at the age og 15 of natural causes. Some dogs are just gonna be thin no matter what you feed them. Please do not feed him raw steak, cat food or canned dog food. These things are really not good for dogs, I don't care what anyone else says. Kibble is best because it helps to keep tartar off of his teeth. Also don't feed him table scraps or little bites of your dinner. People food can make puppies very sick!
Keep feeding him a quality puppy food, give him regular exercise and cuddle him often. He is still a puppy and he may gain weight as he gets older.
You didn't say if he is neutered, if not, get him neutered. It will save his life and make him a much happier dog!

Answer 7

Look for a quality dog food such as Canidae or Innova. You have to look these up online to fine the nearest retailer to you. Cat food is formulated for cats and should not be fed to dogs.
You can also do some research on dog foods at www.dogfoodanalysis.com
Basically anything you can buy at a supermarket or chain store is not the best you can get.

Answer 8

No, you shouldn't. Cats are not dogs.

Your vet says not to worry, so why are you worried?

You are supposed to be able to feel his ribs and bones. It sounds like you're taking a healthy puppy and trying to make him fat.

If your dog is healthy and happy and not losing weight, leave things alone.

Answer 9

Why are you giving your dog cat food? Cat food is for Cats. Dog food is for Dog's. The food's were made for cats and cats are different than dogs so different food. Switch to dog food automatically.

Answer 10

You didn't say what kind of puppy food he is on. Good quality puppy food should have enough nutrients and protein for him.