Re: [pyrnet] Puppy food.

["Tracy" <espinay@bigpond.com>]

<< I heard somewhere years ago that it was ok for cats to eat dog food but
not ok for dogs to eat  cat food.  Does anyone know why?>>

It is actually the other way around.  Dogs and cats are both carnivores, but
cats are what is often referred to as 'obligate' carnivores which means
there are certain things in meat (eg amino acids such as taurine) which they
positively can't do without (ie without them they die).  Until recently, the
importance of these amino acids for dogs as well as cats has not been
recognised by commercial manufacturers, the result being that most
commercial dog foods do not contain what a cat needs to survive.  Most dogs
foods still dont contain them.

Dog foods also usually have a higher grain content.  While this can be
problematic for many dogs (grains for a carnivore?), it is especially
problematic for cats and can result in kidney problems. (Incidentally most
commercial cat foods even have too high a grain content the result being
several generations of cats with kidney disease).

A good website for those interested in investigating the options in relation
to diet for their dog is www.bowchow.com .  The K9Nutrition list is also
worth a look: www.yahoogroups.com/groups/K9Nutrition

Of course  I personally feed and recommend a natural raw diet for our
domestic carnivores <g>.  www.rawmeatybones.com is a good place to start for
info on some of the why's or there is some info on the bowchow website.

Of course we always welcome new members on the rawpyrs list <g>:
www.yahoogroups.com/groups/rawpyrs

Tracy Bassett
Murrumbateman, Australia
espinay@bigpond.com