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

Question

My dog keeps getting into the cats food and is not eating his food, I feed both of them dry food but he seems to favor their food. I keep trying to hide it from him but his sense of smell always leads him to it. Is the cats food bad for him? I'm wondering if I can feed both pets the same food??? Hmmmm

Answer 1

About  $.59 a can

Answer 2

The ingredients.

The first major difference between cats and dogs, is that cats are true carnivores, requiring a diet mainly of meat and meat products. Dogs are omnivores, having the ability to exist on a diet of meat and plant products.

There are certain nutrients that cats need that can only be found in animal sources. Dog foods are higher in grain products and lack some of these essential nutrients.

Taurine is an essential amino acid that is crucial for a catsï¿­ health and is only found in animal tissues. Without taurine in the diet, cats can experience heart problems, blindness, and respiratory problems. Blindness caused by a lack of taurine in the diet was first seen in cats that were fed strictly dog food.

The next nutrient is vitamin A. Dogs have the ability to convert beta-kerotene to vitamin A. Cats on the other hand need pre-formed vitamin A in their diet, which can only be found in animal tissues.

Arachidonic acid, a necessary fatty acid, can be synthesized by a dog using linoleic acid. The cat is unable to do this and needs to ingest arachidonic acid in their diet. This, too, can only be found in animal tissues.

Finally, cats have a much higher protein requirement than dogs because they use protein as an energy source.

As you can see, it is more of a problem if your cat were eating the dog food.  The protein levels should be the biggest difference, but the brand of food you are feeding tells the real story. Read the label.  Look at the ingredients and nutritional value.  Some generic or grocery store brands are very similar.  

Answer 3

Cat food has taurine and dog food doesn't.

I would not recommend giving them both the same food.

Depending on the height of your dog, put your cats food on a ledge or something they can jump up on and your dog cant  

Answer 4

Hi Nisie :]

I think it has a lot more fiber in the cat food.

Answer 5

Cat food has a LOT more protein in it, and they need that. Dogs CAN eat cat food sometimes if they want, but cats cannot live on dog food because it has too little protein.