My puppy eats cat food. Is it safe for their health and nutrition?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Can you give your dog cat food if they prefer it from their own? For instance my cat for 5 years has eaten blue wilderness hairball comtrol and I recently have gotten a daschund puppy for my birthday she is recently 11 weeks old, eats purina smartone blend puppy Formulabut she cannot contain herself from trying to gobble the cats food should I just breakdown and by her the Dog brand of wilderness or can I just save and buy the same Food for both
4 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on August 5th, 2017
It is best to let the dog eat only dog food and the nutritional contents and vitamins are greatly different based on their needs. You can try to feed your cat up high, a counter or laundry room, to keep the dog from reaching it or getting to it. If the puppy gets cat food every now and then, it will not cause any harm, but it should not be its sole source of nutrition
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on December 11th, 2019
Because the nutritional requirements for cats and dogs are different! :) While it won't hurt anything for your cat to occasionally eat a few bites of dog food (and vice versa), both pets need to be on a species-appropriate diet. So your dog's diet should be mainly dog food, and your cat's diet should be mainly cat food.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on October 14th, 2017
Hello. Some cats just like the taste of dog food, or the size of kibble better than their own food. Cats do need to eat at least some cat food because they need something called Tuarine that isn't present in dog food. Cats can become taurine deficient and develop heart problems when they don't eat cat food. I'd try a few different brands of cat food to find one Tom will eat.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on November 7th, 2019
I would advise against feeding cat food to a dog long term. Every now and then is fine and may cause a bit of diarrhea or vomiting, but in the long term, I would recommend trying various dog foods and see if she will eat canned versus dry, add chicken broth to the food or cook a home cooked meal for her ( www.balanceit.com ).
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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