Taurine Deficiency Causes Serious Disease
Without taurine cats develop a disease of their heart wall which causes heart failure. The disease is called dilated cardiomyopathy, this occurs when the heart wall stretches so it cannot pump effectively. Taurine deficiency can also cause absorption problems in the digestive tract and loss of vision. All commercially prepared cat diets are tested for adequate taurine and supplemented if the levels are not high enough.;
My Dog Ate Cat Food What Do I Do
Dogs get into cat food all of the time. Some steal from the cats bowl, others break into food bags and containers. Eating cat food on occasion may lead to nothing more than vomiting and diarrhea, but this can vary from dog to dog. If your dog exhibits signs of intestinal discomfort after eating cat food, call your veterinarian.
If your dog regularly gets into cat food, it is best change where you keep your cats food or where and how you feed your cat.
As a general rule, try to discourage your dog from eating cat food unsupervised by placing it out of his reach. As always, pay attention to your dogs reaction when feeding him something new and talk to your veterinarian about any concerns you may have.
What Happens If A Dog Eats Cat Food Especially On A Regular Basis
If it happens once or twice it’s nothing to worry about, but there are many reasons for making sure your dog sticks to dog food.
- Upset stomach. For starters, the protein-dense diet of cats can cause an upset stomach in dogs with sensitive tummies.
- Poor nutrition. Even if your dog’s digestion isn’t visibly affected, the long term ingestion of cat food creates problems because it’s not properly balanced for canines when it comes fiber and protein content and certain nutrients.
- Liver and kidney damage. Additionally, Dr. Crowell-Davis adds that the great amount of protein can be hard on the dog’s liver and kidneys.
- Obesity. Cat food will also affect a dog’s waistline. The cause for blame is the cat food’s heavy levels of fat. This may cause a cat-food-eating dog to become overweight. Note: Kitten food is even more harmful due to its higher levels of protein and fat.
- Pancreatitis. Overweight dogs are at risk of developing pancreatitis, explains Dr. Patty Khuly.
So in order to keep Rover safe and healthy, make sure that he is specifically fed a diet purposely tailored for his or her own species.
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Can Cats Eat Dog Food Is It Dangerous For Cats
Home » FAQ » Can Cats Eat Dog Food? Is it Dangerous for Cats?
Numerous cat and dog owners face this problem: they notice that their cats eat dry dog food with pleasure and dont really like cat food. So, is it ok? Do you necessarily have to retrain your pet or just let it eat whatever the cats soul desires?
Unfortunately, today theres a false belief that every pet knows best what to eat, relying on its own animal instincts. But in fact, its a misconception: if it was a true fact, no cat or dog would ever suffer from obesity, kidney and heart diseases, which are related to poor nutrition.
Take a look at the teeth of your cat: theyre meant to rip and tear of flesh meat is what they crave!
Yes, cats and dogs have unique nutritional needs cats are obligate carnivores , while dogs are omnivores . And all pet food producers bear the dietary requirements of the intended species in mind to create high-quality products for your little friends.
But what happens if kittens eat dog food? Can dog food make a cat sick? Lets figure it out!
Why Do Dogs Eat Cat Food
While cats are obligate carnivores, meaning theyre obligated to eat meat and would in fact die without it, dogs are opportunistic omnivores meaning they can make use of many nutrient types found in their environment. Being relatives of wolves, people think of dogs as keen hunters, but ancient dogs began to rely on foraging scraps off nearby humans as they developed the bond we cherish today.
Being opportunistic, dogs will eat practically anything, which can certainly pose a problem at times. Its like their ancestral instincts have come up against a human-centered world. On par with sniffing something to see what it could be, dogs often try eating things simply out of curiosity. If you own a dog, you probably have more than one story of pet shenanigans.
Not only does cat food smell novel to the pet kibble theyre accustomed to, a dogs strong senses draw them to its high protein and fat content.
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Problems With Pets Sharing Foods
It may seem easy to simply fill a big bowl with one food and let all your pets munch and crunch as they desire throughout the day, but there are several reasons why this isn’t recommended. For starters, you have no idea how much food each pet is consuming. Are they overeating? Not eating enough?
Let’s say you do feed each pet individually, but you have a sneaky pup who likes to eat the cat’s dinner for dessert. Your dog may be ingesting too many calories for the day, which could lead to obesity and other related health issues. Also, when a dog eats cat food, they’re not getting the proper ratio of protein, fiber and other nutrients needed to maintain their healthy lifestyle. This can lead to gastrointestinal problems, strain on the liver and kidneys, pancreatitis, or a number of other issues. The same can be true if your cat is sneaking your dog’s food. Not to mention, cats require a few nutrients, like taurine and arachidonic acid that are not required by dogs, and therefore, not always monitored in dog food. In the long run, a cat eating dog food may experience nutrient deficiencies whereas a dog eating cat food is more likely to experience problems associated with excess energy or nutrients.
