Can I Mix A Can Of Cat Food In My Dogs Food.

[moggy]

I have a Chihuahua and feed her on raw meat, egg, chopped chicken necks and RC. Would it be okay to mix a small can of fish cat food in with the meat? Or would it be more beneficial to just add a can of sardines? I mix up about 1 kilo of meat mix at a time and freeze it in meal size portions.

[Flaves]

Sardines would be better than cat food

[qashmir]

No cat food!! Sardines ok. Cat food is not good for dogs. Otherwise it would be called dog food! Lol!

[sugclasco]

when i first got sugar she prefered cat food over anything ,the vet said that this was fine but dog food is no good for cats

[mixy]

It's best to give her the sardines instead. Cats have very different nutritional needs to dogs and its not good to feed a dog cat food or a cat dog food. She'll love you for the sardines though!

[Danielle]

Okay, well the deal is that cats require a much higher protein and fat content in their diet than dogs, therefore cat food is generally very high protein and fat. This is not good for dogs. A high fat diet can cause not just weight gain but a potentially deadly condition called Pancreatitis. Its a really nasty condition which I have personally seen but it can be easily avoided with just a little bit of common sense.

A little bit of cat food every now and then is perfectly fine, but not as a whole diet.

There is a reason that there is a difference between "Dog Food" and "Cat Food". Although biologically similar, metabolically dogs and cats are quite different.

Hope that helps!

Danielle.

[persephone]

I would think the plain sardines in jelly would be fine to add

[Rysup]

Well my dogs occasionally get a tin of cat food mixed with their dinner. They have not died from it yet

[qashmir]

Well my dogs occasionally get a tin of cat food mixed with their dinner. They have not died from it yet

No, they won't die from occasionally eating cat food. But a daily diet of it, which is what the OP is suggesting, is not a healthy diet for any dog and can cause future health problems.

[persephone]

But a daily diet of it, which is what the OP is suggesting, is not a healthy diet for any dog and can cause future health problems.

No, I wouldn't give a 'catfood ' mixture daily..

and I don't see any harm in adding the plain sardines.. all it is is sardines, water and gelling agent...

Edited May 4, 2008 by persephone

[Danielle]

Im glad you wouldnt give a daily diet of cat food, otherwise your dog would not be at its optimum health.

As I said earlier, to give a high fat diet to dogs is potentially dangerous, Im not saying that your dog will keel over from a can of cat food, just that if it is a regular/daily diet then you are asking for trouble.

Just trying to help.

Edited May 4, 2008 by Danielle

[Danois]

Sardine in vegetable oil is great for the coat - good source of omega 3. I buy the Coles home brand ones - $1.80 for 3 tins.

[stormie]

Well my dogs occasionally get a tin of cat food mixed with their dinner. They have not died from it yet

No, they won't die from occasionally eating cat food. But a daily diet of it, which is what the OP is suggesting, is not a healthy diet for any dog and can cause future health problems.

The OP was not suggesting it as the daily diet. What was asked is if it would be ok to mix in with the meat the dog is already getting.

Danielle - why do you suggest high protein is dangerous for dogs? What are your thoughts on the RAW diets?

Also just for interest sakes, the fat percentage in fancy feast fish cat food is lower than that of Pal tinned dog food.

Edited May 4, 2008 by stormie

[qashmir]

Well my dogs occasionally get a tin of cat food mixed with their dinner. They have not died from it yet

No, they won't die from occasionally eating cat food. But a daily diet of it, which is what the OP is suggesting, is not a healthy diet for any dog and can cause future health problems.

The OP was not suggesting it as the daily diet. What was asked is if it would be ok to mix in with the meat the dog is already getting.

Which to ME reads, mixed in with the meat, it would be part of a daily diet.

[Danielle]

Well my dogs occasionally get a tin of cat food mixed with their dinner. They have not died from it yet

No, they won't die from occasionally eating cat food. But a daily diet of it, which is what the OP is suggesting, is not a healthy diet for any dog and can cause future health problems.

The OP was not suggesting it as the daily diet. What was asked is if it would be ok to mix in with the meat the dog is already getting.

Danielle - why do you suggest high protein is dangerous for dogs? What are your thoughts on the RAW diets?

Also just for interest sakes, the fat percentage in fancy feast fish cat food is lower than that of Pal tinned dog food.

Hey, Ive not no qualms with raw diets, BUT as I said earlier, its common knowledge and a PROVEN fact that cats require higher fat and protein in their diets.

And I never once said that high protein is dangerous, go back and reread my post. I said that high fat can cause pancreatitis. High protein like what is in cat food is just not a balanced food for dogs, and the dog will end up in poor health if fed it solely.

Id really like to see the fat percentages you are talking about, but then again I wouldnt be surprised, you are talking about "PAL"!

I seriously dont know anybody who would feed such rubbish to their dog!

MY animals are fed raw meat, steamed veges and lots more, including high quality premium special diet from our vet, I personally wouldnt touch Pal if you paid me!

Anyways, I got this info from my vet who is a trained professional, so why dont you have a talk to your vet and maybe he will inform you of the truth.

Edited May 4, 2008 by Danielle

[stormie]

My mistake, Danielle, I guess I misread your posts with saying high protein and high fat diets aren't good for dogs hence why I was curious as to your thoughts on the raw food.

I'm not disagreeing with you with regards to the high fat - we see plenty of pancreatitis cases so I am well aware of the dangers.

With regards to the percentages, I got the information from the pet food companies websites - they have the analysis for their products. Pal is actually quite low in fat - about 5%, where as the fancy feast fish I saw was only 2 or 3%

Edited May 4, 2008 by stormie

[Danielle]

I agree, as I said though, those brands IMO are pretty woeful.

In regards to the Raw meat thing, if you compare the protein levels in lets say a 500g slab of steak it is waaaaay lower than a 500g tin of cat food.

All Im saying is that it isnt a healthy substitute. Just trying to help guys, I just dont want to see this lady's dog go downhill and have her on here broken hearted cuz her dog is sick.

Ive done studies in Animal Nutrition and this is what I have learnt.

[mixy]

My mistake, Danielle, I guess I misread your posts with saying high protein and high fat diets aren't good for dogs hence why I was curious as to your thoughts on the raw food.

I'm not disagreeing with you with regards to the high fat - we see plenty of pancreatitis cases so I am well aware of the dangers.

With regards to the percentages, I got the information from the pet food companies websites - they have the analysis for their products. Pal is actually quite low in fat - about 5%, where as the fancy feast fish I saw was only 2 or 3%

Those fish ones are nearly all fish anyway, it's the stuff like whiskas you've got to watch out for. The stuff with heaps of processed meat and jelly.

Although the fancy feast fish is probably what the OP was considering anyway, so I guess it wouldn't be too bad. The sardines are still better though, and probably cheaper

Edited May 4, 2008 by emilyszoo

[moggy]

Thanks for all your replies. I was thinking of adding a tin of sardines to about 1 kilo of meat mixture. Would this be too high a ratio to feed daily? I have tried her with just a sardine on its own and she turns her nose up, but if it is mixed with meat she eats it.

Moggy