Can cats eat dog food? The dangers of long-term dog food use for cats

2022-06-17



Many pet owners now feed dogs and cats at home, and a cat and a dog are the standards for successful people. The average pooper scooper will buy cat food and dog food separately. But some pooper scoopers do not care about this, are eating meat, cat food, and dog food what is the difference? The difference between the two types of food is huge, and you should not feed your cat dog food for a long time.

One, cats are not allowed to eat dog food for the following three reasons:



1. Cats are pure carnivores, and dog food does not account for as much meat as cat food, and cats may suffer from a lack of nutritional supply after eating dog food.

2, cats have to consume a certain amount of taurine every day, while dog food does not contain this substance.

3. Cats and dogs have different attributes, and the food they eat naturally cannot be the same.

Can cats eat dog food? The dangers of long-term dog food use for cats



II. Cats and dogs have different eating habits


Cats and dogs actually have their own eating habits, just like humans.

Dogs eating habits
Dogs were domesticated from wolves and started out as carnivores, hunting and preying on small animals in the wild on their own for a living. However, through human domestication, dogs gradually began to be exposed to other foods, so they changed their eating habits and became omnivorous animals.

Cat eating habits
Cats, unlike dogs, have always been carnivores. Whether hungry or not, cats pick up food without omnivorous behavior, so cats are complete carnivores.

Based on the eating habits of cats and dogs, it can be seen that there is a difference in the meat content of cat food and dog food. Cat food contains a higher amount of meat than dog food. If a cat eats dog food for a long time, it will have insufficient protein intake.

Different nutritional elements required
Understanding that cats and dogs have different diets, you can know that they require different nutrients.

Cats mainly need a lot of high-quality protein, fat, taurine, vitamin A, vitamin B, and vitamin C to maintain basic survival. Cats also need additional vitamins and supplements, but the most important of them for cats are vitamin A, amino acids, and taurine. However, cats have no way to produce these nutrients on their own and have to rely on additional provisions. But dogs are different, dogs can produce their own, so the dog food for these nutrients is relatively low to meet the basic survival of cats. The following are two examples of essential nutrients for dogs and cats for comparison so that you can clearly see the difference between the two.

Protein
Protein: It is a substance with a certain spatial structure formed by a polypeptide chain composed of amino acids in the form of "dehydration condensation" through coiling and folding. It is an important component of cells and tissues, and all important components of the body require the participation of proteins.
Protein is an important nutrient that both cats and dogs need, but they have different conversion and demand ratios. As an example for both cats and dogs during their developmental period.

In a developing cat, 60% of the protein consumed is used to maintain the normal needs of the body, and 40% is used for growth requirements.

But dogs are different, only 33% of the protein consumed by dogs is used to maintain the normal needs of the body, and 66% is used for production needs.

Therefore, even for developing cats and dogs, there is no way to eat the same staple food. According to AFFCO standards, developing cats need 30% protein and developing dogs need 22% protein. So there is no way for cats to eat dog food for a long time, which will lead to insufficient protein intake.

Taurine
Taurine: is a structurally simple sulfur-containing amino acid in animals, chemically known as 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid. Taurine is a special amino acid that is not included in the protein class, but taurine is the most abundant amino acid in the brain, retina, and muscle tissue.
Taurine intake is actually a much higher requirement for cats than for dogs. Because cats lack the rate-limiting enzyme half of cysteine sulfite decarboxylase for taurine synthesis, taurine is an essential amino acid, but cats cannot synthesize taurine in their bodies, so they need to supplement taurine from food. Insufficient intake will lead to retinal degeneration, heart disease, neurological disorders, etc. in cats. However, dogs are able to synthesize taurine. According to AFFCO standard, cat chemistry food needs to contain 0.1% taurine and cat wet food needs to contain 0.2% taurine, but there is no requirement for dog food.

Very few dog foods have taurine added to them, so cats cannot use dog foods for long periods of time. In the AFFCO standard, there is no one ratio of nutritional elements needed by cats and dogs, so the wrong food will lead to illness in cats in the long run.

Three, the dangers of long-term use of dog food for cats


In fact, through the above introduction, the pooper scoopers should have learned that cats are not allowed to eat dog food for a long time. Because this can not meet the normal functioning of the cat's organism, and in the long run will lead to cat illness. But what are the dangers of cats eating dog food?

Kidney disease: long-term consumption of dog food by cats will lead to insufficient intake of protein, taurine, and vitamins in the body, resulting in kidney disease.
Urinary diseases: The water content in dog food is low, but cats themselves do not like to drink water, especially male cats will also suffer from insufficient water intake, leading to urinary system diseases.
Death: There is no scare here, cats using dog food for a long time can lead to damage to their vision, heart, and nerve function, and can easily cause hyperammonemia and even death.
Why can't cats eat dog food and what are the dangers? How should I stop it?
So be sure to feed your cat its own cat food, do not feed your cat dog food because it is convenient or your cat steals it.

1, cats and dogs are different in the digestion of starchy substances. Although the dog can not leave the meat, it can better digest the starchy, so it is inclined to be omnivorous. Cats can not produce amylase from saliva, only a little in the intestine, to the cat to eat starchy food, probably similar to the sheep eating meat. Therefore, the dog food on the market in order to reduce costs, so the starch is more, and cat food's protein content is higher. General adult cat food protein is between 25%-30%, the dog food protein is between 22%-24%.

2, in addition to the difference between cat food and dog food in the protein content, the taste of cat food is generally heavier than dog food fishy, but also added taurine (cat vision needs, the cat itself can not synthesize taurine, dog food is not necessary to add taurine, because dogs can synthesize their own), magnesium, etc. These contents are also higher than dog food.

3, cat food and can go to the hairball this function, dog food is not, also do not need. (Because the cat will lick their whole hair, tiny barbs on the tongue to their own hair are hooked into the stomach, and can not digest, hair will be in the cat's stomach to save into a ball, over time will affect the cat's health, mainly by adding crude fiber to solve). So what we see is that cats generally do not eat dog food, but dogs will eat cat food.

Fourth, how to prevent cats from stealing dog food?


Cats are in a developmental stage and dogs are adults. They consume different stages of staple foods, and the cat will run to the dog's bowl to eat the dog food at each feeding. Feeding them separately at each feeding may seem like a hassle, but it's necessary. Here are ways to prevent your cat from eating dog food.

Feed cats and dogs separately and put them in different rooms
Staggered feeding, cats are fed first, when the cat is full, the dog is fed, it is recommended to lure the cat to play together at this time to distract the cat.
Spray water feeding, cats do not like water, when the cat runs over to eat dog food, you can use a small spray can to spray a little water, let the cat leave on its own, but do not over-aggressive Oh.
  • Category:Cats feeding
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  • Release Date:2022-06-17 16:55:45
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