Can I feed my dog cat food?

While eating cat food certainly won't kill your dog or make him or her very seriously ill, it's generally not recommended that you give your dog cat food to eat all the time. The main reason for this is that cats and dogs require quite different diets, as similar as their foods may appear to be to people. Dogs are omnivorous, which means that as well as meat they require some plant materials in their diet. Cats, on the other hand, are carnivores through and through – by nature, they typically eat nothing but meat.

For this reason, cat food contains primarily meat and meat products, and little else. Cat foods are denser in calories than dog foods, and the additional calories and fat (when compared with dog food) does give cat food a greater appeal to dogs in many cases – so given the choice, many dogs would actually opt for the cat food! Many cat food products do smell and taste nicer to dogs. And while it probably won't hurt a dog to eat cat food occasionally (like if he's in the habit of stealing your kitty's dinner when no one's looking), it's best not to allow it. In the long term, the cat food will be too rich for a dog, causing digestive problems – and the higher levels of calories and fats can lead to obesity if consumed by dogs on a regular basis.

 

As a side note, although cat food isn't generally too seriously harmful if consumed by dogs now and again, the reverse isn't so true. Cats can't live on dog food alone, because a dog's diet is lacking in the essential nutrients needed by a cat for it to stay healthy. Cat foods contain much higher amounts of protein and fiber, and the cat needs these. The dog does not, so a good quality dog food will contain lower levels of these, as well as of calories and fats – and while a dog eating cat food consistently will gain too much weight, a cat eating only dog food will both lose weight and become unhealthy, suffering from nutrient deficiencies. Generally speaking, feed your pet a food that is specially formulated for it.

Stick to a dog food that has been produced with your dog's age, breed, size and activity level in mind. This will ensure that the dog receives the correct balance of nutrients it requires to remain happy and healthy and full of energy. Make sure you use a good quality food, free from the less than healthy “fillers” in many economy brand commercial pet foods – which can contain indigestible items such as feathers, fecal matter, hair, diseased meats, even newspaper! Feed a good quality food so that you know your dog is getting what he needs, and nothig that he doesn't need. If your dog still turns up his nose at his food (once they've tasted cat food it can be hard to turn back!), try adding a few spoonfuls of unsalted chicken broth to it. It should make it a bit more appealing to fussy eaters!

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