Many people who have pets no longer settle for just one. They’re like potato chips. Several pet owners have both cats and dogs. These animals can share a home, share their people (because face it, pets do not have owners, they are owners) and share a bed in many cases. Things they do not share is personality -usually- , habits like chewing shoes, and nutritional needs.
Because of this difference in nutritional needs, it is important to know that cats cannot survive on dog food and dogs cannot survive on cat food. Their nutritional needs are too different. If they could live off of the same thing, there would be no need to differentiate.
When asking why, the first answer is simple; they are two totally different species of animal. It is not the same as the difference between two breeds like lab and golden retriever. The different may not be night and day, but dawn and dusk. There are similarities, but the dissimilarities make all the difference.
Cats are strictly carnivores. This means they only eat meat. Dogs are omnivores, like people. This means they eat meat and plants, specifically fruits and vegetables. With a cat’s strictly meat diet, cats are not equipped with the ability to break down the cell walls of plant based ingredients in dog food. Cats also require more protein than dogs. Cats also require taurine to aide in the prevention of heart problems.
Cat food has more protein than dog food for this obvious reason. This increased amount of protein makes cat food rather appealing to dogs. Cat food also contains more fat than dog food. If a dog consumes enough cat food, it can cause an upset stomach leading to diarrhea and vomiting. It also can cause some pretty nasty smelling gas. (go ahead, blame it on the dog -- “oh, excuse that, the dog got into the cat food!”)
After establishing that cats and dogs should not swap diets, those are not the only things to be avoided in a canine or feline diet. Chocolate, we all know, should be avoided. It can cause seizures, coma, and in some cases, death. This does not mean a bite of chocolate will kill your pet, but enough at a high frequency will definitely pose a problem. Milk chocolate is less concentrated and has been ingested wit no sign of a problem, but should still be considered dangerous. Any food or drink with caffeine can also produce these symptoms.
Fat trimmings can cause pancreatitis in your pet. Baby food contains onion powder which is toxic to both cats and dogs. Grapes and raisins contain an unknown toxin that causes kidney failure. Mushrooms can be toxic and have an effect on multiple systems in the body. The effects may be shock and even death.
Marijuana may seem like a fun idea for entertainment. But before getting your pet high, the drug suppresses the nervous system. It can cause vomiting and can change the heart rate. Tobacco also can cause vomiting and tachycardia, or rapid heart beat.
Avocados are also hazardous. They contain persin, which can cause quite the number of ill effects. Avocados are responsible for breathing difficulty, fluid accumulation in the chest, heart, and abdomen. They can cause diarrhea, vomiting, generalized congestion among other symptoms.
(top ten priority hazardous foods to cats and dogs)
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