Download Feeding Dog Food To Cats And Cat Food To Dogs

Feeding Dog Food to Cats and Cat Food to Dogs
By Dr. Pascale Pibot, Royal Canin Research Center
When somebody has both a dog and a cat, they are tempted to feed them the same food. However, this is not a good idea: why?
1. Why dog food is not suitable for a cat.
• Physiologically, a cat is more carnivorous than a dog: its protein requirement is higher.
• Comparison of minimum protein requirements for dogs and cats (AAFCO recommendations, 2003 *):
• Adult dog - 18 %
• Puppy and reproductive bitch - 22 %
• Adult cat - 26 %
• Kitten and reproductive queen - 30 %
• In addition to this greater need for dietary proteins, the cat has a specific requirement for the amino acid taurine: a
prolonged deficiency of taurine promotes blindness and cardiac disease. A dry cat food must contain at least 1 g of
taurine per kg. This supplementation is not normally present in dog food.
• A cat does not adapt itself as easily as a dog to a high carbohydrate diet. Too great an amount of carbohydrates in the
food can result in digestive problems. Consequently, there are fewer cereals in a cat food than in a dog food.
• Since the cat can digest fats very well, fats are the primary source of energy: a cat food generally contains more fats than a
dog food. (AAFCO minimum requirement of fat for maintenance is 9 % for a cat versus 5 % for the dog).
• A cat has specific requirements for fatty acids from animal origin, especially arachidonic acid. Unlike dogs, cats are
unable to synthesize arachidonic acid from other fatty acid precursors. Animal ingredients in general and especially
chicken fat are rich in arachidonic acid.
• B vitamin requirements for a cat (thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine...) are superior to a dog’s. This is associated with
increased protein metabolism.
2. Why cat food is not suitable for a dog?
• It is possible to feed a small dog with cat food. But we must pay attention to several points.
• On an economical point of view it is more expensive, as cat foods are higher in animal protein and fat, and packed in
smaller bags, the price is greater.
• The energy density of cat food is generally higher than dog foods. This can be a problem for dogs that have a
tendency to be overweight.
• Cat food is naturally acidified to prevent struvite precipitation in the urinary tract; puppies must not eat acidified diets,
because they can potentially disturb skeletal growth.
Conclusion
The occasional consumption of dog food by a cat is not detrimental to the animal. However it is dangerous to feed a cat
regularly with dog food exclusively; it favors many pathological consequences, protein deficiency: muscular weakness,
loss of general health taurine deficiency: cardiac disease, blindness and fatty acids deficiency which can lead to growth and
reproduction disorders. A dog can occasionally eat a cat/kitten food without any problem.
* Expressed in percentage food on a dry matter basis, presuming the energy density is: 3500 kcal/kg for the dog,
and 4000 kcal/kg for the cat.
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