Please Help. My Cat Gizmo Won't Stop Eating Dog Kibble.

[Gizmom]

When we first got him November of last year, a few months after we caught him trying to nibble on our two yorkshire terrier's food. That did not happen often and I would always pick him up and bring him to his food when I caught him doing it. I was a little concerned, but since it wasn't happening too often I wasn't that worried.

Fast forward to the last few months of this year. Around August or September I noticed he was being pickier than normal about not wanting to eat his wet food and increasingly trying to eat more and more dog food. Again, I would still pick him up and bring him back to his food when I caught him. That was maybe a couple times a week occurance.

Now, we (my mom and i) moved to a new apartment late September. The setup for my new room was similar to my old room and Giz learned quickly where his food was going to be. He adjusted well. But, the last two months or a month 1/2, catching him trying to eat dog food has become an everyday thing. It's so frustrating as I just want him to have a healthy diet and I know dog food is not as protein rich as it needs to be to nourish him. On top of that, my mom, who is in charge of feeding the dogs is free feeding them and has free fed them all their life. That means Gizmo can make an attempt to eat it whenever he wants. I try to suggest scheduled feeding but she shuts that idea down. I'm honestly fed up. Im only 13 but I'm trying my best not to be a bad cat owner who overfeeds their cat or let's him eat random stuff. It's hard when the person in charge thinks it's nothing to worry about or laughs it off. But at the same time I'm trying not to let him overeat, it's common for him to not eat his full 3 oz wet food portions I give him twice a day. I try to give him a little Instinct dry food as well so maybe he won't eat the dogs kibble and am trying to reward him for eating HIS food with a small treat. But to no avail so far. Is there a way to easily transition dogs to scheduled feeding? I'm at a loss

 

[Columbine]

The biggest problem with cats eating dog food isn't the protein content, it's the lack of taurine (dogs can synthesise this amino acid from the food they eat, but cats can't do this). This is a big deal because taurine is essential for heart function, among other things

The procedure for transitioning dogs to timed feedings is the as for cats, so this article should help you (and your mom) understand what's involved. As far as persuading your mom to make the switch goes, you could try pointing out to her that dogs on a meal schedule don't need to go out and poop as often (and the times they do are much more predictable because they're eating at set times) If she realises it'll make her life easier, she might be more open to making a change.

If that doesn't work, look at microchip activated feeders. I know they're not cheap, but they work really well at making sure that nobody eats anybody else's food. You won't need one for your boy, as he's fed on a schedule already.

As for your boy, it sounds like he's in love with the dog kibble (one of mine try to steal it too, though as I feed on a schedule its not as big of a problem. I'd try taking some of the dog food, putting it into a plastic baggie, and going to town on it with a rolling pin The aim is to reduce it all to crumbs, like if you were making a cheesecake crust. Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the wet food as a topper. Hopefully, that'll get your boy interested in eating his own food again You might need to be fairly generous with them at the start, but you may be able to reduce the amount over time. Another great (and healthy) topper is crumbled freeze dried treats (e.g. Purebites - the dog ones are just fine too ). Lots of cats adore bonito flakes too. You could also experiment with different brands of wet food to see if there are any he goes crazy for.

I hope at least some of this helps. Good luck

 

[Kieka]

One of my cats takes every opportunity to steal our rabbits pellets (which is just compressed hay) and dried fruit mix. There is no explaining some cats.

I'd look into the microchip feeding dishes if you can't do supervised feedings. That would make it so each animal can only get into their food dish. There are a few wet foods out there for both cats and dogs that have taurine. So that may be another option to look into. Dogs can eat cat food but that would get expensive really quick. You might also be able to find a taurine supplement to add to your cats food; but that may be an issue if it is dry dog food.

 

[Columbine]

Dogs can eat cat food, but many dogs get mild tummy upsets from in because it's so much richer than dog food. (My lab is a terror when it comes to stealing the cat food, do I speak from experience ).