{"id":85381,"date":"2009-12-16T14:27:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-16T19:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/askthevet.smartpak.com\/?p=687"},"modified":"2009-12-16T14:27:00","modified_gmt":"2009-12-16T19:27:00","slug":"feeding-cats-dog-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/85381","title":{"rendered":"Feeding Cats Dog Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can I use the Wellness Allergy Super5Mix Complete Health Whitefish and Sweet Potato Recipe<\/a> dog food for my cat? She is an indoor only cat. She has a sensitive tummy, UTI, and skin\/hair loss issues. She yacks alot, mostly food and in the summer hair balls. We have her on hair medicine. My vet suggested a different type of food instead of just the indoor cat food. Like something for sensitive stomach or digestive aid food. Is dog food okay for cats?? TV, California<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear TV,<\/p>\n

I would like to focus on your main question: is dog food okay for cats? The answer is an unequivocal NO. There\u2019s no controversy here, no he said-she said, no websites to research because each \u201cexpert\u201d has a different answer\u2014cats cannot survive on dog food, period. Unlike dogs, which are classified as omnivores (eat both meat and plants), cats are strict carnivores. That means they must eat meat to live. The very chemistry and structure of their GI tract demands it! Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n

1.\tProtein<\/p>\n

For starters, cats have twice the protein requirement of dogs. Eighty percent of the food eaten by cats is used for energy and so they have a very efficient pathway for converting protein to energy. In fact, they can\u2019t shut this pathway off like dogs, humans and other species can. <\/p>\n

Next, while there are ten essential amino acids for dogs (meaning they must be supplied in the diet), there are actually eleven for cats. The additional one is taurine, necessary for healthy eyes, ears, heart, immunity and reproduction.<\/p>\n

2.\tFat<\/p>\n

There are two essential fatty acids in dogs: linoleic acid (an omega 3) and linolenic acid (an omega 6). However there are three in cats. Because they lack the enzyme needed to convert linolenic acid into arachidonic acid, it is also required. Arachidonic acid is a kind of fat commonly found in meat but not plants, further proof that cats are true carnivores.<\/p>\n

3.\tCarbohydrates<\/p>\n

In general, cats have a lower concentration of the enzymes that digest sugars and starches. For example, they lack amylase (which breaks down the sugar amylose) in their saliva, an important first step in carbohydrate digestion for dogs and other species. <\/p>\n

4.\tVitamins<\/p>\n

Since cats also lack the chemical pathways to make the B-vitamin Niacin as well as Vitamin A, these two nutrients must also come directly from the diet. Dogs, on the other hand, are able to convert the Vitamin A precursor beta carotene that comes from a variety of plants into the active form of Vitamin A so it is not dietary essential for them.<\/p>\n

I hope these examples show why it is important to feed your cat food that is specifically formulated for her unique dietary needs. I also hope that you and your vet are able to find a food that your cat thrives on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can I use the Wellness Allergy Super5Mix Complete Health Whitefish and Sweet Potato Recipe dog food for my cat? She is an indoor only cat. She has a sensitive tummy, UTI, and skin\/hair loss issues. She yacks alot, mostly food and in the summer hair balls. We have her on hair medicine. My vet suggested […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}