Is your dog attracted to cat food and you don’t know why? Have you ever found it as appealing? Although cat foods in many ways appear similar to that of dogs its composition is completely different. For this reason, if you have both a cat and a dog in the home, they need to stick to their own grub. While dogs can and do sometimes eat cat food, they absolutely shouldn’t. And we explain why in this article.
Cats are obligate carnivores by nature. This means they died needs to contain a significant amount of protein in order to meet their nutritional needs. On the other hand, dogs are more omnivorous and do not require as high a percentage of protein in their diet.
Dog food in addition to having less protein also has a greater amount of required fiber and other nutrients. In addition to inappropriate amounts of protein, one of the most worrisome factors in a dog eating cat food is the amount of fat contained within it.
The United States official food Control Association and the US Food and Drug Administration, recommend that cat foods have at least 9% fat with only 5% for dogs.
Dogs which share the same diet as a cat will eventually suffer from obesity caused by the incorrect intake of fatty foods. They will also have stomach upsets, diarrhea, and vomiting.
Generally, cat foods do not have the same nutritional balance which dogs require to stay healthy. However, does this mean that if a dog eats cat foods they will die? If a dog eats some cat foods once or twice without any regularity, you shouldn’t see any major problems. If a dog continuously eats cat foods instead of dog food they will likely develop serious illnesses.
What happens when a dog eats cat food?
If a dog eats a considerable quantity of cat foods, even on a one-off they may experience vomiting diarrhea and all stomach pain. If they only eat a small amount it is unlikely they will develop any symptoms.
Does your dog keep trying to eat cat food?
Experts say that the high protein content of cat foods makes it both tastier for cats as well as more attractive to dogs. To prevent them from eating it you will need to feed them separately and keep them away. You need to be careful when your dog is in a space where cat food is present. One reason, many people keep dogs and cats away from each other.
Now that you know dogs should not eat cat food you can help your animals live together in harmony.
