My Chihuahua only eats cat food. Is it safe for her long-term health?

It is best to let the dog eat only dog food and the nutritional contents and vitamins are greatly different based on their needs. You can try to feed your cat up high, a counter or laundry room, to keep the dog from reaching it or getting to it. If the puppy gets cat food every now and then, it will not cause any harm, but it should not be its sole source of nutrition

Sweetiepie needs to eat cat food because it has certain amino acids needed for heart health that are not found in dog food. If she gets into it every once in a while, that's fine. Fancy Feast seems to offer a variety of flavors. It's not the best food but its not the worst and it's important she eats. Also, I recommend to have Sweetiepie examined by the veterinarian if you are noticing finicky eating. At her age, kidney disease and other health concerns become more common and finicky eating can be one of the first signs of a problem. I hope this helps.

Grains are beneficial to dogs, and I only recommend putting a dog on a grain free diet if there is a medical reason why they shouldn't have them, such as allergies. If Adel eats very little of this food, it could be that she doesn't like it and may benefit from another food. I personally recommend feeding dogs Royal Canin or Hill's Science diet. Both are high quality foods that dogs find very tasty; in fact, my dogs eat Royal Canin and love it. You could consider switching her to one of those foods to see if she eats more of it, but if you do make the switch, I would do it slowly to prevent GI upset. You can increase the number of times you feed her, and you can also try to tempt her to eat her food by soaking it in gently warmed low sodium beef or chicken broth. If she does eat it, gradually reduce the amount of broth you add to her food until she is eating the food only.

Dog food is not formulated for cats nutritional needs, so he really needs to be on cat food. First of all, I would get him seen by your vet to find out why he has lost so much weight and get him started on a treatment plan. Based on his medical condition, it may be necessary to feed him a special diet for whatever is causing his illness. If he doesn't require a special diet, it may be that he prefers wet food now and you may need to offer that primarily and leave dry out for nibbling during the day.

You can feed her cat treats as long as you only give her small quantities as cat treats are usually much higher in calories which will likely end up gaining a lot of extra weight when she gets a little older.

Yes! If you are buying a good dry dog food from your vet then this is all the nutrition she needs. Some dogs are grazers and prefer to nibble during the day and some dogs will eat three times a day if offered. So I am not worried about her eating only in the afternoon. This may just be her preference and her personality. As long as she eats everyday then that's good! I hope this helps!

Hi, It generally is a good idea to only feed dog food. It is specially formulated for dogs and most are properly balanced and have everything they need. Human food, especially fatty foods can lead to pancreatitis and other health issues. The dog food does not necessarily have to be for Shih Tzus. Hope this helps!