Question Of The Day, Friday, March 2

[Kat0121]

The kitchen table belongs to the cats. They cannot have their dishes on the floor or they would starve to death. The dog would (and has) inhaled their food in seconds. When I first got the girls, I thought they really liked their food because I would go to the dishes and they'd be empty. I figured they must be hungry so I gave them more. Within no time, the dishes were empty again. The difference the second time was I went to check on them and instead of finding happily munching kitties, I found the dog coming out of the cat room with a satisfied smile on her face and the cats glaring at her. Their dishes have not touched the floor since. My dog really likes Science Diet dry cat food (this is what the shelter gave us back then. They do not eat this now)

Back to topic:

Dinner time is at no particular time. usually around 7. DD eats in her room and I eat in the living room.

 

[Winchester]

When The Beast came into the house, we told her "The cats come first. Always. It's the law of the house." I put a plate of food down for Mollipop and Jackie tried to take it. I grabbed her and said, "NO! Cats come first!" She got it. I didn't smack her or anything, but she got it. She can be in the kitchen while I'm preparing the kids' meals and she'll prance around, but she will not go for their food. The cats go right to their places and start to eat. Jackie waits (im)patiently for me to get to her, but she won't go after their food. We don't free-feed; we can't, so they get fed on a fairly regular schedule. If The Beast needs a drink and there's a cat at the water dish, she will stand back and wait for her turn (when Boo was alive, they would drink at the same time, right next to each other). I will give the Beast credit for that; she knows the cats come first. She may not be happy about it, but she knows. (The only time she comes first is when we come home from work or being out and we have to take her outside. We do that as soon as we get home...and the cats seem to get that. The Beast needs to pee.)

The only reason I started a no-tv thing during dinner was because I worked at swing-shift and wasn't home often for dinner. Or, if I was, I was in bed. So when I was home and not comatose, I wanted us to talk. It was difficult because our son was into sports and he was always practicing something after school. It was important to find out what was going on, what he was doing, all that kind of stuff. And the no-tv rule just seemed to stick, even after he moved out.

 

[denice]

That's actually very good for Jackie. If I remember right she is a Beagle? They tend to be very food motivated which is why they are often prone to being overweight, they will eat whatever is there to eat until it is gone.

 

[Winchester]

Yes, she's a beagle. She is food motivated, but she was very easily trained to leave the cats' food alone. After they're all done eating, though, and I put their dishes in the dishwasher, she has no qualms about scarfing around on the kitchen floor to see if they left any morsels behind (much to her dismay, they don't). She likes her treats and I think she will often want to go out simply because she knows she'll get a carrot or slice of apple when she comes back inside. And when I hear a cat puking, the first thing I do is grab The Beast because she'll eat it in a second if she gets a chance. We're careful with her food because she will just eat and eat, so we have to measure it out for her.

No free-feeding here!

 

[cassiopea]

At home, dinner is usually around 4-6, eating in front of the tely.

If I am working, I'm usually given a dinner break around 6 - And I simply eat in the break room.

 

[duckpond]

It just me and my husband at home now, kids are grown. When the kids were home we ate dinner at the table, normally around 6. Now that is just us our dinner time varies quite a bit, and its most often in the den, watching tv and catching up on our day.