How do I keep my small dog out of the cat food?

Here is the issue;

We have a small young dog that we try to keep on a controlled diet, and
three older cats who have been used to having a bowl of dry food at all
times on the floor.

The dog, of course, wants to scarf up all the cat food.

We cannot move the food to an elevated spot because one of the cats is
too old to jump to it.

I think the cats would suffer a lot of anxiety were we to feed them
only once or twice a day and take the food away at other times.

What is the best approach here? Go to twice-daily feedings of the cats
with the dog restrained to a different room and suffer though the
cat-whining while they get used to it? Or is there some other way I
have not thought of?

Thanks!

-Ben Burch
benburch A-T pobox.com

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:38:20 GMT, Ben Burch ,
clicked their heels and said:

Here is the issue;

We have a small young dog that we try to keep on a controlled diet, and
three older cats who have been used to having a bowl of dry food at all
times on the floor.

How small and how young? In other words, will he be getting bigger?

The dog, of course, wants to scarf up all the cat food.

perfectly normal, but not healthy.

We cannot move the food to an elevated spot because one of the cats is
too old to jump to it.

You can build an area that the cats have to go UNDER instead.
Envision a cubbyhole with a pressure baby gate across it, only a few
inches off the ground, that the cats can scrunch under.

I think the cats would suffer a lot of anxiety were we to feed them
only once or twice a day and take the food away at other times.

They'd adapt and it would not be a bad thing. I did this with mine a
few years ago and they did just fine. They get fed 3x/day -
breakfast, dinner, and bedtime. The bedtime feeding for your cats
could be with the puppy closed away securely.

What is the best approach here? Go to twice-daily feedings of the cats
with the dog restrained to a different room and suffer though the
cat-whining while they get used to it? Or is there some other way I
have not thought of?

See above, but I'd do scheduled feedings AND blocking access.

--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

We put the cat food upstairs and baby-gated the bottom of the stairs part
way, leaving an opening big enough for the cats to move around. When oldster
cat didn't go upstairs as much we put the cat food in the laundry room with
a babygate in the doorway. Cut a whole in the plastic 'netting' only big
enough for cats to slip through.

In article , Janet B
wrote:

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:38:20 GMT, Ben Burch ,
clicked their heels and said:


How small and how young? In other words, will he be getting bigger?


A 8 lb7 month-old dachshund. Not much growing to go, and he is 6 lbs
smaller than the largest cat.