Recently Paris went to Topeka, Kansas to learn more about Hill’s Pet Nutrition; before her trip, we asked our readers for questions to ask the scientists at Hill’s. Today we have a question about a topic all “blended families” ask…what if the dog eats the cat food?! Thanks to Dennis E. Jewell, PhD, Diplomate of the American College of Animal Nutrition, DACAN, Fellow Nutrition Scientist, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. for his answer and expert advice on this topic.
Q: My senior dog really, really wants to eat my cat’s food (my cat eats Hill’s Science Diet, not Prescription Diet). Someone told me the cat food has more flavor than the dog food–is this true? Is it OK to sprinkle a little of the cat’s food on top of my dog’s food to get him to eat? He is a really picky eater and I’m just looking for a way to get him started eating (once he starts eating, he’ll go ahead and eat his own food.)
A: Mature adult dogs are at increased risk for kidney failure, so the higher phosphorus and protein of cat food would potentially be a negative factor. If you keep the cat food to less than 10 percent of his total calories per day, it probably won’t have a significant effect. The higher protein levels of cat foods tends to be very palatable to dogs.
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