[NAGDU] Feeding guide dogs and pet cats

[Sherry Gomes]

I've often had cats and my guides together. I keep the cat bowls up on my
dresser in my bedroom. The bigger problem is the litter box. I put that in a
corner of my home office and keep the front opening turned toward a wall
with just enough space for the cat to get in and out.

Sherry


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lake Foster via
NAGDU
Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2017 11:07 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Lake Foster <lake_fos at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Feeding guide dogs and pet cats

Hi Miranda,

I was in almost the same situation! 

My cat is free-fed so she grazes all day and night on dry food and then once
a day she gets wet food. Luckily, she only eats as much as she needs. 

There was no way I could put her food on the ground like I had with my pet
cats in the past because my dog would have eaten all of it. So I found a
small table and put it in my bedroom. I put my cat's 
food dish and water dish on top of the table and it was surprisingly easy to
teach my dog, a Golden, not to put his front paws up on the table to eat her
food. 

His food and water bowls are actually right beside this table, on a
waterproof mat on the ground. He eats twice a day, and both he and my cat
eat at the same time in the evening. I have another water bowl in the
kitchen and they both share that water, also. 

I'm not sure if any of that will help. Oh and yes, I have a gate across my
bathroom also, because my pet Poodle likes to go in there!

Ash and Finn
 
sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 21, 2017, at 5:46 AM, Miranda via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone,
> So, we have a pet cat. This is a family pet, and not specific to any
member of the household. Currently, his food goes under our microwave stand
in the kitchen, and his feedings are not scheduled. Although, we have
successfully scheduled his feedings in the past. Upon getting a dog guide,
we are thinking of having the dog and the cat share a larger water bowl in
the kitchen, and feeding the dog in a separate room in our apartment with
the door closed, to ensure the cat doesn't intrude. Unfortunately, we are
only in a one bedroom apartment, so our bedroom will probably be the only
enclosed area where we can feed the dog.
> The only thing I am stumped on at the moment is timing, as we certainly
don't want the dog to need to wait in another room while the cat takes his
sweet old time finishing his food. I may be overthinking this, but do any of
you have experience with feeding a guide dog and family pet, especially a
cat? We don't really want to gate off the kitchen, as we are already going
to need to gate off the hallway leading to the bathroom and bedroom, so as
to deter the dog from The litter box.
> Beyond feeding itself, we obviously know to store the food in an airtight
container, and to ensure that the animals don't eat one another's food, etc.
I  had dogs and cats while growing up, but our dogs typically ate outside or
in the laundry room. The cats were usually my pets, so I fed them in my
bedroom.
> Any insight or experience you can share regarding guide dogs and pet cats
would be very much appreciated. I don't imagine there will be too much
animosity between the dog and cat, as our cat is familiar with living with
other animals. He lived with a dog prior to coming to live with us seven
years ago, and he lived with a cat in our home for four years.
> Thanks as always for your time and assistance, and have a wonderful week!
> 
> Best wishes, Miranda
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
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