Is it ok for a cat to eat dog food?

Bonnie

And, is it ok for a dog to eat cat food? I have dogs and cats and I just leave their food dishes next to eachother. Once in a while Ill see one of them eat the food theyre not supposed to eat. Is that alright?



Ashlie

No, cats need almost twice the protien that dogs do, so cat food will give a dog too much protien. A nibble here and there isnt going to hurt anything, just as long as its not the full diet



Evie

Cats need torein They are strict canovors without it they go blindGet your pet questions answered free by Vets and experts join our Pet Social networkhttp://ecokidsgreenliving. blogspot. com/...



Amos

Well yeah it is ok. as long as none of them are throwing up then yeah it is fine. My cat loves to eat human food like poptarts, ice cream, beef jerky, and chocolate but not so much of it.



Blaine

Actually, according to my mothers veterinarian, and Mom wont lie to save her life, dog food, though not the exact nutritional ideal, will do no harm to a cat if not its only food type.......BUT, Cat Food is bad for dogs, can cause (kidney?) major organ failure if allowed to occur too often. I forget exactly WHAT causes death in worst case examples, which organ for certain, but if memory serves its kidneys. Might want to elevate the kitty chow, if you check this out with any vet via phone, they should gladly confirm\refute this info. I trust my mother, and MY cats food is in a cat carrier, at the back wall, so puppies cannot access the bowl. Happy researching!!



Booker

It is okay if they have a small bite and arent just eating the opposite food. The only difference between cat food and dog food is that they arent nutritionally balanced for the other kind of animal. If you are really concerned put you cat food on a high place where the dog cant get it and you shouldnt have issues.



Clifford

I would say no it is not okay but if it is once in a while it shouldnt do any harm. I guess it would be hard for you to seperate their food but it is amazing the dogs dont attack the cats! The cat food has nutrients especially for the digestive system and life style of the cat. that is also why there are so many different types like for kittens, adult cats, senior cats and also for different medicat needs like hairball formula and urinary tract formula. I dont own a dog but i have seen a DVD recently about cat care.



Rosie

Cats need Taurine in there diet. Most dog foods do not have this essencial nutrient as it is not eassential for dogs-although it is found in some natural dog foods. I would not feed my dog natural dog food as mostnatural dog food contain Garlic-which is toxic to DogsCats! I always carefully check the ingrediance on cat food too. Note; dont feed your cat Kangroo meat-Kangraoo feed often to your cats causes kidney failure. So the answer is no-you can not feed your cat, dog food!



Eden

Not really they can get sick and have like dierhea for a little while-then there bodies get immune 2 it-but its not going to kill them-some may get sick for a little bit-others are just fine, my dog does same thing all the time!! my cat hates it sometimes or he doesnt care until he gets hungry.



Estrella

It can cause disease to the Heart and malutrition. Go to peteducation. com and it will have a list of foods a cat should not eat and what could happen.



Eustolia

If its just a little sometimes, then no its not a problem. However, cats require a food with higher protein content than dogs do, so if your cats are eating too much dog food then they might not be getting the necessary protein requirements and if dogs eat cat food too much then theyre getting too much protein, so its best if you seperate their food



Colin

Um....if they eat a lot of the other food it probably wont be good......Ask the vet...



Providencia

I heard from a vet that if a cat eats dog food they will eventually go blind. My dogs love cat food...but I figure that they have separte types of food for a reason. Stick to the basics I suppose.



Jodie

Its ok for them to nibble as long as it doesnt cause diarrhea or vomit. Cats have to have very specific things in thier diets, taurine is one of those things, if a cat only eats dog food it can lose its sight. I think its fine as long as the cat is eating mostly cat food.



Alline

Its ok. My little dog loved cat food. I also had to keep his weight off, so I used to feed him a Whiskers pouch every night which was 85grams. There is supposed to be different vitamins for different animals, but I dont believe that.



Alonzo

So do my pets! As far as I know it wont hurt them, maybe just a tad bit of indigestion (or gas in my dog Spunkys case! yuck!!!)