Hello! I hope this is OK to post... We welcomed a Labrador puppy into our world in December. He’s 7 months now and following lockdown and our working from home arrangements he’s gained himself free range during the day and overnight to the downstairs of our home which is open plan. Up until now we’ve crated whilst at work and previously had baby gates everywhere but now we have one just over the staircase (with a cat flap in it as the upstairs is their territory). We have two cats both of whom are at various stages of acceptance of this new arrival! Does anyone have any ingenious tips for feeding cats downstairs with a Lab in the house? Open to any suggestions. Obviously the floor is out of the question as given the chance he will inhale their whole daily food portion in 10 seconds flat. We’ve reluctantly tried the kitchen counter but the dog will now jump up at the counter which is a behaviour we worked so hard to phase out but the temptation of the cats, plus cat food made it too irresistible to not jump up. All suggestions welcome!
We have a similar problem but with two dogs. One beagle and our lab puppy. Can you put the cat food in a bathroom and train the cats to ask for it in there? Or maybe upstairs if the dog can’t get up there without being let up?
The problem with cats is they graze and don't usually eat it all at once. Therefore constant tempation is there for your dog. I have always had dogs and cats. I feed the cats with my dog watching and can leave her nearby if I am in the same room, but would not fancy the chances of her leaving it if i was not there. To be fair, its too much ( in my opinion) to expect them to leave it. Also the cats need space to eat, not be on guard for larger creatures that will eat their meal. I feed mine in a room where the cats are on their own with the door shut and a cat flap directly outside.
Thanks both. Yes I agree completely that it’s too much to ask of a dog, especially an ‘eat anything’ Lab puppy to resist cat food. Also that it’s unfair on the cats and will likely create a worse association in the long run between them and the pup. We tested cat food behind a puppy gate at the bottom of our staircase last night (it’s got a little dog leg bit so has a mini landing) and this worked well with the food down for the cats to graze for 9 hours overnight. Cats got to eat, pup got to watch from a distance, which helps with the novelty wearing off (I hope). this’ll do as a short term set up but I’d like to live a life where I don’t have cat bowls at the bottom of my stairs... however I’m thinking this is a compromise of getting to live with cats and dogs.
I think you might be right. I have a cat bowl in my hall. At the bottom of my stairs. There's a baby gate across the hallway so the dog's can't get close to him, while he's eating. It's not ideal. But my cat would feel very stressed if he had to eat with dogs breathing down his neck. In the past I've also fed cats in an upstairs bathroom. They really do need their own eating space though.
