Question:

how and why does my pup eat my cat’s poop?

Jessica

ANSWER:

Hi Jessica,

Ah, the kitty cat Glosette question – always my favorite!

The eating of poop is called coprophagia and unfortunately, dogs are not the only animals that partake in this particular habit. Gorillas also will eat poop…nice! So do rodents, flies, dung beetles (could have guessed that one, right?!?), rabbits, and even cows expect because of their four stomachs, it does not have to physically leave their body before they can tuck in to it – they just bring it back up the way it went down!
Many animals, including rabbits and cows, eat their poop because their diet is such that nutrients are difficult to absorb so it takes two passes through the digestive tract to garner all the nutrients they can out of a meal.

Dogs and other mammals eat their poop because of nutrients and digestive enzymes produced in the intestines that cannot be absorbed back into the body through the intestinal walls. It is a way of increasing the digestive enzymes in their stomachs, aiding digestion. In the wild, it is believed that wolves eat the intestines and stomach contents of their kill first in order to use the other animal’s digestive enzymes to help digest the upcoming meal. Nice, huh? Brings a whole new take to the concept of cannibalism.

Dogs eat cat poop because it is high in protein and, who knows, maybe it tastes good to them.

However, it is best to dissuade the habit due to the many parasites that can live in the poop and care has to be taken that the dog does not eat the kitty litter along with the poop, especially clumping cat litter, as it can cause a significant blockage. If your dog is one of the many that enjoys a between meal snack, place the kitty litter where they cannot get at it for safety and discourage cats from pooping in your yard!
Ann