My dog eats cat food and my cat eats dog food!

My 3 dogs and cat are free fed and apart from their morning kibble which of course is different the cat get cat kibble and dogs get dog kibble they all get home coooked for dinner. My dogs dont usually rush to their bowls they may go over and eat an hour or so after i feed them. The cat sometimes rushes to her bowl sometimes she doesnt. However, even if there is the same food in the cats bowl as there is in the dogs bowl my cat will always talke a little from my dogs bowls. Your not alone! I have a catdog too lol

Willow also loves cat food. 

I was told by my vet that dogs can eat cat food but cats should never eat dog food, something in it.
 
I know my dog will be really sly and get into the cats food all the time and the cat has eaten the dog food on occasion I think it's just something different they want a change.

If theres a piece left in the dog bowls, Peaches, the cat will eat it. The cat food is on the dryer so the dogs only get it if I spill.

Its okay for dogs to eat a little cat food, but they should not always be eating it.  Cats on the other hand should never eat the dogs food.

Oh my, I didn't realize that it was so serious when cats eat dog food!  What do I do then?  She eats the dog's food probably more than she eats her own!  There is no area that the dog has access to but the cat doesn't, and I free feed my dog dry dog food only, so it is always there for her to access if she wants it.  That kind of worries me!  Any suggestions?  When I catch her I always redirect her to her own food, but a few minutes later I always hear her crunching on the dog food again.
 
Krista

Cats need taurine, which is found in muscle meat, heart and liver and its added to the cats food and they need this.  With a long term lack of taurin cats can go blind, get heart disease, have major pregnancy issues such as still borns, resorption of fetuses, etc.
 
There are also things in the dog food that cats cannot process such as beta-carotene (vitamin A)...
 
Anway, dpending on the lenth of time this has been going on its likely your cat has some nurtient deficiencies.  I have read it is okay for them to eat a tiny bit... not going to kill them, but the long term effects could certainly do so from lack of nutrition... not to mention the blindness and whatever else it my cause, I didnt continue reading.
 
I have never owned a cat, just got all my info from reading various articles on the matter... you can also look it up if you want more info. 
 
Im not sure how you can stop the cat from eating it, but I think you need to figure something out and get it to eat its own food before you have major issues. 
 
Good luck!

Loveukaykay--thanks for the info.  Yes I'm definitely going to have to do something.  I caught her eating it twice today!  Maybe I can start mixing in canned food with her dry food so it will be more enticing to her. 
 
I'm just glad you brought it to my attention--if you hadn't I would not have thought much of it and unknowingly let her eat herself to malnutrition or more! 
 
Thank you so much!  From me and Kali (the cat).
 
Krista