If you love cats as well as dogs and have pet both of them, you know how challenging it is to make both of them get along with each other. The main problem is of food, because the nutritional needs of both these adorable animals are different. Cat food should contain higher amount of vitamin A, protein and taurine. Your cat may be malnourished, if your dog eats her/his food, while your dog will end up in being overweight and with stressed up kidneys due to extra protein. In such a condition, a solution like a dog proof cat feeding station is a must.
Proteins
Cat food should contain a much higher amount of protein than dog food because cats are pure carnivores, which means that they are required to eat proteins from animal sources, whereas dogs are omnivores and don’t require as much proteins as felines. They don’t even need greater part of their proteins sourced from meat. There should be at least 18% protein in commercial dog food to meet the basic needs of your dog, while cat food contains at least 26% protein, which is 8% more than dog food.
Fats
Cat food is not only high in proteins, but also in fats. The Association of American Feed Control Officials recommends at least 9% fat for cats and 5% fat for dogs, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Though, this may not appear a very big difference, higher amounts of proteins and fats in cat food account to higher caloric content which is not right for your pooch, because it can make her/him obese in the long run. Basically the digestive system of your dog is not designed for such highly fatty foods and so, if your dog eats your cat’s food, s/he may suffer from stomach upset, diarrhea and vomiting.
Malnutrition
The balance of vitamins and minerals in cat food is actually not right for your dog, because of which s/he can suffer either from their deficiencies or excessive amounts, and consequences thereof. For example, there is less amount of vitamin E and zinc in cat food than dog food. Also, substances like taurine are present in cat food, which are not required by dogs. So, if your dog eats your cat’s food, her/his overall health will be seriously affected in the long run. On the other hand, carbohydrates are required in more amounts by dogs as an energy source, while your kitty gets energy from fats.
Considering all these differences in the nutritional needs of dogs and cats, keeping cat food safe from your dog is the best way out of critical situations like your dog getting her/his paw on your cat’s food. Find useful information of various dog proof cat feeding stations on NewDogOwners.com.