Cat Eating Dog Food -- Photo by mringlein
Can cats tell the difference between cat food and dog food but do cats refuse dog food?
On the face of it cat and dog food looks and smells similar. It does look a bit different though. What if you ran out of cat food and put dog food down instead? What would happen?
Well, I've got a stray cat who comes in daily for food and rest. He's a real stray boy cat, active, muscular and laid back but a bit defensive sometimes. He eats as much as a human being. In fact he eats more than some women I know. And yes he likes dog food, even the poor quality stuff, when he is hungry enough. He can be picky though when he is full. He is like a wild animal (which he is almost). Wild animals get what they can and then eat some more in case there is no more in the near future. So in answer to the question, do cats refuse dog food, the answer is no, but they might if they are well fed.
Before I go on it is perhaps wise to say that cats should not eat dog food. Perhaps on a one off basis it is OK, but regularly definitely not. This is because cats are carnivores and dogs are omnivores. The dietary requirements are different. So although the food might look and smell similar the ingredients (and I am thinking of supplements such as Taurine for cats, for example) are different.
I keep one other stray (or time-share cat) and my cat. My cat will not eat dog food because she doesn't like the smell of it. She is well fed. It depends it seems on the level of hunger.
P.S. I also tried to feed some foxes once and found that a stray cat was eating the food. The food was dog food. That gives us the answer, I think.
From Do Cats Refuse Dog Food? to Cat Facts
Photo: published under 
Note: I have just realized that I have modified the image in adding the speech bubble. This was on the original but not part of the original image. I hope the author accepts this. Sorry for this. I think it works fine though.
