The question of whether it’s safe for dogs to eat cat food comes up fairly often in homes where dogs and cats live together because it’s often difficult to keep the dog out of the cat food.
Why Dogs Like Cat Food
From a dog’s point of view, cat food is extremely appealing. First, it’s more likely to be left out all day long for free-choice feeding, as opposed to dog food that tends to be served at set mealtimes and removed a short time later.
Next, cat food often has higher levels of protein and fat than dog food, and many dogs find that attractive.
Why Cat Food Is Different than Dog Food
Cat f ood and dog food have different formulations because cats and dogs have different nutritional requirements. Cats are obligate carnivores—they must eat meat in order to maintain their health—while dogs are omnivores, which means they eat both meat-based foods and plant-based foods to fulfill their nutritional requirements.
In addition to the dietary meat requirements a cat has, she also needs certain B-complex vitamins and amino acids such as taurine that dog food doesn’t contain. If a cat doesn’t receive these vitamins and amino acids from her diet, she could develop serious heart problems such as cardiomyopathy, or she could become blind .
What Will Happen if Your Dog Eats Cat Food
Dogs that overindulge on cat food are likely to suffer digestive upsets from the higher fat levels in the cat food. These can include diarrhea and vomiting.
An occasional mouthful or two of cat food won’t harm your dog’s health, but over the long haul, a dog that eats only cat food will probably become overweight and will also miss out on some vital nutrients contained in dog food that cat food lacks.
In time, he could also develop kidney problems if his excretory system is unable to remove the extra protein provided by the cat food. This extra protein becomes urea when it’s turned into a waste product, and urea can accumulate in a dog’s body.
How to Keep Your Cat’s Food Dog-Free
Keeping your dog out of your cat’s food requires some planning and training on your part, and it may also involve some minor home remodeling if your dog persists in snacking on cat food. Let’s see what steps need to be taken to keep your dog away from your cat’s food.
First, put the dog and cat food bowls in different parts of your home, e.g., the dog in the kitchen and the cat in the laundry room. Separate the cat’s feeding area from the rest of the house with a gate that the dog cannot jump over or crawl under.
If that doesn’t do the trick, feed the cat on a higher surface than you feed the dog, such as a laundry room counter or even the top of the dryer. If feeding the cat up high isn’t successful, consider getting a cat-sized crate that the dog cannot fit into, and feed your cat in the crate.
Finally, if all else fails, install a cat door in the laundry room door that’s either too small for your dog to use or that’s activated by a remote on your cat’s collar. Close the door to deny your dog access to the cat food.