cat and dog food

1. Vitamin A must be supplied in cat food, whereas dogs can make do with beta carotene instead.

While some dog foods may contain additional vitamin A, many won’t have the amounts a cat requires for a lifetime of optimum health.

 2. Taurine is an amino acid all cats require. Dogs can make their own. Many dog foods may be deficient in taurine, the result being a cat who suffers a devastating kind of heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

This also happens when cats eat a fish-only diet, since fish meat is so deficient in this amino acid. Which is probably why you’ve heard that fish is "bad" for cats, even though it's not. Well, not unless you’re offering a poorly balanced diet.

 3. Arachidonic acid is a fatty acid dogs can build themselves, while cats need the real thing.

4. Protein levels are another big reason not to feed cats dog food. Though some dog foods do offer very high levels of protein, most do not reach the percentage of protein our carnivorous cats require. A lifetime of low protein may not kill your cat, but we know it’s not their natural diet and therefore can’t be a good thing.