Cat wanting the dogs kibble...help!

Shamie a male Flame Point Siamese (15 months old) wants to eat the dogs food!
We have had Shamie only a few days now. His previous owner had a Maltese and I'm wondering if he would eat her food too.
The previous owner told me that Shamie "mostly was eating Purina One cat food". And he loves people food. Sigh I'm sure it's not as easy to break a cat from wanting people food as it is for dogs.
I have not done much research on cat foods. I have done years on dog foods. My poodle has been eating "Solid Gold Mmillennia Beef & Barley dog food" most of his life. He only weighs 5 lbs. and he is a very picky eater and has to be free fed or he will loose weight quickly.
Shamie is eating "Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken Cat Food". I'm thinking it must not be the right food for him or he wouldn't be going over to the dogs food when he has his own food available. He does eat his food but I have caught him in the dogs food a few times and took him over to his food and he will eat it.
The dog and cat foods do not smell the same so I'm not sure why he is doing this. I know it's not good for him.
Innova is another brand I might try him on. I just want to find a cat food that he falls in love with so he doesn't want the dogs food.
I have talked to some of my cat loving friends about canned cat food and have gotten mixed messages. Some say can food mixed with kibble once a day is ok but to leave kibble available for him. Some say no no no to canned food period.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Susie

Ok - the problem with your cat eating dog food is that dog food does not contain Taurine which is essential to cats.

Personally I feed dry 24/7 and a 1/2 can of wet in the AM and PM. My vet suggest wet as part of his diet since it ensures needed moisture.

try giving some beef containing wet food... the protein is too low in dog food for a healthy cat and many companies now put taurine in the dog food it is good for dog s

Actually, most of the better brands of dog feed have added taurine these days.
Still, not something you'd want a cat eating regularly as their nutritional needs differ from dogs'.

It is not a sign of the food being inadequate. Lots of cats cannot seem to stay in their own bowl at mealtine. Some even go as far as to eat all of the other cat's food, and then theirs. I would feed them in seperate rooms. As for nutrition, i feed my cats dry in the morning, and wet at night. (i used to feed wet at both times and sprinkle dry on top, but it ended up costing too much to keep this up) It is good to have at least some wet in there, as it ensures that they are getting enough water in their diets. Also, I like that wet foods tend to not have lots of unnecessary fillers in them (and sometimes none at all, depending on the brand).

keep their food seperate. Mine will try to eat the dogs food if its left down. And the dogs will try to eat the cats food if allowed.

Welcome to cats and dogs lol

Cats absolutely need wet food. As a species, they originated in the desert where there is little actual water available. Cats adapted to this by getting almost all of their needed moisture from prey, while developing an extremely low thirst drive. Dry kibble, obviously, is much lower in moisture than prey. A cat's thirst mechanism is not adequate to compensate for this and as a result, a cat on a dry-only diet will be chronically dehydrated. This places a constant stress on the kidneys. And this is why so many cats develop urinary blockages and kidney disease as they get older.

As for the dog food, it's not going to actually harm him as long as he's eating enough of his own food to meet his nutritional needs.

Another option would be to feed a dry food like Wysong's Anergen, which is formulated to be nutritionally appropriate for both cats and dogs.

I knew I came to the right forum! Thank you all for your responses!!! You are all so knowledgeable and quick to help. Thank you thank you thank you! You guys are awesome

Semiferal, can I pass the information along to a friend of mine that has only fed her cats wet food as a treat. She has had 2 older cats die a few years ago due to kidney disease She recently adopted a younger cat from the humane society and I think this information should be shared with her.

Scamper farms, I have already put the cats food up so the dog wouldn't eat it. If I was to seperate the dogs food I would have to keep them seperated at all times since the toy poodle is only 5 lbs. and he free feeds. He would loose alot of weight and get sick. I don't want to keep them apart from each other. So I have decided to mix wet with dry in the AM & PM (and keep dry available). I'm hoping Shamie will eat his bowl clean and not want to eat the dogs food.

CommonOddity, thank you for your tip on the wet foods without fillers. I will now be searching the brands without fillers.


Aryln, you are absoluetly right about about the taurine. Thank you.

Sharky, I will try a beef canned food and see how Shamie likes it. Thanks

Hell603, I'm going to the wet 24/7 and can AM & PM too. Thank you!


Thank you all again for your help.
Susie

my cat is also trying to eat the dog food. Its very hard to keep this cat away. i have to lead him to his food. And Yes their food is in seperate places. This cat is just acting different lately. But will eat its own food daily but often tries to eat the dogs food. Which i know now not good.

Good luck! When in doubt i put my dogs food in their kennels

I just wanted to let you all know that I have started mixing a little "Wellness" chicken can food with some of the "Solid Gold" dry food once a day to start (I don't want to upset his tummy) and Shamie has not went to the dogs food since. I do leave a bowl of dry kibble out for him so he can snack on that. Once he's settle in to our home I will figure out if free feeding or 2-3 times a day small meals are for him. I don't want him to get overweight.
I'm so happy to have found this forum and all you wonderful people!
So far I have spent atleast 3 hours reading through posts since I've joined a few days ago. I've learned so much already. Hey do you think by the time I reach 1000 hours of reading in this forum I can be considered close to a cat expert? LOL Just kidding
Back to reading and thanks again.

Susie