Cats Eating Wrong Food

As far as I know, it's common for cats and dogs to try to eat each other's food. It's something different, so I can't really blame them for being curious. But is it harmful that my kitten eats the full-grown cat's food, as well as sneaking the dog food? My full-grown cat always sneaks kitten food too. I'm not sure how to actually keep this from happening, but I don't want them to be harmed either. Do you have any tips to stop it from happening?

 

It's fine for the kitten to eat the adult cat food and vice versa.

As for the dog's food, remember that they are different species so they have different needs. It's not going to hurt your cat to sneak a few bites here or there, but it can't be made his full diet because it won't get the nutrients it needs.

As for getting them to not do it, I would feed the animals in a different room and not leave food out all day. So get them to where you feed them twice a day, for example, and put the food away when they're not being fed.

 

According to my friend who owns a pet food store, the main difference between cat food and dog food is that the protein content of the cat food is higher than that of the dog food. Which was the reason he gave me about why cat food generally costed more than dog food.

 

My cats are known to sneak dog food out of my dog's bowl. I feel like they are going to break their little teeth on all of that hard kibble. My dog likes their food too so they're always trading. I try to keep them away, but those sneaky little buggers get into everything.

 

When I was a child we had outside dogs and one outside cat. She was a stray who wandered up to our house and stuck around! She's been at my parent's house for roughly 10 years and has never left. Once it was apparent that she was sticking around, we started feeding her cat food in a separate bowl than what the dogs ate from. This never worked. The cat went to the dog food and the dog's gobbled up the cat food in one bite (there were both bigger breeds). Now my parents feed the dogs twice a day in their bowls and the cat gets fed somewhere else before the dogs are untied in the morning and after they get tied at night. If we untie them before she gets fed, there will be nothing stopping them from devouring her food.

 

Sometimes I think that it's more a case of "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence" than a case of dogs liking cat food and cats liking dog food. There was once when I had a bossy cat that would go and eat up the food in the other dishes, then come back to his own. In that case, I would consider it some kind of bullying tactic.

 

I hadn't given the bullying tactic a bit of thought before, but that could very well be a contributing factor. I did think it may be the cats being curious and thinking the other food is better than what they're used to, even if it isn't.

In the past few days, my cats haven't tried to eat anymore dog food! My kitten still tried to get under the big cat, but I think that's partially because she likes her and it's one time the big cat will take longer to move away.

 

I used to live with roommates who had dogs, one time they bought a box of dog treats which they foolishly left out. Bandit and Pussington chewed through the box, the bag and got into the treats. I didn't even notice until I saw Bandit trot by with a huge bone in his mouth.

It must be something about knowing it is not for them that makes them want it!

 

Some cats can really overdo the bullying thing when eating. There's one stray which I brought home together with a few of its litter mates. They all get on fine. Until eating time. Then the bully would get right into the food dish and refuse to let the others have the food at all. So I have to put more food in separate dishes for everyone.

 

That's cute and hilarious though! Dorian used to do that to his food bag if we left it anywhere where he could reach it. That's why my cats' food now gets locked up in the pantry instead of up on a shelf. I can't let him eat to his heart's desire, so it's hidden.

I guess so!