Cat is Eating Dog Food

I am currently babysitting my mother's chihuahua/border terrier dog and she stays indoors with me and my cats. She has her own separate eating area with her bowl of wet food and little water dish. She is missing some teeth (she is around 15 years old) and so we give her a lot of soft or wet foods. Well, now my cat is sneaking into her area and eating all of her wet food! It's so frustrating and I find the dog trying to sneak off in my room with a few kitty kibbles in her mouth. I give my cat canned food and try to keep him away, but he will still find a way to bully her and eat it.

 

Oh, so the cat is stealing the dog's food? And bullying the dog into giving up the food, too? That's a change. I think there's only one solution. The dog will have to be fed inside a closed room.

 

I've been trying to do that too Victor, but sometimes I have to leave the house and the poor thing doesn't get to eat because the cat is bullying her. Now I just have to feed her at night when I'm home. I think she nibbles on some kitty food every now and then. My bully cat got a stomach ache today too and threw up a few times.

 

How about a straight swap around? Dog food for the bully cat and cat food for the nice-guy dog. Maybe that might work.

 

I have that problem too! The cats want the dog food and the dogs want the cat food! I wonder why that is? Anyway, my two smaller dogs are fed together and my two medium sized dogs are fed together and the cats are fed together. It's a little bothersome sometimes but it ensures that everyone eats their own food.

 

Actually it's not such an uncommon malady. The old folks call it "the grass is always greener in the other pasture". The old Chinese say "the neighbor's rice smells more fragrant". Lots of human beings have this failing.

 

It is really not good for cats to be eating dog food because cats have much different nutritional requirements that are only met by good quality cat foods. Dogs don't need as much taurine and b vitamins, and since cats are carnivores and dogs are not, cats need a lot more protein in general. Of course this is not such a big deal if it is just happening a few days out of the year when you are babysitting the dog, but I have heard of people who have fed their cats dog food because they felt like their cat liked it better. Just because the cat may like it better does not mean it should be eating it. I like ice cream and mcdonalds a lot, but that doesn't mean it is nutritionally good for me. Just keep this in mind. But, don't sweat the small stuff. As long as the cat is still eating her own food (not refusing any food but dog food) than you don't have much to worry about.

 

Try to make sure you feed the cat first, in a separate room before feeding the dog, so it's more likely to be full. Or feed the dog right after while the cat is still eating so it's likely to be distracted long enough for the dog to eat at least a little bit. Restricting them into separate rooms is going to end up being your best bet if you can't get the cat distracted for long enough, though.

 

Maybe the cat needs to be taught some priorities. How about caging it at feeding time? I mean put the cat in a cage and feed it inside. And let it out only after the dog has finished eating.

 

Good point Afishy! If I just gave him the dog food it would be like me eating all of the big macs that I want. I am trying to feed the dog when my cat is outside and vice versa. It was just so hard during the winter because it was too cold to let them out. I tried to separate them, but my cat always finds a way to sneak in.

 

How about putting the cat on a leash? I have seen some people who keep their Persians on leashes. Stops them from disappearing, I suppose.