Knowing what dogs choose to lick and eat, it’s a wonder we let their mouths and lolling tongues get within 10 feet of us, but we do, even when one of the more disgusting things they do is to eat cat poop.
“Why?”, we scream.
“Because it’s there,” the dog seems to reply.
Well, it turns out there is a reason dogs go after those nasty little Tootsie rolls of poop.
It’s called coprophagia, and for dogs, it’s perfectly normal, especially if you accept that dog normal usually means human disgusting.
Dogs eat cat poop, not because, as some might think, to spite the cat. He eats it because to him, it appears to be a tasty treat. Dogs are natural scavengers, and they smell something worthwhile in the feces.
Cats are obligate hypercarnivores, which means their diets include at least 70 percent meat. They don’t just like meat, their bodies require the high amounts of protein to operate at their prime. Because their digestive systems are focused on processing all of that protein, they often give other parts of the diet — carbohydrates, for example — only passing interest. As a result, their feces contain a lot of food that hasn’t been fully digested.
Dogs smell this and see it as just another bit of food and are probably puzzled why the cat threw it away. Never one to ignore free food, the dogs often gobble it down before their owners can shriek “Nooooo.”
Surprisingly, there are worse things for dogs to eat. They can be at risk of contracting a parasite or developing a tummy ache, but all-in-all, while it has no nutritional value, the cat droppings are not too harmful.
If your dog can’t resist the kitty hors d’oeuvres, it’s probably the dog being a dog, but it also could be a symptom that your dog is suffering from a nutritional or vitamin deficiency. Whenever our pets do things that trouble us, or suddenly change their habits, it’s always good to pay a visit to the vet and see if there is something else going on with them.
Dogs also eat things to cure boredom, so there’s a slight chance we could chalk up the poop eating to that. Watching your reaction to them eating the cat poo probably is quite entertaining to them.
Because it is so common — some dogs will eat other creature’s poop or even their own, but almost all dogs will eat cat poo — it’s a behavior that is very hard to change. We must resort to keeping the dog away from litter boxes and watching them very carefully while out on walks.
If your dog is a poop connoisseur, some vets recommend using a basket muzzle, provided your dog is trained to accept that type of muzzle.
You might also curb the behavior by making sure your dog is receiving the most nutritious food possible, and if you also have a cat, give it quality food, also. De-worm your pets regularly.
