No wonder he won't eat it...

[MaggieTheCat]

I used to work at a pet supply store when I lived up in Wisconsin. Even though I don't work there anymore, my family still buys a lot of products from them, including food for their cat.

So last week, my dad goes to the pet store to get some supplies, including cat food. He decided to get a big bag of food so they wouldn't run out as quickly. It looked a little bigger than he remembered seeing in the past, but didn't think much of it.

When my mom opened the food that evening, she noticed right away that the kibble looked a little different. It was different shaped, and larger than the cat food they'd gotten in the past. She looked at the label and realized my dad had gotten some "Adult Lite" food rather than the standard "Adult" food, which is what they had been feeding the cat. My mom tried giving the cat some anyway, but he wouldn't have it. Even when she mixed it in with a little bit of his leftover old food, the cat would just pick out the old food and leave the new Lite food in the bowl.

Well, I told her to try taking it back. When I worked there, they would almost always take items back, no questions asked, as long as it was within a certain timeframe (90 days, maybe? I forget.) Even if it's food or treats that have been opened, they take it back. So my dad took the food back today, hoping he could exchange it for the regular Adult food. He took it up to a register and explained to the cashier that he'd accidentally gotten the wrong food for his cat, and the cat won't eat it, and could he possibly exchange it for the right food?

The cashier looked at the bag my dad brought in, smiled, and said, "No wonder your cat won't eat it. This is dog food."



(and yes, they were able to exchange it for Adult Cat Food without a problem. )

[Kristev]

That would do it.

[AccountingDrone]

We had a roomie back when we lived in Portsmouth VA who had just gotten a new kitten.

We had just bought a new bag of dog chow for the husky, set it down in the utility room off the kitchen, where it had apparently gotten banzai'd into by the kitten and broken open when it fell.

We came home to a very *full* kitten. You could feel the kibble lumps in her tummy.

Dog kibble apparently gives cats the runs. It was not fun for the next couple days.

[dalesys]

My mom tried giving the cat some anyway, but he wouldn't have it.

As Fat Freddie says: "Time to administer the Appetite Stimulant!"

.. and shotguns a full pipeload into the Bag-Of-Cat ...

[Teskeria]

Actually, it doesnt always give cats the run. One of our cats wouldn't eat the cat food. So we bought Puppy Kibbles and bits, and for about 5 months that was what she ate exclusively. At around the 5 month mark, she started trying the cat food again that the 'big cat' ate and within another 3 months she was completely on cat food. Don't know what the problem was, but we think she needed the dog food to chew on more. (& yes strangely she was, and is, very healthy. About 8-9 years old now)

[MaggieTheCat]

My husband and I found and fostered a stray dog last year, until we found him a forever home. We still have some of his dry dog kibble in a bag in the pantry. If our cats are allowed access to the pantry, then will crowd around the bag and chow down on the dog food through a little hole they've ripped in a corner of the bag.

Just remember that dog food doesn't contain taurine, which is a necessary nutrient for cats. A cat will get very sick and could eventually die if fed a low-taurine diet for an extended period of time.

[jedimaster91]

The cashier looked at the bag my dad brought in, smiled, and said, "No wonder your cat won't eat it. This is dog food."

And yet the dog doesn't seem to have a problem eating cat food.

[AccountingDrone]

Someone dumped yet another cat at the farm. Roomie is working on befriending it so it can get snagged and taken to the vet for fixing and shots.

Black longhaired of indeterminate gender ... looks to be just about 5-6 months old for a change instead of barely weaned. Rob is thinking it might be time to get a spare cat so we aren't without [Jezz is 13 years old. He is thinking that it would be nice to get a spare cat before she gets too old and crotchety to accept a second cat around the house.] I told him that we will see. I prefer shorthairs for ease of maintenance.

[Flying Grype]

I think the only reason a cat shouldn't have a steady diet of dog food is the taurine. Taurine is an amino acid found in meat. Since cats are obligate carnivores, while dogs are more omnivorous, dog food just doesn't have enough taurine in it for cats.

All of our animals have always liked snacking on each other's dinner. We'd catch the pit bull licking out the Fancy Feast from the cats' bowls and she'd look at us like, "What? Sometimes I like foreign food."

[It's me]

Cat + no taurine => retinal problems => blind cat.

Also, cat food has a higher fat content, which is why dogs love it.

