The new puppy will only eat cat food! Should I put him on a vitamin to supplement his diet?
kboo83 asked:
I have a 3 month old Yorkie that got a taste of the cats food one day and now she wont eat ANY kind of puppy food - dry or canned. I tried taking the cat food away and left out several kinds of dog food but she just refused to eat it. I finally gave up after the second day of her not eating and gave her the cat food back. I spoke with a vet tech and she said it was fine to give it to her but I forgot to ask about supplements. The clinic is closed tommorrow and there wont be anyone available until Monday and I was just kinda curious in the meantime. And I have tried mixing dog food with the cat food but you cant get anything by her. She picks the cat food out.
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I have a 3 month old Yorkie that got a taste of the cats food one day and now she wont eat ANY kind of puppy food - dry or canned. I tried taking the cat food away and left out several kinds of dog food but she just refused to eat it. I finally gave up after the second day of her not eating and gave her the cat food back. I spoke with a vet tech and she said it was fine to give it to her but I forgot to ask about supplements. The clinic is closed tommorrow and there wont be anyone available until Monday and I was just kinda curious in the meantime. And I have tried mixing dog food with the cat food but you cant get anything by her. She picks the cat food out.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Cat food isn’t good for dogs….I don’t know why a vet tech would tell you it’s okay, when dogs that eat cat food long term can develop issues. Cat food is too rich in protein, fat and taurine which can lead to liver problems, kidney problems, etc. A few bites here and there isn’t a big deal, but a dog shouldn’t eat a steady diet of cat food. A vitamin supplement is the least of your concerns here. A dog won’t starve itself, so just keep the cat food away and when the dog gets hungry enough it will eat its own food.
April 25th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
OMG…don’t feed her cat food. That will kill her kidneys! The food is too rich! Did you talk to her vet? If she won’t eat dog food then boil some hamburger and get some brown rice. Mix them together (not a lot) with a dry food that has been moistened and see if she’ll eat that. Please don’t use cat food…not to mention diarhea may happen.
April 28th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
your vet tech is an idiot if she said cat food was ok.
Cat food is NOT ok for a dog! Its too high in proteins and other nutrients, and lacks nutrients that dogs do need. My aunt used to feed her dog a diet of cat food and table scraps and the dog needed surgury to remove bladder stones.. when the vet questioned her about the diet, he was more concerned about the dog eating the cat food than the table scraps!
Get your dog DOG food. Put it down at her scheduled meal time.. leave it for 15 mins.. if she doesnt it, then pick it up and offer NOTHING until the next meal. It may take 3 or 4 days for your dog to eat her dog food again. A healthy dog will not starve themselves tho.. she will eat her dog food when she gets hungry enough.
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:40 am
I am sorry to say but in my opinion the vet tech is full of crap. Cat food is BAD for dogs, especially puppies…..go to your local pet food store, ask if they have any sample bags of food (no charge) for the puppy. THey should be happy to give you some becauseif you find one that he likes, you will start buying it.
Also, you gave in to the puppy….he now rules the roost…give him puppy food…if he is hungry enough, he will eat….Dogs will NOT starve themselves to death (on the other hand, cats just might). Keep the catfood away from him.
Goodluck
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
mix small amounts of dog food with the cat food, say perhaps a 9 to 1 ratio. Gradually increase the amount of dog food over a several week period. Eventually you will be able to eliminate the cat food altogether. I would also recommend this when changing pet foods.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Actually a dog CAN get by on cat food, but a cat can’t get by on dog food. There’s more protein and usually more fat in cat food versus dog food, which can lead to problems (incuding obesity). Short term it isn’t harmful, however it would be better to get her on dog food, and keep the cat food out of reach at all times. It’s hard to out-stubborn a Yorkie, they know how to make you think they’ll starve to death if you don’t give in. You should not need any supplements, but you should be aware that the dog is training YOU in this situation. Yorkies are smart and masters of manipulation. I would put the puppy food down, put the cat food up, and make her eat what she’s supposed to, even if it takes 2 or 3 days. Small dogs don’t need many calories to get by, so no treats either. Tough love is what you need to practice here.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I had a dog that did the exact same thing but the vet told me it was very unhealthy for long term due to the taurine and extra protein, the only food i found he would eat was natures choice its sold in a roll, sort of like a hard moist food, its a bit more expensive but he never wanted cat food after he had it. hope that helps a bit.
May 10th, 2009 at 12:56 am
Shanna is correct…. what tech would tell you this?!
Your pup WILL eat, but it depends how much you coddle it and how long you leave the puppy food down. Eventually, the dog WILL eat. If not given a choice it will eat. You’re babying your pup too much. Stop giving it cat food and put puppy food down. Don’t switch brands, don’t alternate between wet and dry - leave the dry down for days if you have to, and eventually she’s going to eat.
May 11th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Cat food, while most dogs love it, does not have the right balance of nutrients for dogs. It won’t hurt them in reasonable amounts, but dogs probably ought not to eat it as their normal diet. Most people who have dogs and cats have to put the cat food out of reach, since dogs like the high fat content. Your dog is not going to starve herself. Try mixing some dry dog food and moist food or some boiled hamburger or chicken with the dry and give it to her. If she doesn’t eat it after 30 mins or so, remove it and don’t give her anything else. Wait and feed her again in the evening, the same thing. Once she gets hungry enough she will eat. You can try letting down the dry food all day also and see if she doesn’t start eating it. Dogs are not stupid and as long as you give her the cat food she will refuse to eat anything else. If nothing else is available, she will eat the dog food. No dog will starve itself if food is available to eat.
May 13th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Vets are not nutritionist. For a dog eating cat food is bad. It won’t kill your dog…yet, but it’ll bring it to a unhealthy diet. What kind of cat food do you feed your cat? and what kind of dog food were you feeding your dog? You need to learn how to read ingredients. I’ve seen some very unhealthy yorkies with terrible skin conditions at work, I am sure you don’t want that for your young yorkie. Dogs should eat more of dry food, barely any canned food. They get more out of dry food than canned food. Cats should be eating canned food, and some dry food if it wants to. That’s how it should be.
Check out this link about your pet’s food!