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I have a 13 year-old cat. His food is in the kitchen on the floor. We just got a dog, and he tries to eat the cat's food. We move it onto the counter so the dog can't reach it, but then the cat can't get to it either. (And I really don't want him jumping onto a counter to eat).
Is your cat the kind of cat that eats a little bit all day, or does it generally eat its meal in one sitting?
Does the dog get kenneled during the day, or at night?
My suggestion...which might not work, is to put the cat and its food in a kennel, until the cat finishes its meal...or put the dog in a kennel until the cat finishes its food.
If your cat is the kind of cat that's going to take all day to eat...put the dog in a kennel, give the cat 15 or 20 minutes to eat, and then put the food away, and then let the dog out of the kennel.
If you're home during the day, I'd do this maybe 3 times per day...otherwise, do it in the morning, and do it once in the evening.
I can sympathize. This is a battle for me too that I am still figuring out. A 13 year old cat should still be able to climb a cat tree if you have one. Most cats love them especially if you put near a window so it's worth purchasing. There are a lot of grips to enable climbing and you could put the food there at the top. Unfortunately in my case my puppy learned to climb the tree. This is the first dog I have ever had that has done this, so you may have better luck.
Is your cat the kind of cat that eats a little bit all day, or does it generally eat its meal in one sitting?
Does the dog get kenneled during the day, or at night?
My suggestion...which might not work, is to put the cat and its food in a kennel, until the cat finishes its meal...or put the dog in a kennel until the cat finishes its food.
If your cat is the kind of cat that's going to take all day to eat...put the dog in a kennel, give the cat 15 or 20 minutes to eat, and then put the food away, and then let the dog out of the kennel.
If you're home during the day, I'd do this maybe 3 times per day...otherwise, do it in the morning, and do it once in the evening.
My dog is new to the house, so yes, he's crated during the day and when we got to bed. At some point, we want to let him out of the crate but perhaps keep him in a gated area in the LR while my husband and I are at work and the kids are in school.
My cat is out and about all day long and tends to sleep and graze.
My dog is new to the house, so yes, he's crated during the day and when we got to bed. At some point, we want to let him out of the crate but perhaps keep him in a gated area in the LR while my husband and I are at work and the kids are in school.
My cat is out and about all day long and tends to sleep and graze.
How large is your dog? Back in our free-feeding days we had 7 cats and 2 two dogs (Yorkies). Our solution was to put the cat food on a waist-high cabinet, and they cats just jumped up there to eat. Later on I made steeps for the cats that were fine for them, but too steep for the dogs.
If that's not doable in your case, the kennel suggestion might be best, but will require scheduled feedings. You probably won't be able to leave food out all the time, and still keep the dog out of it, unless you have an enclosed space that only the cat can access (cat flap, etc.).
I feed my cats in the big extra bathroom with a baby gate up (raw fed). The litter boxes are there too.
When I didn’t have an extra bathroom, I used the second bedroom.
When I fed kibble and my cats were younger their food was always on the dryer, and when I had no dryer I kept their kibble dish in the tub.
In your case I would feed the cat in a bedroom that can be gated off, they make gates a cat can go through, but larger dogs can’t.
Far more dignified for the cat to have its dish moved, than trying to crate it for dinner. My cats can deal with a LOT of change, but they know crates mean travel, they’d never eat in it.
If you can’t do that, I’d just put the kibble away Before you let the dog out of the crate each time, and teach the dog to leave it alone eventually.
I bought a higher chair at Goodwill, had a cute wooden box as a step up....but had to cut cardboard to make sides
1. to keep the dry food from falling all over and 2. to keep the German Shepherd away.
I was told cat food is like candy to dogs.
(Also, if I throw pork or chicken bones in trash...I have black pepper right there...in case the lid
doesn't fall shut.)
I feed my cat on the kitchen counter; I've been doing this for years and years. More than two cats calls for a table, My dogs have always had leftover cat food as a treat. They also like to lick the cans. I had one dog, a German Shepherd, who waited for the cats to pick through her food before she ate.
I have never put a dog in a crate and I never will.
I feed my cat on the kitchen counter; I've been doing this for years and years. More than two cats calls for a table, My dogs have always had leftover cat food as a treat. They also like to lick the cans. I had one dog, a German Shepherd, who waited for the cats to pick through her food before she ate.
I have never put a dog in a crate and I never will.
I literally could have written this post, since I do or agree with ALL of the above! My cats eat on the kitchen counter, or on the tiled floor since my dog is afraid to eat off them (he doesn't like how plates/bowls clank on those floors) - and I always let him lick the remnants once they're done, lol. I also have never crated my dog in 13 years, but try not to pass judgment on those who do it properly.
When one of my cats became too arthritic to jump on a counter (or any high space), I would just put him in the bedroom or bathroom & close the door until he was done. Otherwise the easiest solution is feeding cats on a high surface. Worst case scenario, you can always lift the cat and put them up there yourself. This doesn't work if you only free-feed dry food, though; in that case you'll just have to somehow teach the dog it's not theirs.
There was a time when I had 3 cats on 3 different kind of food. Brandy on special food, Andy on regular food and Electra on kitten food. We put Brandy's food on the floor, the kitten food on the shelf on the microwave oven stand, and the regular food on top of the microwave. So, you can guess what happened. Brandy would get the food on the top of the microwave, Andy got the kitten food and Electra would get Brandy's special food-or was that the other way around? The point is, they went for the food that wasn't theirs. OY VEY! To be fair, it was hard for Andy to get on top of the microwave. We used to refer to him as "The fat boy." I have seen him jump up there and it was a struggle. That was a favorite camp-out place because there was a window there and they used to always sit up there looking out the window. (We have since moved so that camp-out place no longer exist.)
Now that Electra is on special food, I'm not going to play that game again-they ALL are on special food.
Cat
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This is the first dog I have ever had that has done this, so you may have better luck.
