Did your cat eat dog food and is now sick? Are you worried it will cause internal complications in its body? Well, chances are that it’s true. Dog food is not really intended for cats but if you have accidentally fed it to your cat, there are some things you can do to counter its effect. In this article, we will talk about why your cat may get sick if it eats dog food (besides the obvious reasons), and also what you can do about it.
Let’s get started.
My cat ate dog food and is now sick
Dog food is not toxic for your cat, it just has different properties which is why it is usually recommended not to feed your cat.
This means that even if your cat just said in smaller quantities it should be completely okay.
However, is it advised that you get in dog food? not really and there are multiple reasons for this which we will discuss in this article.
it is likely that your cat gets sick after having a proper serving of dog food. This would most likely have been an accident, but what matters is that you take proper aftercare of your cat.
The best thing to do would be to take your cat to the vet If it is getting sick or you see signs of allergic reactions.
Now let’s look at the different reasons why dog food is not fit for your cat and why it could have gotten sick after eating it.
Reasons dog food is not fit for your cat
Cat food and dog food may seem similar, but you are better off not switching up their diets.
There are a number of reasons that you should know about the differences between cat and dog food.
This will also help you think of a suitable solution if your cat accidentally eats some dog food.
Different nutritional requirements
It’s no surprise cats and dogs have very different nutritional needs. Dogs require less protein than cats in their diet, and their food does not have a wide variety of vitamins like vitamin A and arachidonic acid which cats need.
Cat foods have Taurine and arginine, which is a specific amino acid that is required for dogs. Taurine helps protect these animals from heart and other fatal diseases.
Dogs usually produce their own taurine, but it has to be added in cat food so it can go into their body.
This is one major difference in both animals’ food, and it is also the reason why it is not preferred to switch up their diets completely.
If you do, you may be depriving your cat of the necessary ingredients it needs to have healthy growth.
Some ingredients can be harmful to your cat
While cats need a higher protein content than dogs, it does not mean that dog food should use bad quality meat.
Unfortunately, this is the problem with many cat and dog foods that are available on a budget, the quality of ingredients is really bad.
For dog food, the chicken/beef protein used is usually all by-products. We agree that cat food does have some actual protein in it, besides the by-products addition.
By-products, artificial dyes and additives, corn gluten, and soybean mixes are all harmful to your cat and dog both.
If by chance your cat has an allergic reaction to any of these ingredients, things could get serious. Your cat can get sick for a long time.
Therefore, if you are aware of your cat’s allergies and food requirements, it is best to always be wary of the type of food it is eating.
Every cat is different
Just like dogs and humans, every cat is different from each other. Something that suits on ecat may not suit the other.
Similarly, Dog food may harm some cats more than others. In such cases, while you try to keep your cat away from dog food altogether, portion sizes will matter.
Means, an adult cat for example may be able to tolerate a larger portion of dog food without getting sick (if it does not contain allergens), as compared to a kitten.
Kittens can be at high risk if you do not take proper care of them. Below we have stated some things you can do to get your cat to feel better after getting sick from dog food.
Please note that this does not substitute for medical advice.
What to do if your cat ate dog food?
If your cat ate a bit of dog food and is now sick, then the first thing you should do is not worry. The side effects of a small intake of dog food is not that bad, it is usually just vomiting and diarrhea.
Unless this is too severe, it can be manageable at home. There are some further dietary precautions you can take after this accident, and a couple more things to make sure your cat is alright.
Switch to a light diet for a few days
If your cat does in fact feel weak, has stomach aches and is constantly vomiting and having diarrhea, then it is best to switch to a lighter diet for a couple of days.
For cats, a lighter diet can be a boiled chicken breast with no spices cut up in pieces. A few other examples are boiled fish and beef as well.
You can also feed your cat some low-calorie cat food to be easy on its gut. All these are great options if your cat is not very sick, it will heal soon.
Make it eat cat food instead of dog food
For obvious reasons, you will need to take special care that your cat does not eat dog food again.
If you have dogs as pets too, keep their food separate from your cat’s food or make that room off limits for your cat.
This should make sure your cat stays on its own diet and stays healthy as well.
Try new flavors of cat food
While your cat may have tried out dog food out of curiosity, it is possible that it does not find cat food very attractive.
you can try out different flavors of cat food in such cases. No matter what brand you see your cat, there are always different options available with different types of proteins as well based on your cat’s preference.
If you feel that your cat eats dog food on a regular basis despite you stopping it, then it is very likely that this scenario is true.
Hence, it is good to feed your cat different varieties of food for a wider preference.
Consult an emergency vet
This goes without saying, but when you feel that your cat is getting too sick and you will not be able to control the situation at home any longer, go to the vet.
Depending on its state, the vet will give your cat some fluids through injections, or simple medications.
Hopefully, your cat should be back to normal with these in no time. If your cat has eaten dog food and is sick, then it is always better to leave the situation in the hands of a professional.
Conclusion
In conclusion, what do you do if your cat eats dog food and is now sick?
Dog food is not particularly harmful to your cat, and there has been much research on this. so if your cat has ingested dog food in small quantities it should not get sick.
However, if it has eaten dog food consistently for the past few days, then there is a greater chance that it would have gotten sick.
The main reason why it is not recommended to eat dog food is that it has different nutritional levels based on dog’s diet, can contain some harmful ingredients, and anything that may suit one cat may not suit the other so it is best to avoid it altogether.
There are some things you can do to counter the effect of excess dog food in your cat’s body.
Eating dog food can cause stomach aches, diarrhea and even vomit in your cat.
So to fix this you can switch it to lighter foods like boiled chicken or some other protein, feed it a low-calorie cat food diet, or go to an emergency vet if your cat is feeling really weak.
In cases where your cat is really sick, it would be best that you leave the situation to professionals so your cat can get back to normal as soon as possible.
Wishing good health to you and your cat!