How To Train Your Dog To Stop Eating Cat Food
Start by making bowls of food distinguishable.To be fair to your dog, it may be hard to tell the difference between a bowl full of kibble that theyre supposed to eat, and a bowl full of kibble thats off-limits. Help your dog out by making the bowls of kibble look very different from each other. Try different bowl sizes and colors, and if you have a placemat under your pets bowls, make sure theyre different too.
Teach your dog the Leave It command. Once your dog knows Leave It, introduce cat food and repeat until they can successfully ignore the food. It can take daily practice for a few weeks, but stay consistent with your training and youll get it together!
Remove the opportunity for your dog to eat cat food.The best way to keep your dog from eating cat food is to separate your pets when food is out. Start by moving your cats bowl to another room one your dog cant get to. If your dog never has access to the cats food, theyll never get the opportunity to steal it! Here are some options:
The bottom line: Dont leave cat food out when your dog has plenty of opportunities to sneak over and grab a few bites. If youre used to leaving food out throughout the day, it may take a while to get your pets used to eating their meals in full on a schedule. However, the benefits of a feeding schedule and removing any food that isn’t eaten in 10-20 minutes is worth it.
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Can Dogs Eat Wet Cat Food
For some pups, such as those experiencing weight loss, decreased appetite, or battling cancer, cat food might be a great alternative to dog foods. This is because in these cases, cat food is tastier, higher in calories, and more nutrient-balanced than some home-prepared diets.
Small amounts of cat food from time to time are also unlikely to cause any harm to healthy adult dogs. However, giving cat food for a prolonged period of time can cause gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea and flatulence, or even allergic reactions as wet cat food isnt tested on canines.
Food Left Out Overnight
Whether your dog can eat food left out overnight depends on a few factors. What type of food it is, how warm the temperature is, and whether it was cooked or raw are key considerations.;
Again, its best to trust your own senses. Does the food smell or look off or spoiled? If it looks and smells ok, the odds are your dog can eat it.
However, youve probably experienced a bout of food poisoning because you ate something that seemed fine, but was contaminated with bacteria at some point in your life.
Dogs are less susceptible to bacteria than we are. However, experts will say better safe than sorry, and that you should follow the same guidelines for your dog as you do for yourself. This means that food left out overnight, particularly meat, is off the table.;
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The Look And Smell Of Dog Kibble Soaked In Water Seems Disgusting To Us But Our Dogs See No Problem With It At All There Are A Couple Of Good Reasons To Add Water To Dry Dog Food Here’s When You Should
Sometimes, I soak my dogs dry food in warm water for 15 or 20 minutes before I feed them.
I do this for a couple of reasons. My older dog has had a few dental extractions, and doesnt chew up his food as well as he used to not that any dog grinds up much of the kibble he or she eats; unlike ours, canine teeth are not much for grinding. Mostly, a few of the kibbles get crunched, and more likely get swallowed intact. My younger dog is prone to eating way too fast just bolting down all his food whole in less than a minute and I am guessing that it will put less of a strain on his digestive system if the food arrives even slightly pre-moistened.
And I know that feeding both of them soaked food makes them feel more full. Dry foods are so nutrient-dense, that the volume of the amount of food that is calorically appropriate for their weight might not come close to filling up their tummies. If their meal is full of water, it definitely increases satiety that sensation of fullness. They quit walking around the kitchen looking unsatisfied after their meals when their food is soaked.
Neither of my dogs are reluctant or picky eaters, but adding water can definitely increase the palatability of dry food for some dogs.
However, one shouldnt moisten food and leave it sitting out at room temperature for very long I would start being concerned about bacterial growth in moistened food that had been left out at room temperature for more than an hour.
My Dog Ate Cat Food: What Should I Do
It’s unlikely that your dog will experience any negative effects from eating cat food once or twice. He’ll probably love the way it tastes and want more, even if it causes mild gastrointestinal distress. Don’t worry too much if your dog eats some, but do take precautions to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Cat food isn’t good for dogs, and kitten food is even worse.
