A cat is not a small dog. That is not a figure of speech about temperament. It is a statement about physiology, and it is the reason a cat supplement cannot be a dog supplement made smaller.
What actually differs
Cats are obligate carnivores. Dogs are not. A dog can meet its needs from a much wider range of inputs, while a cat has requirements that must arrive in the diet because a cat cannot make enough of them internally. Taurine is the familiar example.
Cats also process some compounds differently, and their livers handle certain plant compounds less readily than a dog's. This is well established and it is why "it is fine for dogs" is not an argument that transfers.
Then there is scale. A large cat and a small dog can weigh the same and still should not receive the same thing, because the difference is not only size.
How much smaller are we talking
Our cat chews are 0.5 g. Our dog chews are 3 g. That is a sixfold difference in the chew itself, before anything about what is in it.
A 50 g bag of cat chews therefore holds roughly one hundred of them. That surprises people who are used to counting dog chews.
Are the weight bands different
Yes, and this is where mistakes happen.
Dogs are dosed across a very wide range, because dogs run from about 4 lb to over 150 lb. Cats occupy a much narrower range, so the bands are narrower and there are more of them relative to the span.
| Body weight | Calming Support | Senior and Hairball Support |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 lb | 1 chew | 2 chews |
| 5.1 to 10 lb | 2 chews | 4 chews |
| 10.1 to 15 lb | 3 chews | 6 chews |
| 15.1 to 20 lb | 4 chews | 8 chews |
| 20.1 lb and over | 5 chews | 10 chews |
Two things to notice. The weight ranges are identical across all three products, which makes it tempting to assume the amounts are too. They are not. Calming Support runs one to five. Senior and Hairball Support both run two to ten.
Read the bag in front of you rather than the one you read last time.
Is there a loading period for cats
No. Some dog chews use a loading period, where the amount is higher for an initial stretch before settling. The cat products have none.
If you give supplements to both a cat and a dog in the same house, this is the routine most likely to get carried across by mistake. The dog instruction to divide the daily amount between morning and evening does not appear on the cat labels either.
Do the ingredients differ
Yes, and one difference is worth knowing about specifically.
Senior Support for cats contains green lipped mussel, which is a shellfish. If your cat has a known shellfish sensitivity, that matters, and it is the kind of thing worth checking against the ingredient panel rather than assuming from the product name. Hairball Support does not contain it.
More generally, a cat product should be formulated for a cat rather than diluted from a dog product. Palatability is part of that. Cats are famously harder to please than dogs, and a chew a cat will not eat delivers nothing regardless of what is in it.
How do I give a chew to a cat that does not want one
Start by offering it as a treat, on its own, away from the food bowl and away from anything the cat associates with being handled. Many cats take it directly.
If that does not work, break it and offer half. If that does not work, crumble it over wet food rather than dry, because it will bind to moisture instead of sitting at the bottom of the bowl.
Do not hide it in something the cat needs to keep eating every day. If a cat decides its usual food is now suspicious, you have created a bigger problem than the one you were solving.
Give it time. Cats often refuse something new twice and accept it on the third offer, and a cat that has watched you handle the same object several times without consequence is a more receptive cat.
What about storage
Our cat bags are resealable, and the instruction is the same across all three: keep the package closed, and protect it from light, heat and moisture.
That is not boilerplate. Botanical ingredients and fats are the parts of a formulation most affected by heat and light, so a bag left open on a sunny windowsill is not the same product a month later. A cupboard is fine. The fridge is not necessary.
How do I weigh a cat
Indirectly, the same way you weigh an uncooperative dog. Weigh yourself, pick the cat up, weigh yourself again and subtract the first figure from the second.
Do it more often than you would for a dog. Cats occupy a narrow weight range, so a change that would be unremarkable in a labrador moves a cat across a band. A cat going from 9 lb to 11 lb has moved from one row of the chart to the next, and two pounds on a cat is a large proportion of the animal.
Weight change in a cat is worth noticing for its own sake, separately from any question about amounts. Cats conceal how they feel well and they are small enough that a change shows up in the numbers before it shows up in behaviour. If a cat is gaining or losing without an obvious reason, that is a conversation with your veterinarian rather than an adjustment to a chart.
What if I have more than one cat
Two problems, and the second one catches people out.
The first is straightforward. Each cat gets the amount that matches its own weight. A 7 lb cat and a 14 lb cat in the same house are on different rows of the same chart, so work them out separately and do not average across the household.
The second is that cats steal. A chew left in a bowl for one cat is available to every cat who wanders past, and the one who wants it most is rarely the one it was intended for. Feed them separately, stay in the room while they eat and take back anything left after a few minutes.
If you cannot separate them reliably, raise it with your veterinarian before starting, particularly where only one cat in the house is meant to be receiving anything at all.
When should I talk to a veterinarian
Before starting anything, particularly for a cat. Cats hide illness well, they are small enough that changes matter sooner and several conditions common in older cats have dietary implications that a supplement should be chosen around rather than in spite of.
Talk to your veterinarian if your cat is on medication, has a diagnosed condition, is pregnant or nursing, or is an older cat you have not had a recent check on. A supplement is not a substitute for that conversation, and your veterinarian knows your cat's history in a way no label can.
The three cat products and their own weight charts are here: Calming Support for cats, Senior Support for cats and Hairball Support for cats. The full range is on the cat supplements page.
Related reading
- How much supplement does my dog need
- How to read a pet supplement label
- What the ingredients in a calming chew actually do
References
- Shrestha B, et al. Evolution of a major drug metabolizing enzyme defect in the domestic cat and other Felidae. PLOS ONE. Full text.
- Court MH. Feline drug metabolism and disposition. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice. Full text.
- World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Global Nutrition Guidelines.
