[Naturella]

Hi, all – again! My new question is, how safe is it for a dog to consume cat kibble? For example, I noticed that the Nature’s Variety Instinct cat kibble of the Rabbit variety is 40% protein, and similar ingredients to the dog one. I am pretty sure the proportions would be different, but… how different? I know the cat is an obligatory carnivore, so the cat food SHOULD be even more meat-based than the dog ones. In fact, the NVI Rabbit for cat has the first 4 ingredients of meat origin, then peas, then rabbit. Then more meat in the freeze-dried bits. So yes, mucho meat.

I am just wondering. I do give Bruno said kibble (I got a small sample of it) as treats once in a while, don’t think it should hurt him – right?

The pet boutique I shop at often told me that the main difference is the protein level and the taurine – which is supposed to help with eyes. So, yeah, basically is “good” cat food safe for a dog to eat?

[Shasta220]

I would think as an occasional treat, it should be fine. My dogs regularly consume canned and dry leftovers without problem. Our cats are so pathetic! (Sorry, gonna go out on a limb for ya) We buy them Chicken Soup dry. Out of all three cats, only one and a half eat it (Panda likes dry, and Maddy is dry/canned. Millie refuses anything with the name “cat food” on it), and Panda only eats a tiny portion of what goes in his mouth – he chews up the food, then spits crumbs back out in the bowl, never to eat them again. We have an entire bowl filled with nothing but crumbs!

And then since they’re so picky, we’ve been buying the small bags. I thought “well, he’s been eating it regularly now…..the bigger bag is SO much cheaper, so I’ll get it!” Of course! Now he decided that he hates it -_- darn cats!

I really have no clue about giving it as a regular meal though…..I’ll let some of the pros answer that one 😉

[Naturella]

Carlyn,

Thanks so much for the input! I just got myself the opportunity to get a free bag of NVI up to 6lbs, and the cat food seems meatier, similar in profile, and in a bigger bag – 5.1lbs vs. 4.4 of the equivalent dog food.

So yeah, hope some of the pros can chime in on this. 🙂

[Naturella]

Ok, guys, so I did some reading on the cat food and dogs subject, and what I read seems halfway plausible and halfway um… strange? (I meant to write “ridiculous”, but I won’t cause I don’t know if it truly is.)

So it says that dogs can’t handle the high protein in cat food, the higher fat, and don’t need the extra taurine and arachidonic acid. And that cat food can lead to pancreatitis and obesity, but we know that we need to properly feed our pets so they don’t become obese. Are those real and serious concerns?

My question here is this – not only the topic one, but also – if the cat food amount is 1/3rd to 1/4th of his food mix, how bad would this really be? Cause I do like the NVI – Rabbit for cats, but if it really is bad, I will get him the dog rabbit one.

[Shasta220]

I wouldn’t be too concerned about the protein/fat, since obesity isn’t a concern for Bru. I have no clue about the added taurine and stuff…. Probably be better to stick with dog food and maybe using the cat Kibbles as training treats on occasion? I’m just about to give my dog a can of catfood. Maddy ate some for a few days, but when it sits in the fridge (air tight container, yes), she gets picky and won’t eat. Dogs don’t mind at all though, hah. I figured it’ll make a great treat for ’em.

[Naturella]

Thanks again for the response, Carlyn! 🙂

Sigh, it just looks “better” with more protein, more meat as first ingredients, and yeah, I think Bruno will burn it off just fine, especially since it will me mixed with some other kind of “normal” dog kibble. So I will give it a few more days, maybe someone else will chime on in too, and see how it goes. I will also ask my pet boutique’s associates what they think too – they seem quite knowledgeable as well.

And I bet whichever one of your pack is the lucky one, he (she, if Cassy) will love the can of cat food, lol!

[Shasta220]

It’ll probably be the old lady, yes 😉

Hope you get some more thoughts. Great you’re trying to talk to lots of people, it definitely helps to get lots of viewpoints/experiences 🙂

[Naturella]

Yay for Cassy! LoL

And yes, always! I really trust you all on this forum, but I also trust the pet boutique ladies. 🙂

[Mom2Cavs]

Also, just an fyi…..sometimes the dog and cat recipes of certain foods, dry and can, are pretty much the same…ingredients and GA. For example, Mulligan Stew canned food is fine for dogs and cats (I asked the maker). Also, Fromm Gold dog food looks very, very similar to Fromm cat food. Instinct Healthy Weight canned foods are the same for the dog and cat formulas. So I save money and just buy the dog cans and give it to all of them. I also believe that some of the Instinct kibble (don’t remember which ones, though) are the same for both….and the dog food is cheaper. I’m not saying this is the case for all dog and cat foods, but I did discover this for some. It may take some research to really find out and also asking the maker (although they will tell you to feed the dog and cat foods to their prospective counterparts, but they do want you to spend more money lol).

Btw, what I did was check ingredients and mostly guaranteed analysis. If the GA is the exact same for both and the ingredients are in a little bit different order, it doesn’t matter to me. I especially check the obvious like protein, fat, fiber, etc. But, I also check taurine, and other minerals.

[Naturella]

Mom2Cavs,

Thanks so much for the response! The reason I was posting is because I am expecting a voucher for a free bag of Nature’s Variety Instinct for up to 6lbs, and the cat kibble is 5.1lbs and the dog ones are 4.4lbs. Well, also, particularly for the rabbit recipe (what I’m interested in) the cat kibble has more protein (39%), and the rest of the GA values are just about the same. And as for the ingredients – also just about the same, but in different order, and the cat kibble doesn’t have salmon meal or chickpeas in it. So I’m guessing it should be ok, but I will still think about it some more. 🙂

[crazy4cats]

Hi-
In my opinion and experience, it is safe to feed cat food to dogs as long as the fat level is not a lot higher than your dog is used to. Also, the calories are typically a little higher in cat food as well. Most likely due to the higher fat in most of their kibbles. It is not safe, however, to feed a cat dog food over a long period of time unless there is added taurine to the dog food. Have fun with your samples!

[Naturella]

C4C, thanks for the input! When I looked at the NVI Rabbit formulas for cats and dogs, the fat level is the same (20%), and the rest of the values are very very close (.5% difference in fiber, .something% difference in Omega 3 & 6, and the cat food had about 20-something calories less/cup than the dog formula).

I wouldn’t feed a dog food to a cat ever, unless I’m rock bottom unable to supply them with the proper nutrition, I just thought that since the cat formula has more meat and meat meals in the first 10 ingredients than the dog formula, and the protein was higher – that was all. Oh, and the bag is bigger, so I would be getting more for free, lol.

One question though – would the little bit extra taurine and arachidonic acid affect the dog in any negative way?

[Author]

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