Of course dog kibble is just perfect for a cat to chase around the kitchen floor!

[ShadowBall]

My one cat is constantly eating the dog's food. Never mind she has two communal bowls of kibble AND she gets fed kitten food to help keep her weight on. Nope, she's gotta go chow down on the dog's food too. And then the dog goes and eats the cats' food....but both the dogs will starve themselves for days at a time in hopes of getting table scraps too. And when the dogs DO eat their own food, they scatter it all over the floor because they only really like eating the meat-flavored pieces and begrudgingly eat the vegetable ones.

Yeah, there's some messed-up animals in this house.

[mharbourgirl]

My one cat is constantly eating the dog's food. Never mind she has two communal bowls of kibble AND she gets fed kitten food to help keep her weight on. Nope, she's gotta go chow down on the dog's food too. And then the dog goes and eats the cats' food....but both the dogs will starve themselves for days at a time in hopes of getting table scraps too. And when the dogs DO eat their own food, they scatter it all over the floor because they only really like eating the meat-flavored pieces and begrudgingly eat the vegetable ones.

Yeah, there's some messed-up animals in this house.

The dog I had when I was a teenager was a trip. The ONLY dry kibble he would eat was the yellow bag No-Name brand stuff. And if you gave him, say, leftover stew, he would pick out the veggies piece by piece, suck the gravy off, and spit them on the floor. He'd only eat the meat and sometimes the potatoes, but anything else got spread all over the kitchen. Drove my mom NUTS.

This was the same dog who used to escape, run off into the woods, and come back hours later having found something dead, rolled in it, ate some of it, and brought the skull home to drop on the floor in front of Mom. Only Mom. Then his feelings would get hurt when she'd scream and haul him off to the laundry room for a bath in the laundry sink. And if you've ever tried scrubbing month-dead salmon out of the undercoat of a big part-Husky dog, you know the meaning of futility.

[Pixilated]

Someone dumped yet another cat at the farm. Roomie is working on befriending it so it can get snagged and taken to the vet for fixing and shots.

Black longhaired of indeterminate gender ... looks to be just about 5-6 months old for a change instead of barely weaned. Rob is thinking it might be time to get a spare cat so we aren't without [Jezz is 13 years old. He is thinking that it would be nice to get a spare cat before she gets too old and crotchety to accept a second cat around the house.] I told him that we will see. I prefer shorthairs for ease of maintenance.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there may be more than one "type" of longhair coat on animals (depends on the undercoat and overcoat). I had a longhair cat for nearly two decades and he was definitely NOT one of those cats that needs to be groomed every couple of hours (otherwise he'd have been the Bald Cat instead). Once in a rare while I'd have to comb or clip knots out of his fur. It only became an issue over the past couple of years (he lived to around 18 or 19), when he was no longer grooming himself very much. At that point I resigned myself to coughing up the dough for a professional groomer. He always came back somewhat lighter (I'd told her just trim/cut/shave where necessary) and sporting a snappy little neckerchief. He hated it. And me.

Kudos to you both for your willingness to help animals dumped by idiots.

The dog I had when I was a teenager was a trip. The ONLY dry kibble he would eat was the yellow bag No-Name brand stuff.
*snip*

Had a cat like that once ... she would eat only the very basic kibble made by Checkerboard Company. Anything else got you a disgusted look ("You expect me to eat THAT???") and total rejection of your offering -- didn't matter if it was foie de gras imported from Paris. On the bright side ... she was cheap to have around the house, LOL. My current pair are similar; Fuzzy Britches does not seem to like canned food at all, although Gizmo will happily nosh on that (their daily diet is kibble). Neither one likes 'kitty milk' so guess I won't be buying that anymore either. And both seem only moderately interested in catnip. What will I do at Christmas??

[Javarod]

This story makes me chuckle because it brings back memories. A cat i had a few years back liked to chew through bags. Any type of bags, and yep, that means that one time he chewed through the bottom of a dog food bag.

[Flying Grype]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there may be more than one "type" of longhair coat on animals (depends on the undercoat and overcoat).

We had two longhairs whose coats were pretty different, or maybe it was their grooming habits that were different. Digger groomed himself thoroughly and also liked it when we brushed him. Widget hates being brushed and she also can't be bothered to groom her own fur. Digger very rarely had mats but Widget gets them all the time.