What is the nutritional difference between dog food and cat food?

Coreen

If my chihuahuas eat cat food, are they missing out on any important nutrients? which ones?



Britney

Cat food is much more rich in fat and protein so dogs usually become fat on cat food. Not to mention, cat food is supplemented with taurine which can cause issues in some dogs if they consume a lot of it. Its not a good idea to let a dog eat cat food.....its not good for them at all.



Deandra

No no no...cat food will make your dog fat!!!!!!! Chihuahuas have a tendency to be fat anyway so be careful.



Lizbeth

Do not feed your dog cat food. Unless you want an extremely overweight dog on your hands. Cat food is VERY high in fat and also very sweet. That is why dogs love it so much. Instead of cat food, mix some canned tuna in spring water in with dry dog food. It gives the dog the yumminess of cat food but they still need dry dog food for dental health. Even if you have a fussy dog, they will love this for dinner. My fussy mini-dachshund would eat cat food everyday if she could. Instead she is very happy with my substitute.



Suellen

Cat food is too high in protein and fats for dogs. The nutritional values will also differ from cat food to dog food. So do not let the dog eat cat food, that the reason it called CAT food.



Cara

It frustrates me soo much when my mom lets her pom eat the cat food. go to this website for more in depth information http://www. thepetcenter. com/article. aspx…Cats are carnivores, dogs are omnivores. They need different amounts of nutrition in almost everything. its even important that you use the right shampoo on each. Ph levels are different, oils are different, alot of things. Just because dogs and cats are both the main human pets doesnt make them too much alike. Some differences in nutritional amounts are as follows;Vitamin A... Also called retinol, is required at the cellular level by both cats and dogs. Cats – Process little or no enzymes that will break down the plant-produced carotenoids. Must eat preformed active Vitamin A (that is, Vitamin A that already has been converted from carotenoids to its active form by some other creature such as a mouse or rabbit). Here’s a good example of why cats are called strict carnivores. . . they need to eat some other animal in order to "borrow" its active Vitamin A! Dogs – Have enzymes in the lining of the intestine that can break down plant carotenoids and convert these into active Vitamin A. Niacin...An essential B vitamin (essential means must be eaten, can’t be made inside the body’s chemical factory.)Cats – Can obtain Niacin only by eating the preformed vitamin. Cannot convert Tryptophan to niacin. Dogs – Obtain Niacin in two ways. One is by converting a dietary amino acid call Tryptophan into Niacin and the other way is by eating preformed Niacin. Arginine...Is a building block for proteins, called an amino acid. Arginine is vital to many of the animal’s internal chemical factory’s functions. No Arginine and the entire factory goes on strike! Cats – Are extremely sensitive to even a single meal deficient in Arginine and are unable to make their own Arginine within their chemical factory. Cats need lots of protein, and Arginine is involved in aiding the elimination of the protein waste products so the wastes don’t pollute the whole factory! Dogs - Are not very sensitive to low levels of Arginine in their diets and produce enzymes internally that can aid production of Arginine. Taurine... An amino acid that is not built into proteins, but is distributed throughout most body tissues. Taurine is important for healthy functioning of the heart, retina, bile fluid and certain aspects of reproduction. Cats – Must eat preformed Taurine and since Taurine is not found in plant tissues, cats must consume meat to obtain Taurine. Cats can’t make their own, therefore, Taurine is essential in the diets of cats. Here again, meat has to be supplied to the factory so the Taurine can be extracted for its many uses. Dogs – Make their own in their internal chemical factory. Felinine...Is a compound made from a sulfur amino acid (SAA) called Cysteine. Cats – Have a much higher requirement for SAA than other Mammalia and are the only creatures to manufacture the Felinine chemical. Felinine’s role in the overall function of the chemical factory is unknown, but like most factories whose wastes generate offensive odors, any Felinine present in the male cat’s urine alerts the neighbors that the factory is up and runnin’!Dogs – Don’t know and don’t care what this stuff is. Dietary Protein...Cats – If fed a perfectly balanced and 100% digestible protein in a diet, the cat will use 20% of that protein for growth metabolism and 12% for maintenance. Here’s any easy way to say it. . . cats need more protein in their diets than dogs do. Dogs – If fed a perfectly balanced and 100% digestible protein in a diet, the dog will use 12% of that protein for growth metabolism and only 4% of that protein for maintenance. Heres an easy way to say this...dogs need less protein in their diets than cats. Arachidonic Acid... An essential fatty acid that plays a vital role in fat utilization and energy production. Cats – Cannot make their own Arachidonic Acid even in the presence of adequate linoleic acid. The reason cats can’t make Arachidonic Acid from linoleic acid is because the cat’s chemical factory (liver) contains no delta-6-desaturase enzyme to convert linoleic to Arachidonic. Tell your cat owning friends about this one. Tell ‘em about the cat’s lack of liver delta-6-desaturase enzyme and they’ll think you’ve got a Ph. D. in biochemistry! Dogs – Can make their own Arachidonic Acid if they consume enough linoleic acid by eating proper fats. Therefore, we can say that Arachidonic Acid is not an essential fatty acid for dogs. Fasting and Starvation... Cats – Do not mobilize fat reserves for energy very efficiently and, in fact, break down non-fatty body tissues for energy. This upsets the internal chemical factory and can lead to a very dangerous feline disorder called hepatic lipidosis. Never put a fat cat on a starvation diet, it might just put the entire factory out of business. (I’ve had occasion to rel



Avril

Hey dont listen to that other answer. its not BAD if ur dog eats cat food. but they are missing out on some of the things in regualr dog food. plus cat food has tartar in there food, so tht might make ur dog feel a lil sick or not comfortable. hope i helped