Can You Feed a Cat Dog Food?

Posted by Jennifer Copley Jun 26, 2009

Dogs are omnivorous, but cats are pure carnivores. Because of their high protein requirements, cats should not be fed dog food, as food formulated for cats is higher in protein than food formulated for dogs.

Even many commercially available cat foods don't supply the nutrients cats need because they are low in protein and high in carbohydrates. Cheap cat foods, especially dry kibble, are often low in protein.

Cats that eat a diet weighted toward carbohydrates rather than protein are at risk for developing many different health problems, ranging from diabetes to urinary tract infections.

How to Calculate the Protein Content in Cat Food

Cat foods should be at least 30% protein, and preferably more. Premium brands usually contain the most protein, while low-end brands are often made up primarily of carbohydrate filler. Buying cheap cat food doesn't save money in the long run because the cat will usually eat more, and most of it ends up in the litter box because the cat can't digest as much of it.

Actual protein content in wet cat foods can be calculated using the following formula:

• % of protein divided by % of dry matter x 100

If the analysis on the label says that the food is 80% moisture, then the dry matter will be the remaining 20%. If the protein is listed as 10%, this number will be divided by the dry matter percentage:

• 10 divided by 20 x 100

This gives a protein content of 50% for the dry matter.