is Dog food ok for cat? and cat food ok for dogs?

[feebee]

as my title says, can cats eat dog food, and dogs eat cat food?

the reason i ask is that where i work when i take my pup sometimes he gets into the cat food before i put it up high, and a few times they have run out of cat food and i have given the cat a few of my dogs puppy food, its eukanuba (and the cat has eaten it!) but it wasnt big amounts,

i just dunno what the difference is? its not happening every day say once a week at the most that my dog gets the cat food! (usually dry, and usually not a lot left over by the time he gets it!) and the cat has had my dogs food twice that i know of (i do scatter some dog food/ treats around the garden for him to find, who knows if the cat also helps him to find it!)

 

[Quiverful]

Getting a little bit here and there is not a bad thing, but a steady diet is not healthy. Dogs and cats require different nutrition so it's better they get a regular diet of the correct food.

Sometimes, my cat will steal a kibble or two from the dogs' dishes and vice versa. There have even been a couple of those "Oh, crap! I'm out of food!" And I have fed a single meal of the opposite food with no ill effects. But that should only happen rarely.

Does that help answer your question?

 

[feebee]

Getting a little bit here and there is not a bad thing, but a steady diet is not healthy. Dogs and cats require different nutrition so it's better they get a regular diet of the correct food.

Sometimes, my cat will steal a kibble or two from the dogs' dishes and vice versa. There have even been a couple of those "Oh, crap! I'm out of food!" And I have fed a single meal of the opposite food with no ill effects. But that should only happen rarely.

Does that help answer your question?

yes thank you good to know when they haven't fed their cat all day cause they outta food and his meowing is driving me up the wall means if there isnt any chicken or such in fridge he can have my pups food!

 

[Brigidt36]

It won't hurt them on occasion, but it is not a healthy diet. My furry vet put it to me like this when I was having issues with my dog wanting to eat cat food....'of course your dog likes cat food, it's like people eating McDonald's french fries, they taste good,have no nutritional value and are totally bad for you'. Being a total McD Fries addict, I got that analogy, lol. Got the dog to stop eating cat food by putting it up high where he can't reach it. Now, if I could only get the dog to stop trying to eat, ummmm, kitty 'tootsie rolls' out of the litter box.....

 

[Babybreau]

My 2 constantly steal each other's food - depending on who has an empty bowl first! Their main meal is the right one but they'll snack on each other;s throughout the day.
And yup, the cat's is up on the table, but Foxxy has just realized lately she can jump up on the chair and still reach the cat's bowl. Oliver has no qualms about walking into Foxxy's cage and eating her food either...
I've not seen any adverse effects...

 

[Flahmingo]

Agree with above. Once in a while it won't hurt, but each species food is formulated to meet the needs of that particular species. Dogs and cats definitely have different nutritional needs.

 

[Quiverful]

It won't hurt them on occasion, but it is not a healthy diet. My furry vet put it to me like this when I was having issues with my dog wanting to eat cat food....'of course your dog likes cat food, it's like people eating McDonald's french fries, they taste good,have no nutritional value and are totally bad for you'. Being a total McD Fries addict, I got that analogy, lol. Got the dog to stop eating cat food by putting it up high where he can't reach it. Now, if I could only get the dog to stop trying to eat, ummmm, kitty 'tootsie rolls' out of the litter box.....

I call it a tootsie roll dispenser, too! LOL Many years ago, I bought my first BoodaBox. It's the only way to go and my dogs have not been able to get into the litterbox.

 

[feebee]

Got the dog to stop eating cat food by putting it up high where he can't reach it. Now, if I could only get the dog to stop trying to eat, ummmm, kitty 'tootsie rolls' out of the litter box.....

yeh he hasn't figured out that he can jump onto the chairs that the food is on and he gets told off anytime he goes near the cats food up there, but on the floor its game!

i also have that problem though not as much as i use to! also rabbit droppings

 

[Sharpie]

Actually, according to my vet nutritionist, a dog could eat cat food every day of it's life and be a-okay. The only real reason not to feed dogs cat food is that it tends to be richer and give some dogs diarrhea and/or gas, and that it's more expensive.

On the other hand, cats cannot eat just dog food long term and live. Cats need to get taurine from their diets, since unlike dogs and humans, they cannot make it themselves, so all cat food is supplemented with taurine (post cooking, since heat destroys taurine). If a cat is taurine deficient, they develop heart problems that can kill them and go blind. It's one of the reasons that dogs can survive on a vegetarian diet and cats can't. A meal here and there won't hurt, but it's best to make sure the cat eats mostly cat food.

