Sunday, October 26, 2008

The cats all prefer dog food...

...and the dog is holding out for cat food. I'm tempted to just build a trough in the living room and fill it with both. That way, everybody can eat whatever the heck they want.

4 comments:

daveto said...

reminds me of our iguana. i told this story in the old fray, but a life-changing event for her was when she discovered dog food. to back up, when she travels from the shower upstairs to her home she has to traverse a couple of hallways and stairways. sometimes she takes a wrong turn, or just decides to explore. once she came across the dog's food, and sampled a couple of bites. (dog is very beta, warily gives way to the thing.) but the bottom line, adding dog food to her diet of mainly greens really perked her up. lots more energy (and aggression). now it's a regular detour, and i'm sure it's added a few years to her life span. (she's not barking yet or anything, or wanting to sniff Jake's ass, just fyi!)

BadTux said...

Dog food doesn't have enough protein for cats, and cat food will cause kidney problems in dogs due to too much protein. So not recommended to allow dogs to eat cat food or vice-versa.

- Badtux the Veterinary Penguin

hipparchia said...

syd,

my dog would be in the next county before his feet even touched the ground if he saw an iguana, he doesn't even like dachshunds.

and aren't they supposed to be vegetarians?



tux,

i'd always heard that, but the dog has been helping himself to the cat food for 10+ years now, and at almost-13 he's been declared in excellent health by the vet. not to mention, wolves in the wild eat a diet that's pretty high protein, and they often live 12-14 years.

curmudgeon cat has been helping himself to the dog food for almost that long [having moved in with us a few months after the dog arrived] which means he's going on 17 or so years now.

my guess is, 2 things... 1. the critters here all eat both types of food if it's available, so maybe they're self-regulating their protein intake, and 2. i give them lots of people food, which turns out to be meat scraps only [and the occasional dollop of yogurt] for teh *kittehz, but the dog snarfs up bread, veggies, and rice, as well as chicken, turkey, fish, and the occasional bite of steak, so effectively i'm regulating their protein intake too.

* curmudgeon cat does like bread, and red wine too, i accidentally found out, but he's always thought of himself as a dog anyway.

Anonymous said...

I agree…. My cat too loves dog food, both of them used to share their food.