Cat food vs dog food

Gothicfairy

I am hoping some smart person here might know the real answer to this question ( hubby can only manage stupid replies..lol)

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


My kitten ( I posted about him here when he first arrived, he was a second hand one found outside in the garden) loves the dry dog food.

I have 3 cats and 3 dogs and the cats get their wet food in the morning and at night and have dried down all day ( they only have about a can and a half of wet a day ) They all like their dried ( whiskers with those pouches things) and eat it but the kitten will always head to the dog bowl and eat that as well.

The dogs are on St Johns worker compete and the list of doings read like the cat food ones but I am worried that it might not have something in it that he needs.

Not sure I could stop him anyway as he just wonders into the kitchen and helps himself.
He is now totally fit and healthy and apart from his brain issues he is a normal kitten.

Any advice or am I overthinking it ?


Ta

jenova_2

Dogs can survive on cat food, cats can't survive on dog food - a cat needs more of certain nutrients than dog food provides. The main one I can think of is Taurine.

As long as your kitten is eating cat food for the most part, and only just snacking on the dog food, he'll be OK. But if he is eating mostly dog food then you need to break this habit as he will end up deficient in some vital nutrients.

Edited to add this quote which has more info:

"Cats must have the amino acid called 'taurine' in their diet; dogs can actually make their own taurine. A cat eating food deficient in taurine can develop severe heart disease and other health problems. Almost all cat foods now contain added taurine. Cats require a different form of Vitamin A than dogs do. Dogs can use beta-carotene as a source of Vitamin A; cats cannot. Cats can not manufacture the fatty acid called 'arachidonic acid' and must have it supplemented in their diet; it is not essential for dogs to have this fatty acid in their food."

(That is from peteducation.com - if you google cat eating dog food you will find plenty more info, I can't spend too long on google for you as I'm at work!)

Tropez

Cat food is generally higher in protein due to cats requiring more protein. Cats that are fed on dog food may develop a protein deficiency which can lead to serious, potentially fatal health problems.

And similarly, dogs eating cat food will end up with too much protein which can also cause serious health problems, particularly in the liver.

Cats and dogs who occasionally partake in one anothers food won't usually develop such problems but it is still considered ill-advised by most vets to purposely feed the wrong type of food.

Gothicfairy

He does eat his own food as well so hopefully it will be fine as I would have no idea how to break him of this habbit. He does not learn things like normal animals..Poor lad

At least it is not at odd as my other cat who has a fetish for plastic.