 

[LuvMyBirds]

Actually, according to my vet nutritionist, a dog could eat cat food every day of it's life and be a-okay. The only real reason not to feed dogs cat food is that it tends to be richer and give some dogs diarrhea and/or gas, and that it's more expensive.

On the other hand, cats cannot eat just dog food long term and live. Cats need to get taurine from their diets, since unlike dogs and humans, they cannot make it themselves, so all cat food is supplemented with taurine (post cooking, since heat destroys taurine). If a cat is taurine deficient, they develop heart problems that can kill them and go blind. It's one of the reasons that dogs can survive on a vegetarian diet and cats can't. A meal here and there won't hurt, but it's best to make sure the cat eats mostly cat food.

This is the correct answer, cats need taurine. Also please remember to measure your cats food and keep them slim. We are starting to see an increase of diabetic cats that are over weight - they are just like us in that respect.

 

[waterfaller1]

I thought cat food had too high of a protein content to be healthy for dogs?

 

[Welshanne]

We are always told they are formulated to the needs of the cat and dog and we should never feed them to the other long term, because of this. Also they are of a different consistency with one being dryer than the other for reasons I have forgotten now!

 

[Sharpie]

I thought cat food had too high of a protein content to be healthy for dogs?

We are always told they are formulated to the needs of the cat and dog and we should never feed them to the other long term, because of this. Also they are of a different consistency with one being dryer than the other for reasons I have forgotten now!

Nope. A high protein diet does not danmage a dog in any way unless they already have kidney damage. Higher protien dogs can even be beneficial for dogs with certain medical conditions. Some dogs will get diarrhea from cat food, but some dogs also get diarrhea from different dog foods.

Really, cats should be fed canned or wet food rather than dry since they do not have a well-developed ability to drink and keep themselves hydrated (desert creatures like cats evolve to get their water from FOOD, not drinking) but there is no greater differnce between the moisture content in cat kibble and dog kibble than there is between and two different brands of kibble.

The only real difference between mass produced cat food and dog food is the added taurine that cats need and the size of the kibble bits.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Cat food has a lot more fats and will make the dog gain a lot weight.

 

[Jacob]

I studied veterinary medicine for sometime (before I decided I wanted to be a biologist) and there I learned that dogs can eat cat food but cats can't eat dog food because they are strict carnivores. They need animal protein, also they can't use carbohydrates, so they shouldn't be fed vegetables. Their metabolism is different from omnivores, it's adapted for using animal protein for everything, they can produce glucose from proteins, something we cannot. Dogs are omnivores like us and dog food often contains allot of protein from soy (which is not good for cats). So you should check your cat food and see what the protein source is. If it's mainly soy, then it's not good cat food.

 

[TwoG2s]

My Gerbils love love love Harrison Pellets; which given how expensive they are; means The Gerbils get Harrisons as a treat on Xmas and Easter

The Mostly Cageless Cockatoos love love love anything and everything as long as it is not Harrison's. Love all the seeds in the Gerbil bowel and go crazy for cat kibble treats.

The cats love crawling onto the crate under The G2's day cage and scavenging for dropped pieces of my dinner that I shared. (My cowardly cats wait until after the scary birds have gone to bed.)

Sigh. In this house, no one eats their own food.

 

[feebee]

My Gerbils love love love Harrison Pellets; which given how expensive they are; means The Gerbils get Harrisons as a treat on Xmas and Easter

The Mostly Cageless Cockatoos love love love anything and everything as long as it is not Harrison's. Love all the seeds in the Gerbil bowel and go crazy for cat kibble treats.

The cats love crawling onto the crate under The G2's day cage and scavenging for dropped pieces of my dinner that I shared. (My cowardly cats went until after the scary birds have gone to bed.)

Sigh. In this house, no one eats their own food.

i wonder if reverse psychology would work, give everyone the food that they are not ment to have and see if they steal what they are ment to eat

 

[TwoG2s]

i wonder if reverse psychology would work, give everyone the food that they are not ment to have and see if they steal what they are ment to eat

Unfortunately, the fids and kids caught on to reverse psychology when they were about two.

Only works on me now I eat anything from anyone as long as I don't have to cook