My dog is eating cat poop (clean, stomach, costs, effects)
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I need suggestions on keeping my Jack Russell out of the kitty litter box. I just got this adorable cat and I've never had a cat before. Frankie (dog) and Dizzy (cat) get along great but Frankie wants to eat Dizzy's food and poop. I put the food up off the ground but I don't know where to put the litter box. I thought about getting a gate that only the cat could get through to use the bathroom but the cat is just as big as the dog so Frankie would be able to get through as easy as Dizzy. Please help me figure something out because when I got home from work today, Frankie's stomach seemed a little upset and I think it's because of the litter box.
Thank You ahead of time for any suggestions you may have!
almost everybody who has both cat and dog deals with this problem. I find if my dogs are fed regularly and on time they don't mess with the litter box but I also clean out my litter box several times throughout the day. maybe a covered litter box will help.
also if you free feed the dog don't let the cat eat dog food. lacks vital nutrients and cat will get very sick.
I have the same issue with my dogs. They love to get into the litterbox and do it every chance they get. It's not really harmful for the dog to eat the cat poop as long as the cat is healthy but chances are good that the dog will eat some kitty litter with it and that can cause serious harm. It could get stuck in his intestines causing a blockage which could be fatal and costs a lot of money to treat. For this reason it's really important to keep the dog out of the litterbox.
I have solved the problem by having a baby gate in the door to the room where the litterboxes are. The cats can easily jump over the gate but the dogs can't. I use a pressure mounted gate that I can easily take down if needed. Petco, and I think Walmart too, carries an extra tall gate which is good if your dog is a jumper.
You could also put the litterbox off the ground like on a table that your dog can't get up on. Another thing you can do is to get a top loaded litterbox. It's a covered litterbox with the opening on top of it which makes it harder for your dog to get to any poop. The drawback with these litterboxes is that some cats just don't like them and won't use them. It's worth a shot though if you don't want to get a baby gate. Getting a gate is the easiest solution, imo.
also if you free feed the dog don't let the cat eat dog food. lacks vital nutrients and cat will get very sick.
Dog food is of course not good as a main source of food for a cat but it won't make a cat sick to eat it. There is nothing in dog food that would make a cat sick. My cats frequently grab a few kibbles from the dog's bowl and none have ever got sick. My dogs have also helped themselves to cat food and do just fine
Congratulations on your first cat! Baby gate that the cat can jump over but the dog can't, OR elevate the litter box so the dog can't get to it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lizita
Dog food is of course not good as a main source of food for a cat but it won't make a cat sick to eat it. There is nothing in dog food that would make a cat sick. My cats frequently grab a few kibbles from the dog's bowl and none have ever got sick. My dogs have also helped themselves to cat food and do just fine
Dog food does not contain adequate nutrients for cats. If your cats are filling up on dog food they will not eat enough of their own food to get the correct amount of things like protein and taurine they need. Not to mention moisture. In the long term, negative effects will be seen.
Dog food does not contain adequate nutrients for cats. If your cats are filling up on dog food they will not eat enough of their own food to get the correct amount of things like protein and taurine they need. Not to mention moisture. In the long term, negative effects will be seen.
This is what I meant when I said "It will make the cat sick."
But I would definitely deworm the dog since you just got the cat. You need to keep up with the deworming if the cat roams outside too.
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