Can cats eat dog food?

ByPawscribes Last updated:
Cat eating from a dog bowl

Sometimes our little fur tornados may have snacked from the dog bowl without us noticing.

But is it dangerous, what can happen if cats eat dog food?

TL;DR: Dangers of cats eating dog food

Dog food has too little nutrients, vitamins and amino acids. Feeding your cat dog food could lead to:
– heart problems
– loss of vision and night blindness
– digestive and general stomach problems
– skin issues
– bad liver and kidney values causing organ problems
– fur problems
– muscle deterioration

Does dog food contain enough nutrients for cats?

Simply said — no

Cats are purely carnivorous. Meat eaters. And they need a very fatty and purely meat diet.
Dogs on the other hand are omnivorous and have to rely a bit more on vegetables and carbohydrates.

So while dogs love the high-protein, high-fat taste of cat meat, cats don’t even like dog food. This is because they have about a third of the tastebuds of dogs. They can’t taste sweets or fruity flavours and are just happy to eat meat.

They also need way more proteins, extra amino acids (taurin), nutrients and vitamins than dogs.

So dog food is missing all of these things that are vital for the health of your cats.

Differences between Cat and Dog food

cat food has multiple needs that dog food just cant provide. Because dogs simply don’t need it.
It can also be dangerous for your dog to eat too much cat food. We wrote an article about this here.

Main differences with cat foods:

  • Contains Niacin which is mainly from animal products
  • Vitamin A is needed in way bigger concentration than dog food can offer
  • Arachidonic (fatty) acid which dogs produce by themselves, cats don’t
  • Taurine is a vital amino acid that dogs don’t need
  • high animal protein only found in meat and fish
  • higher water content

So simply put, cats are just different animals with different needs.

Dangers of Cats eating dog food

In the unlikely case that your cat enjoys eating dog food, it can cause major health issues like:

  • heart problems
  • loss of vision
  • digestive and general stomach problems
  • skin issues
  • bad liver and kidney values causing organ problems
  • fur problems
  • muscle deterioration
  • night blindness

All in all, just don’t feed your cat dog food.
And even if they wanted to eat it, look how you can make sure they get all the necessary minerals, vitamins and amino acids they need.

As always, if in doubt, talk to a Vet!

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