Can Cats eat Dog Food?

Recently the Pet Pals household announced the new addition to our family, the cat we named Nuba. Nuba has been a pure joy to our family and has bonded with our dog, Rinzen. 

     Rinzen and Nuba are best friends (makes our hearts so happy)! :)

• they are always in the same room together
• they play together 
• they eat their treats by each other
• they play chase numerous times a day and you can completely tell who is "it" 
• and Nuba wants to eat Rizens food. 

Rinzen shares very well and hardly ever has a problem with Nuba in his business and never has a problem with Nuba in his food. Which got me to thinking and pondering, "can cats eat dog food?" Rinzen and Nuba both have the same brand of food which both are grain free/wheat free/natural ingredients/first ingredient is chicken. However, they make a dog food and a cat food so there must be a difference. I did some research and came across this informative article. After reading it, here are a couple of bullet points about why, "dog food is not for cats."

• #1 Vitamin A must be supplied in cat food, whereas dogs can make do with beta carotene instead (their bodies can turn it into vitamin A). 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. (Most commercial cat foods offer extra.)
• #3 Arachidonic acid is a fatty acid dogs can build themselves, while cats need the real thing. 

The conclusion I came up with is: Dogs should eat dog food and cats should eat cat food. Dogs have their individual nutrient needs and so do cats.  

Here is the link to the full article: Why dog food is not for cats...and vice versa

Just have to share a couple of pictures of Nuba and Rinzen! And to follow the life of Rinzen, Nuba, and their sister Traci, here is the link to The Life of Two Dogs and a Cat