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Important Differences In Nutritional Needs Between Dogs And Cats
Dogs and cats are completely different species with their own set of nutritional requirements. Like humans, dogs are omnivores, requiring a balanced mix of both meat and plant-based diets, while cats are known as obligate carnivores, requiring a high-protein meat-based diet. The minimum requirement for protein in cats and dogs respectively is 26% and 18% of dry matter. Cats are also able to tolerate a higher fat content than dogs, with their minimum requirement for fat content being 9% and 5.5% 1. There are also some specific amino acids that cats require in their diet as they are unable to synthesise these for themselves, including arginine and taurine, so for this reason, you shouldnt feed dog food to cats2,3.
Dogs And Cats Have Distinct Nutritional Needs
One consequence of being an omnivore is that a dogs nutritional requirements are much more varied than those of cats. The content ratios that a given dog needs of proteins to fats, of fats to carbohydrates, and so on vary based on factors like age, size, and breed or mix, but it is safe to say that a healthy dogs diet should encompass the whole spectrum of nutrients, and that protein should be less than 20 percent of their daily intake. Fats, while necessary, should be doled out at even smaller portions, making up somewhere between 10 percent and 15 percent of a meal. Dogs also need more of the fiber found in carbohydrates than cats do. A quality dog food should take a dogs specific dietary needs into account.
Cats, on the other hand, thrive on food rich in fats and proteins derived from meat. These nutrients comprise much of the content in store-bought cat food. Dry cat food;also contains some plant or vegetable matter, mostly for the sake of kibble cohesion and integrity. Wet canned cat food, on the other hand, has a great deal of water as well, which, combined with a;high concentration of meat-based nutrients, provides a typical cat exactly what she needs. Why do dogs like cat food? Probably because its contents are different enough from what they normally eat that it has the attraction of novelty.
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Why Your Dog Shouldnt Eat A Lot Of Cat Food
If cat food is full of meat and smells delicious to dogs, you have to wonder: can dogs eat cat food? The answer is, yes and no . Your dog can safely sample a bit of your kittys chow. I sometimes let my dogs lick the cat food spoon as a treat! But a diet consisting solely of cat food wont give your dog the balanced nutrition they need.
Think about humans reactions to our favorite junk food; we know our body needs a balanced, healthy diet, but sometimes a burger and fries just smells and tastes so good. Feeding your dog a cat food-only diet would be like feeding yourself McDonalds every day. It might sound delicious at first, but in the long run, its a bad idea.
Overconsumption of cat food can cause health problems for dogs, including:
- Gastrointestinal distress in the short term
- Higher obesity risk as time goes on
- Kidney problems in the long run
Bottom line: you dont have to panic if your dog gets into the cat food, but you shouldnt make it part of her regular diet.
Different Nutritional Profiles Between Cat And Dog Food
The main reason you need to keep your pup out of the cat food is that cat food is higher in fat and protein than dog food. This makes cat food super appealing to your pup. Most dogs love the smell of meat or fish in the cats food.
Dog food, on the other hand, has some more carbohydrate content then cat food. Dogs need less fat and protein than cats. Dog food usually has some kind of grain or another carbohydrate source including rice, corn, wheat or oats.
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Can Cats Eat Dog Food For A Couple Days
Dog food is not a long term dietary solution for cats, because it doesnt contain enough of the nutrition, which is largely protein and some healthy fats found in meat, they need to stay strong and healthy. Dog food contains other nutrition, including more carbohydrates, that dogs need but arent necessary, and may actually be harmful in large quantities or for sustained periods of time for cats. Bottom line: Cats can eat dog food for a short period of time, but not forever. The truth is, there is no real concern when your pets swap food for a short period of time. That said, while an occasional nibble of your dogs food wont hurt your cat, long-term feeding of dog food can lead your cat to become malnourished.
For proper nutrition, feed your kitty healthy food specifically labeled for cats.
Are Table Scraps And Other People Foods Bad For Your Dog And Cat
Most holistically trained veterinarians encourage the practice of feeding “people food” to our pets. Healthy leftovers are an excellent supplement to your companion’s regular fare. There are only two rules with people food for pets:
It’s important to note that not all healthy foods for us are healthy for our pets: onions, grapes and raisins can all be toxic to dogs and cats. If you’re not positive it’s safe, don’t feed it.
If you want to feed meat from the grocery store, there are a number of homemade pre-mixes available where you just need to add is meat and an appropriate oil for healthy fat content.
Pre-mixes contain vegetables, vitamins and minerals, and sometimes grains to make the meal complete. You don’t have to cook every meal for your companion to benefit from fresher food: even the occasional homemade dinner is a wonderful healthy treat!
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