Just curious about what other people have done to baby proof their pets' food and water bowls. Our house is small, which means our living room and dining room are just one big room. My almost 11-month-old son is crawling everywhere, now, and when I set him down in the living room, he almost instinctively crawls to areas where he's not supposed to be, which includes my cat's food/water dishes in the dining room. I'm pretty good about keeping an eye on my son and following him where he goes, but he can be pretty quick sometimes, and before I know it, he's popped a couple of pieces of the cat's dry food into his mouth. Luckily, I've been able to pop them right back out again, but I'm afraid I might not be fast enough the next time. I plan on putting a baby gate up leading into the kitchen (I know, it's a little late now that he's getting into everything), but our kitchen is small, and I would be afraid the cat would just be underfoot all the time if I put her food in there (I can't put it on the counter because I have very little counter space, and that just seems unsanitary to me). Does anyone know of any special pet food dishes that are baby proof? Should I try to move the dishes to the kitchen after it's gated, anyway? Is there anywhere else I could put it where it's accessible for my cat and easy for me to remember to refill? Thanks for the advice!
We bought some baby gates, and I put one in the entryway of our kitchen. I keep the cat's food/water dishes in there, now, and I keep the gate up off the floor just enough, so that she can slip right under, but our son can't get into the kitchen with her! Thanks for all of the help, everyone!
Do you have a laundry room or a basement? That is where we keep our pet needs. This way it is blocked off from our two children, 18 mos and 4 mos, and it is out of the way. Maybe you can put on top of your dryer or something? Good luck!
I had to laugh at this because my daughter does the same thing, except I once caught her munching on a dog biscuit she had found at my mother's home! Talk about gross!! I actually thought it was a biter biscuit, but I noticed she started making weird faces...yuck, yuck lol. What I did, since both my mom and I have pets at both of our homes, is either put the bowls up while my daughter is walking around, or use a baby gate to seperate her from the bowls. Can you put the bowls in, say, the kitchen while your baby is crawling around and use a gate to seperate the room? Or, just temp. put them up where he can't get them.
Hi A.! I have the same problem with some of the kids that I babysit! But I have a dog, and we had to set a schedule that I would feed/water her and then pick the bowls up. For cats, since they are so independent, I used to just put the cat bowls up on a box or ledge so that she could just jump up, eat, and then jump down. I made it all sturdy so that there was no way the kids could get to it, unless they were walking, but thats when they would be in a different room! Hopefully that will help. It is a crazy thing to deal with!! Good luck!
A.,
Moving it to the kitchen where it's gated is a good idea. The cat can go under if you leave a small space or jump over if the gate is all the way to the floor. That's what my daughter in law does. Where's the litter box?
Try not to put the food near the litterbox if you can because sometimes this can lead to litterbox aversion. And nobody wants that. One idea you might try is using a big cardboard box that you can cut out a cat door and make you cat a little "restaurant" depending on how crafty you are or whether you mind have a cardboard box in your house, I 'm sure you could find some nice paper to cover it with. If it is tall enough you might not even need to close the top to make it easier to reach in, and your little one can just peek in at the kitty instead of joining the meal. Don't forget a waterproof placemat (kids placemats are much cheaper than the ones in the pet section).
Good luck!
HI A.,
I have 2 cats (3 when my son was a baby) that are indoor kitties, we made our garage into their "outside" put the litter out there and food and water as well. They just knock at the door when they want in and out. Our plan is to put a kitty door in for the eventually. IF you can't do something like that, I would gate the food and water bowls. Is there a guest room or office that you could gate off for your cat? Leave a reminder for yourself to refill - on the fridge - I always forget to clean the litter box (Husband does it each day) when husband is out of town! Good luck!
