Do you let your pets eat off your plates, bowls, etc?

[ronandannette]

My daughters boyfriend was over awhile ago and made a horrible face when he saw the dog licking the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. It was obvious that was something that did not happen in his house.

I figure if I can't trust the dish washer to clean dog spit off the plates I can't trust the dish washer to clean human spit off the plates.

Do you and your family members routinely spit on your plates? Weird.

As for the poll I voted "Other" because the topic is too gross to contemplate. And I've got no issue really with the germs; I'm sure you're completely correct about the dishwasher. It's the "ick factor" that I can't get past.

 

[BrianL]

I wouldn’t hesitate to eat off any dish that has been properly washed barfed on or not.

In fact I know I have.

And I know each of my kids barfed at restaurants. I imagine they did NOT toss an entire table full of dishes.

Yeah, I mean, I don't get it. Plates can be washed. They're fine afterward regardless of if people or an animal ate off of them, barfed on them, or whatever. Soap & water is all it takes.

 

[hertamaniac]

Once we were done using our pan(s), we would let our dog eat the leftovers. Because she was a very large breed, her tongue would force the pan to move along our tile floors. She learned to put one paw in the pan to hold it steady while she ate.

 

[goofyernmost]

I don't have any pets, so No is the answer for myself. I have a daughter that has a pitbull that sits under the table waiting for food to drop and they routinely put their plates down on the floor and the dog cleans them up. As do I when I eat there. So Yes. My other daughter has a Jack Russell that just hangs around in the kitchen waiting for food to drop but they don't put the plates down. So I just checked off "other".

 

[lpereira]

My mother came to visit my house one day. Everyone was relaxing on the couch and eating ice cream. She stopped suddenly, gasping, "are you letting that CAT eat from your BOWL? "
" Don't be ridiculous. He is eating off the spoon. He isn't an animal. "
We never spoke of it again. But I don't think she appreciated the sophistication level of my cat.

 

[Farro]

Our cat has his own cat dish for his dry food, but he uses a "human" plate for his wet food because he gets it everywhere!

He doesn't get human food, so he doesn't lick our plates.

 

[prairie_girl]

I wouldn’t hesitate to eat off any dish that has been properly washed barfed on or not.

In fact I know I have.

And I know each of my kids barfed at restaurants. I imagine they did NOT toss an entire table full of dishes.

I get that, it's just gross to think about.

 

[kdonnel]

I get that, it's just gross to think about.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/04/health/insect-rodent-filth-in-food-wellness/index.html
If a little barf or dog spit is gross then the poop, maggots, mold, and rat hairs you eat everyday must be horrifying.

 

[kdonnel]

Do you and your family members routinely spit on your plates? Weird.

I have been known to put a spoon or fork in my mouth and then used that same utensil to get more food, touching the plate and transferring some spit to the plate. Repeat.

 

[prairie_girl]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/04/health/insect-rodent-filth-in-food-wellness/index.html
If a little barf or dog spit is gross then the poop, maggots, mold, and rat hairs you eat everyday must be horrifying.

I don't think about it lol

 

[elphaba91]

Yes, to be honest some dishes (especially the spaghetti bowls!) come a lot cleaner when the cat has a go at them first.

 

[design_mom]

To answer the OP. I don't feed my pets off human dishes, nor do I give them my plate to "finish up." One of my dogs has to be shoo'ed away from the dishwasher if it's open or she'll try to lick the dirty dishes, but I'm not too worried about it because the dishwasher will get it clean (I'm more worried about her licking a knife and cutting her tongue.)

[Regarding the article about rat hair, poop, etc that's allowed in food]
When I was in 8th grade, I was one of several girls who would rotate covering the phones in the school office so the school secretary took her lunch (it was an honor to be chosen). Anyway, on those days, I'd eat my lunch in the office and my teacher would often stop in to check his mailbox, etc. He loved to tell me (and the other girls) about all the rat hairs and other gross stuff that was allowed to be in our Fritos, Oreos, etc. Then, after we were sufficiently grossed out, he'd say "Well, if you're not going to eat it, may I have it?!"

 

[Moliphino]

I have been known to put a spoon or fork in my mouth and then used that same utensil to get more food, touching the plate and transferring some spit to the plate. Repeat.

I have, on occasion, licked a plate if there was something particularly delicious on it.

 

[aprilchem]

Ugh, no. We have never given our dogs human food, and we don't let them eat off of our plates. They eat dog food out of their own dog bowls.

 

[disneychrista]

No.

On the rare occasion that I gave the dog/cat 'human food' it was in put in their food bowl.

My daughters cats water bowl is a ramekin dish.

 

[Heather07438]

While we're on these weird subjects today, I still have this old memory. Was by a friend's house after school waiting for them to get home and saw the little sister come home, get out the big bag of Dorito's, lick the cheese off some chips, put them back and put the bag away. Looked like her after school ritual. I didn't have the heart to tell my friend.

 

[mumto3girls]

I was about to say”no” when I saw the dishwasher part. Our dishwasher is quiet, but I swear the dog has phenomenal hearing when it comes to hearing the dishwasher door being opened. She is always trying to lick plates and the icky soupy mess that accumulates on the door as I am loading. So I guess I am a “yes”. I run my dishes on the “ sanitize” cycle because of this and it dries the dishes better.

 

[Skippy918]

My Mil does this. She’ll scrape all the food scraps onto a plate and put it on the floor for the dogs to eat.

 

[NYCgrrl]

My parrot could share food off my plate but not most beverages. They either made him drunk (NO caffeine or alcohol!) or might have too much sugar for his system to absorb. He found the bubbles in club soda fascinating.

The man’s cats fished his martini olives out of his glass and pitched them around the apartment until we found them all dried up under furniture/corners later in the week . Never saw him feed them directly from his plate or share from it. His mother had successive Pekingese whom were always named “Missy”. The last one was the fattest dog I’ve ever seen in life courtesy of the roasted chicken she bought at Publix to give it as a treat. Poor dog was so obese couldn’t walk further than a foot out the front door to take care of business. The man and his brother swore that that Missy had eaten it’s predecessor...

 

[TipsyTraveler]

No, because I avoid giving animals people-food for their own health and because I try to discourage bad habits like begging. I won’t even tolerate a dog watching me eat — listening to them slob down my dishware would be enough to make me . I have used saucers and such to feed pets when they were sick and/or end-of-life and washed them in the dishwasher without a second thought. Honestly, I was more grossed out by “contaminating” my plates with meat than cat spit. I trust the dishwasher can take care of the germs. I just have a low tolerance for poorly behaved pets and don’t want an animal thinking what I’m eating is any of their business.