Feeding Cat Food To A Dog!

Has anyone ever tried feeding cat food to a dog as a maintenance diet? Are there any ingredients in cat foods that would be toxic to a dog? I'm not actually considering feeding either of my dogs cat food, but I don't really understand the distinction.

The differences are in bold:

Canidae All Life Stages:
Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Crude Protein (min.) 24.00%
Crude Fat (min.) 14.50%
Crude Fiber (max.) 4.00%

Felidae Cat and Kitten:
Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat, (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Eggs, Flax Seed Meal, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Linoleic Acid, Amaranth, DL Methionine, Taurine, Kelp, Cranberries, Apples, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory Root), Dried Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Crude Protein (min.) 32.00%
Crude Fat (min.) 20.00%
Crude Fiber (max.) 2.50%

The major ingredients are essentially the same, with white rice added to Canidae as a "filler". Felidae also has eggs, amaranth, DL methionine, taurine, kelp, cranberries, and applies -- all of which would be a nice addition to a canine diet (and are included in various other company's canine diets).

The probiotic and vitamin/mineral mixes that they use are the same for both foods. The only major distinction I see is that monocalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, and choline chloride are all higher in Canidae.

Interesting to say the least....

I'm not sure what the scientific difference is, Herschel, but I can tell you from experience that your dog won't pass ANY sort of emissions test after eating cat food . . .

Teddy eats more of the cat food then his own.Mind you I try to discourage it but he still manges to slip by me.He has been eating it since we moved into my moms and that was in the beginning of March and he seems fine.He had a checkup at his new vets and she says hes healthy.

It has always been my understanding that cat urine is much more acidic than dog urine, so I am assuming that's waht Taurine is for. And cranberry is often given for UTIs in both humans and animals, so I am guessing the major difference is in regard to urine/kidneys. Maybe? I dunno.

You're right about the difference in pH (cranberry, etc.) for kidney/urological reasons, but Taurine is added because it's an essential amino acid for felines.

There are some dog foods, including those by Timberwolf Organics, that include taurine in their dog foods. If dogs don't get enough taurine (from eating animal tissue), they are at high risk for dilated cardiomyopathy.

I just got off of the phone with Canidae customer service. I had two questions:

Question: Is Canidae planning on releasing a grain-free or high protein diet in the near future?

Answer: No, Canidae doesn't believe in such diets. High amounts of concentrated protein aren't necessarily healthy for dogs, and dogs with underlying (undiagnosed) kidney problems would be at high risk. Raw meat is entirely different than concentrated protein, due to the amount of moisture in meat.

(I asked what she means by saying she doesn't believe in such diets, because they obviously exist. Then I referred her to the Merck Manual which says that high proteins does not increase risk of kidney damage/renal failure, but it does aggravate it in dogs that already have such conditions. She said that the majority of pet owners see their vets for yearly check-ups so it would be risky to feed a high protein diet. I replied that I do monitor my dogs' health, and she insisted that "it" isn't a good idea and Canidae will not release such a diet.I asked if I could just add water to a high protein diet to achieve similar moisture levels to that of raw meat and she tentatively said, "that's OK, I guess.")

Question: Will my dog suffer any ill effects from eating Felidae?

Answer: We don't recommend you feed your dog Felidae. (I interjected that I'm not planning on it, but what if my dog ate some Felidae) She said that dogs won't suffer any ill effects. However, the feline diets are formulated with a much lower pH (Canidae has neutral pH) to prevent urinary tract infections. She also added that some veterinary canine diets use similar principles for the treatment of UTIs, but it isn't a good idea to feed low pH to a healthy dog.

(She didn't make any mention of protein levels or other ingredients. Low pH in canines can cause oxalate kidney stones, which require intense treatment. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_oxalate_bladder_stones.html)

our neighbors have a mini pinscher puppy and he says the dog eats more cat food than his own dog food. The puppy seems to be fine but I keep trying to make suggestions on how to keep him out of the cat food.

I'veread that if a cat eats large amouts of dog food the dog food will kill it. *pulls out her cat bible* Okay from the book:

"These may contain considerable amounts of cereals and vegetables and as a result not enough animal protein for cats. When fed to cats over long periods they have been know to cause blindness since they lack the taurine cats need - though the deficiency my take a year or so to appear. Dog foods may also not provide enough vitamins A and B1 or the essential fatty acids found only in animal fats. Dual puppose cat/dog foods are really cats foods acceptable for dogs and should be nutrionally adequate."
-quoted from "The Book of the Cat"

So what I get from this is cat food is noteably differnt from dog food and therefore should not be fed to dogs. Saddly I don't have any dog bibles like that.

Wait. I don't understand your conclusions. Just because a dog food isn't adequate for a cat doesn't mean that a cat food isn't adequate for a dog. Taurine supplementation isn't harmful to dogs, but a lack of taurine can be deadly to cats.

Maybe Trying to feed the cat in a table where the dog can't reach or in a room an close the door.



That's true I have seen some cats that they where feed wit rice an very few meat, and they where unhealty


When I had my cat I gave her wishcats and 1/3 of the portion was raw meat or chicken and sometimes fish.

Oh, I miss her a lot >-<

Herschel: Okay, didn't know that. I'm still working on understanding dog nutrion. Kind of seemed like dogs might be getting to much vitamins though.

Than again I'm still a gooffy teenage, I don't know much.

A friend and I have actually been having this exact conversation for the last couple of years.

If the concentrated protein in kibble might not in fact be damaging to some dogs due to the lack of moisture in the kibble that is in the high protein raw diets.

Jury is still out for both of us on that one, might take a number of years to actually know for sure.

X2. At least that my experience.