Cats eating dogfood

[Foxfeeder]

As my username suggests, I feed foxes in my garden and have been doing so for a number of years. They get a mix of wet and dry dog food plus raw chicken wings, and the hedgehogs that also visit get dry cat food.

We don’t live too close to anyone else so a new cat turning up in the garden is a rarity. However, one has turned up about a week ago and is wolfing down the dogfood like it’s starving - strangely, it doesn’t appear to eat the dried cat food. If I put out a whole tin in one go, I think it would have the lion’s share. The foxes are most put out (and I’m thinking about how much I’m spending to feed a visiting cat 😩).

The cat is very timid, creeps along with its stomach close to the ground but looks lean, and runs when I go anywhere near the window, so I won’t be able to have it checked for a microchip to see if I can contact the owners to let them know it’s coming to us, or try to rehome. Our cctv shows that it’s in and out of the garden all night and often during the day, so I’m concerned it’s lost or a stray and living in the wood next to us.

So, after the background, my question: I know that cats need far more protein and taurine in their diet but can anyone (vets particularly) say whether eating dog food as an addition to cat food that its owners are feeding it would cause problems (other than obesity) in an otherwise healthy cat? Alternatively, would I be causing the foxes harm if I fed them wet cat food instead?

Not putting any food out is not an option that I will consider, and, if it is a stray, offering the cat a home is also not possible as, apart from not being able to get anywhere near it, DP and our 4 cats have some strong opinions on the matter.

If you contact the cat’s protection league in your area they may send a volunteer out with a trap or be able to give you some good info. If it is a stray it will need to be neutered at the very least. I hope the poor thing has somewhere warm to sleep, possibly not if it’s out most of the night! At least it is getting food though.

If the cat is owned and eating cat food elsewhere dog food will not do it harm. If it is a stray and only eating the dog food it will not be high enough in taurine and risks heart disease for the cat.
The fox will come to no harm eating cat food.

The longer it is hanging around and I’ve been able to catch it on cctv in daylight, the more convinced I am that it’s a stray as it is very lean when it’s walking normally. I may have to see if I can get a trap to check for a microchip but moving the foxes onto cat food is maybe the way to go till then. I did put out a different type of cat dry food tonight and it was eaten up so perhaps, even as a stray, the cat has standards 😀

We did try to trap, neuter, and return the last boy who appeared in the garden but he had other ideas and refused to move out. My biggest fear is that it’s an unneutered girl who might be pregnant as the rescues round here are really struggling 🥴