How Do You Feed Cats and Dogs without them eating each other's food?

[Kathy Wilson]

I would SO appreciate some input from those of you who have cats and dogs. When my puppy arrives I know it's not good to have them eating each other's food. What do you do? One thought I had is to put a "doggie door" into the laundry room so that the cats can have their food in there. While the puppy is fed three times a day, the cats have their food left out all day and I cannot change this as I have a 19 year old (cat) who has to have access to his food 24/7. He's underweight, so putting his food up high is not a solution either. What to do?

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Putting their food in separate rooms is a good idea. I used to put the cats food up on a old table in the garage so the dogs couldn't get to it. If the cats are used to cat doors, they are fairly easy to install into inside doors. Also, if you free feed, like I do, the dogs get used to always having food down and don't go looking for something to eat when they are hungry. My cat now is about 13 years old and has banned himself to the basement and his cat door to the outside woods. He won't come upstairs during the day, so his food is on a table in the basement, as he won't eat off the floor because he is used to it being up high. There are many things you can do, you just might have to get creative.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My cat isn't interested in the dog food at all, but dogs love cat food because of the high protein & fat content. I keep the cat's bowl on the kitchen counter, there is a little breakfast bar with 2 stools, so it isn't hard for her to get up there. Jack could reach it, but he's been trained not to take things off counters. Otherwise, I think separate rooms would be the thing. Puppies can easily be fed in their crates, too.
Kathy, there's a Group called "Doodles Who Love Their Cats" here on DK that you might want to join if you haven't already, and they have a similar discussion there. Maybe you'll find some tips in it:
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/doodlesthatlovetheircats/forum/to...

[Kathy Wilson]

Thankyou Karen and Lynne! I'm going to for sure have to get creative. My old guy can't jump too far and needs a step or two to get down off of high places.....so I have some thinking and planning to do. Karen...I thought I'd looked everywhere here for a Doodles with Cats area..oh well! Thanks so much for the link. I'm still trying to navigate this site and I so appreciate the links. I'm glad I have several months to figure everything out before my puppy arrives. Thanks again.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's hard to find the discussions that are within groups. They don't show up when you search the forum, so unless you know they're there, or look through the groups to find something that might have that kind of info, it is hard to find everything. Even when I know there's certain info in a Food Group discussion, I have trouble locating it sometimes.

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

I have my cat food on the bathroom counter. They jump onto the toilet seat (kept down of course) then onto the counter. So it's not hog. Cat food is NOT good for dogs to eat. I just read that somewhere. Also, beware of the litter box. They LOVE cat litter. We're still working on that problem!!

[Kathy Wilson]

Litter box.....oy! Yup, I MUST deal with that as well! (HOW could I forget? But I did!) Hopefully I can take her to work, etc, with me for at least the first few weeks/months.....them I'll check out doggy daycare(there's one near my brother's work). We have small bathroom counters but I'll give it a try.

[Michele Barton]

My cat eats in the basement, and I installed a gate at the top of the stairs so the pups can't go down. They sell gates now that have cat doors in them, plus they swing out so you don't have to step over. They sell them at amazon.com, just search "pet gate with door". It's much easier to install than putting a cat door in an actual door. Of course, you'd have to keep your laundry door open all the time for this to work. As far as the cat eating the dog food, if your puppy is anything like mine there won't be any dog food left in the bowl 30 seconds after you put it there!

[Kathy Wilson]

Thanks Michele! This is a great idea! I'll check out the gate with the cat door.

[1p1yv252s0hoz]

Great idea. When are you getting your puppy. we are picking ours up August 13 ! I also have an older cat, 16 yo, and a 3 year old Abyssinnian cat who will *SO* enjoy the new puppy.

[Kathy Wilson]

Hi Christi! Sorry I didn't see your message until now. My puppy is due to be born about September 12ish, so I'll be picking her up about 8 weeks after that. I am grateful to have had this time to really prepare and learn all I can. I am SO excited.....and yet still concerned for my cats. Would love to see photos of your cats. I LOVE Abys and we almost got one. They are sooo sweet (and SO active).

[Eileen Ross and Cody]

Hi, just a few words about cats and doodle pups, BABY GATES, BABY Gates, Baby Gates! Helps keep out of the litter, (candy to my pup) and the cat food. Also, it lets the cats escape from your puppy's grasp. I have been saying leave him for almost a year but Cody loves my oldest cat and loves to pounce on her. He doesn't mean to hurt Kasha but Cody is 74lbs now. My cats can escape his clutches by going thru the gate.