Ya know those "perches" that they have for cats?

[C.Ann]

You know - the things that kinda look like carpet-covered tree houses with holes in them for the cats to climb in and out of?

Does anyone know if they're available with an area for feeding dishes up there?

DD is having an awful time with her dog always getting into the cat food (she has 2 cats) so we were trying to think of a way to keep the food up high where he can't get it..

Also - any ideas on how to break him of that habit? He's less than a year old (got him summer as a puppy) - part German Shepherd - REAL smart - and other than that (and occasionally eating the cat doo-doo..Ewwwww) - he's a very well behaved animal..

 

[poohandwendy]

C Ann,
Check on ebay, there are tons of them and I am sure there is probably at least one with what you are describing.

I can't remember what word I used to search, maybe 'cat scratching posts' or something...but my first thought was, what a great idea to make these things and sell them on ebay (which is what these sellers are doing, most of them aren't used and you can specify carpet colors etc.). I just don't have the time or room for all of the materials.

good luck,
wendy

 

[MinnieMe2]

I know of no way to 'train' a dog not to eat food. It's best to keep the cat food out of his reach.

My solution to the problem is to keep the cats' food dish on the second floor, which is gated off. (We have bassets, and they love to eat.) I also keep the litter box upstairs, in a closet in the bathroom. I cut a cat-size hole in the door, then fixed it up so that it looks like a little house and decorated it with painted flowers, etc. It's cute enough to get compliments, and it keeps the dogs out of the l.b.

By the way, if your daughter's dog has access to the l.b., she shouldn't be using clumping litter. A 'clump' in a dog's intestines could create major problems necessitating surgery.....

 

[Lisa F]

http://angelicalcat.com/ has a ton of cat trees, I'm sure there are some that have a platform high enough up that it can be used for feeding. My mom feeds her cats (also has rambunctious dogs) on top of the front loading dryer. They also love it up there because it's nice and warm.

This is going to be really gross and I don't even know if it's true or not, but a friend told me that the reason dogs eat cat poo is that cats don't digest their food very effectively and dogs can smell the food in it. Still yucky, but I guess totally normal.

 

[katerkat]

I would check eBay, and maybe ask for a perch covered in a flat fabric instead of carpet if you buy from one of the people who make them themselves. My boys have a giant tree their Grampy built for them, and one level is flat - they could easily eat off it.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by MinnieMe2
I know of no way to 'train' a dog not to eat food. It's best to keep the cat food out of his reach.

---------------------------------

That's really odd.. For many, many years we have had a cat and a dog at the same time and our dogs NEVER touched the cat food.. Don't know how we trained them that way, but they just knew it was a no-no..

I'll have to search ebay for those cat perches!

 

[peg2001]

We have a bathroom gated off for the cats. Their food bowls are on the bathroom counter. The litter box is also kept in this bathroom.

There's no way to keep our dachshund out of cat food OR litter boxes otherwise.

Peggy

 

[DCLuvinit]

I keep the cat food on top of the dryer in the laundry room. I put a carpet remnant there so his claws don't scratch the dryer. We have a litter box with a cover that we drilled holes in where the top meets the bottom and use little butterfly screws to keep it in place, otherwise our 2 dogs knock the cover off and get in it... I live in FL, so the weather is mild enough for the cat to go outside - we used to have an insert for the sliding glass door that had a little pet door on the bottom and kept the litter box on the porch. But I stopped doing that when he kept bringing in all kinds of little 'friends', then letting them go free in the house!

 

[SugarBear]

We have the cat's bowls on the dining room table, they're the only ones who eat there.

 

[peg2001]

Originally posted by SugarBear
We have the cat's bowls on the dining room table, they're the only ones who eat there.

Ok, I have to ask. . .where do the people eat?

Peggy

 

[C.Ann]

LOL.. This is MY thread and I'm just amazed by the answers here..

I swear - our dogs NEVER went near the cat food OR the kitty litter boxes!!

Sure wish I could remember how we trained them not to!!

 

[SugarBear]

Originally posted by peg2001
Ok, I have to ask. . .where do the people eat?

Peggy

Anywhere they want.

 

[binny]

we had to put our cat food on the dryer at one point. it was the only place wouldnt eat.


C.Ann you should have this house that went to when I was younger. These people had more money than they knew what to do with and spoiled their animals terribly!
They had a 3 story house with a spiral staircase ( he built it himself it was beautiful but odd!) anyway they had a carpeted cat tree that went right through the middle of all 3 floors of this staircase! there were perches and ins and outs and tunnels everywhere!!

I think they had 3 cats for all of that.

I was always amazed when we went out there!

 

[MosMom]

Our cats eat on the kitchen counter. It is a separate counter from where I prepare food and it is really only used for the cats. They really don't hop up on our other counters so it has never been a problem.

 

[Lisa L from MI]

So funny, we were just talking about this the other day....my 4 cats have since passed but we still have Babe, our 8 yo Bullmastiff. I was just saying "remember how many times we would yell 'GET OUT OF THE CATFOOD' to Babe"

We kept the catfood on the landing and Babe would ALWAYS sneak but you could hear her collar clanging on the cat dishes....and we were FOREVER yelling that.....and it took a while getting used to not yelling that anymore.....

 

[Lachesis00]

You might be able to easily build one (cat perch) or have someone crafty do it for you. I've found instructions before

 

[LittleBlackRaincloud]

I have the cat food on top of the dryer...my problem is keeping my pug out of her litter box! I need to put it up also...just don't have anywhere.....