Cat Eating Dog Food

[wullybaxter]

my tabby cat, [neutered male], pinches some of the dogs tinned food before eating his own, is there any truth in that cats should not eat dog food as it is bad for them. Thanks for any views and opinions in reply

[ummmm]

We had a cat that would eat all the dog food before eating her own (she was very fat!!) She died aged 14 from being fat.

[Ratty2E]

As long as he's not only eating dog food then I'm sure he'll be fine if maybe in danger of getting overweight. Obviously dog food is formulated for nutritional requirements of dogs and vice versa I think Cat food usually has a higher protein content than dog food but a little bit won't hurt. I feel sorry for the poor hungry dog.

[boxtops]

I feel sorry for the dog, too (or does he eat the cat food?).

Put the cat's food down first, get him to start troughing before you feed the dog.

[boxtops]

PS have a look in the Related Posts at the bottom of this page, too, for previous similar questions. Seems to be a question of nutrients, which is different for cats and dogs.

[woofgang]

It wont hurt a cat to eat dog food but they can't live on it because it hasn't got enough protein in it and cats also need different nutrients. much of what is in dogfood is not useful or digestible to a cat, they need more animal based protein.

[viv38]

Like others, I feel sorry for this dog too, but I remember when I had my little cat Sophie, who sadly vanished in 2006. I used to feed her and my dog at the same time and just leave them to it and one day I walked into the kitchen and my dog had finished his food and I saw him go over to Sophie, nudge her out of the way and proceed to eat her food and poor Sophie just sat there looking fed-up! I made sure I supervised meal times after that and Sophie always got to finish her food !

[Sqad]

Naaah!....providing that "kitty " gets some cat food then nibbling dog food will not do any harm.

Ferrell cats will feed on anything....just to survive......and they DO.

[ummmm]

We ended up feeding the dog and cat in separate rooms.

[B00]

My cat nicks the dog's food too.

[andy-hughes]

This is a territory issue for your pets - your cat is asserting himself as Top Cat because any pack hierarchy dictates that the leaders eat first, and the rest have what they choose to leave.

As long as both are getting enough to eat, and it's not causing spats between them, i wouldn't worry. As advised, if your cat is getting a good diet, a bit of pack mastery is all fine - they have obviously reached an accomodation, as domestic animals usually do.

If it gets to the stage where one or other is getting upset, you should maybe think about feeding them separately.

[B00]

I have to pick the cat up and physically shove her in another room when she does that as the poor dog looks devastated when she does it. And she really doesn't need to dominate the dog, she's twice as big as her as it is.

[pastafreak]

My cat went through a phase a few months ago of eating *with* the dog from her bowl. No one seemed bothered...the cat is as fat as ever.

The dog still steals the cat food.

[woofgang]

andy, latest research (will find the link if you want it) says that the "leader eats first" thing is now discredited.

[lankeela]

Cats need taurine in their diet which is not found in dog food, so cats should not be fed solely on dog food.