Cat and rabbit food mix-ups: what to feed each

Mixing up cat and rabbit food is more common than you'd think — the packaging can look surprisingly similar — but it matters, because cats and rabbits have almost opposite nutritional needs. Cats are obligate carnivores who need animal protein and moisture; rabbits are herbivores who need fibre and very little protein. Before I point you toward the right products, I want to give you the honest picture on wet vs dry cat food too: wet food is generally better for cats because it provides hydration, mirrors their natural diet more closely, and tends to be more satiating — but cost and convenience are real factors, and mixing wet and dry often works well in practice. How old is your cat, do they have any health conditions, and what does your current feeding setup look like?

That setup makes total sense for convenience but it's a recipe for mix-ups and cross-feeding. The good news: your cat is young and healthy, so there's no lasting damage done. Rabbit occasionally eating cat food is the bigger concern there — high protein is hard on their kidneys over time. For your cat, I'd move away from free-feeding dry food as the sole diet and introduce wet food at mealtimes. That way there's no bowl sitting out for the rabbit to raid. Can you tell me roughly what you've been spending on cat food per month, and is your cat indoor-only or does she go outside?

Perfect — that budget gives you real options. My clear recommendation for your cat is Lily's Kitchen Chicken & Duck Grown-Up Cats wet food in the multipack pouches. It's a complete, properly formulated wet food with named meat as the first ingredient, no hidden fillers, and around 80% moisture — which is exactly what an indoor cat needs to stay hydrated and maintain a healthy weight. At roughly £20–28 for a 32-pouch multipack on Amazon UK, it fits your budget well. Feed two pouches a day at set mealtimes and put the bowl away between feeds — that alone solves your cross-contamination problem. For the rabbit, keep their hay and pellets in a completely separate room or on an elevated surface the rabbit can reach but the cat can't. The packaging for rabbit pellets and cat kibble really does look alike, so storing them in labelled containers is worth doing.

An occasional lick won't cause an emergency, but you don't want it happening regularly. Cat food is high in protein and fat and has no fibre — none of that suits a rabbit's digestive system, and repeated exposure can cause gut upset or longer-term kidney strain. The smell of wet food is also very attractive to rabbits, which makes supervision important at mealtimes rather than leaving bowls down. Once your cat finishes or you've given her 20 minutes, pick the bowl up. That habit protects both of them.

You've got a straightforward fix here — dedicated mealtimes, labelled storage, and a proper wet food for your cat. Your rabbit will be safer for it too. If your cat starts gaining weight on the pouches or you want to add a small amount of dry food as a top-up, two-thirds wet to one-third dry is a sensible ratio for indoor cats. Good luck with them both.