Dogs like to eat cat poop. Fact. If you’ve tried it out of curiosity, you already know why — Kitty Roca just tastes good. But is it healthy? The answer may surprise you.
Felines have an inefficient digestive system (second only to horses and why kitty eats more or less continuously). Nutritionally speaking, eating cat poop is not much worse (nor better) than eating cat food.
In general, kitty food is tailored for the needs of your cat. So cat food (and thus cat poop) represents a higher protein, medium fat, lower carb diet, which may not be the best for your pooch.
Let’s look more carefully at the cat poop diet.
Calorie Breakdown
Using the calculations provided by the AAFCO, feline excrement has approximately 92 calories per 100g (26 calories/ounce).
Ingredients
Cat poop usually contains most of the following: Turkey Broth, Turkey, Poultry Giblets, Ocean Fish, Chicken, Oat Bran, Rice Flour, Fish Protein Concentrate, Lecithin, Salt, Potassium Choride, Guar Gum, Minerals (Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Vitamins (Vitamin E,A,D3,B12 Supplements), Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacon, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pryideoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin), Choline Chloride, Carregeenan, Calcium Carbonante, Taurine, and significant amounts of cat litter.
Guaranteed Analysis
Nutritional information as determined by analysis of feline excrement.*
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Dry Matter Analysis
Published guaranteed analysis values normalized for moisture content.*
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*Note that some nutritional percentages reported are only estimated values, and are indicated as such as (est). This Guaranteed Analysis defines each product’s maximum values of fiber, moisture and ash in addition to the minimum values of protein and fat contained within. Exact nutritional percentages are not available and hence all calculated values (including carbohydrate percentages and calorie amounts) are determined using these minimum and maximum published values and therefore may differ from actual values. Note that nutritional values for feline excrement will vary depending on cat diet.
So Should Fido Eat Cat Poop?
Eh sure, what’s the harm? It is a poor choice as a staple for the long-term health of your dog, but as a treat? Nutritionally, not bad. Taste-wise, irresistible. And if you wait a while before you let your dog lick your face, you’ll completely forget where that mouth was 20 minutes ago.