Cats will eat dog food – but they shouldn’t do it. There’s a reason behind having dog food and cat food to choose from, and that’s because they are way too different from each other to pick one at random. Cats should eat cat food alone.
Keep in mind a hungry cat will eat anything there is in its path. Cat food, dog food, bird food, a small bird, a rat, and anything else you can think of. That doesn’t mean it’s okay for your cat to feast on everything there’s around, though.
Your cat may try to eat dog food – but you better keep the dog food away from your cat!
Will dog food hurt my cat?
Dog food won’t hurt your cat if it’s a one-time thing. Long-term, eating dog food alone can create huge nutritional imbalances in your cat. That will lead to poor health and even death. If your cat took a bite off your dog’s plate, don’t worry – but discourage that habit!
If you forgot to buy cat food and have nothing but dog food, you can feed your cat some dog food for the night. It won’t do too much damage.
On the other hand, if you adopt it as a long-term strategy, your cat will get hurt in the process.
Why is my cat eating dog food?
Hungry cats will not discriminate when it comes to food. Even if you think your cat is full, it might want to go for another round – and if cat food isn’t available, dog food could be the next best thing for a cat.
Some cats have a taste for dog food as well as cat food. And recently-neutered cats will tend to gain weight and crave all kinds of foods. In both scenarios, you should keep an eye out and try to keep your cat away from dog food.
How do I stop my cat from eating dog food?
The best way to deal with your cat eating dog food is an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. Make it impossible for the cat to be near dog food. Make your pets eat at a different time or in different rooms to avoid the issue.
Other than keeping dog food away from your cat, you can keep your cat away from dog food. If you feed all your pets at the same time, hang around until they are done eating. If your cat tries to take a bite from the dog’s bowl, gently move it away. Repeat until the food is gone. It’s a tiresome method but an effective one.
Are cat food and dog food the same?
Cat food and dog food are drastically different. They are made from different items and have different goals. Cats follow a strict carnivore diet, and their food reflects that. Dog food is made for omnivores – which is way different from what a cat needs.
That doesn’t mean dog food is poison to cats. It means dog food isn’t as nutritionally dense as it should be for cats. Because of that, you need to keep the dog food away from the cat’s bowl!