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Post by heretoday on Mar 18, 2010 4:24:24 GMT -5
I have one cat who is sick and needs canned food mixed with meds and another cat who is addicted to canned food. It is so disgusting trying to keep up with the dried cat food dishes. Also I have the same problem with cutlery, always behind and have a potful (or two) sitting by the sink. I know some people buy plastic, however I was reduced to p/t hours at work and don't have much $. Plus the plastic knives and forks I have seen always seem to break. The spoons might be ok. Any other ideas please?
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Post by bigtimetroubles on Mar 18, 2010 4:47:43 GMT -5
do u have a dishwasher? I stick my dogs bowls into dishwasher every once in while....just my two cents of an idea if you have one....hugs btt
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Post by heretoday on Mar 18, 2010 5:28:35 GMT -5
thanks btt, but I don't have one. It rains here quite alot in the winter so I put some outside but it is not really a good solution.
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Post by lizzie on Mar 18, 2010 6:20:05 GMT -5
Hi, I have experimented with cheap paper plates for cat dishes, in the past. As the wet food can soak through, I would put the dishes on several layers of newspaper. Then I would throw out the paper plates and a layer or two of newspaper after each meal.
I think the frequency of changing the dishes makes a big difference - most wet food sets like cement after a couple of hours! I use Corelle dishes for my cat now, he has a clean dish every morning, and I just put his used dish in the sink with some water in it - then I wash it when I do my own. I used to have lots of dishes when I had two cats, and then found that I tended to let them build up - now I just have two dishes and that has simplified things a lot!
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Post by DJ on Mar 18, 2010 7:49:51 GMT -5
i have 5 cats and they get individually fed twice a day... they get supplements and meds.. when i feed them in the morning i walk through, pick up each dish, set them to soak in the sink with a bit of dish soap and filled with hot water.. dole out their breakfast food, put that down and medicate them, go back to the kitchen and get a cup of coffee and scrub down the breakfast dishes with a stiff bristled brush... i have a dishwasher but it's a joke as far as getting caked on stuff off and is better at -baking it on- with the drying cycle so things can't have particulates still on them....
a quick spray of pam on each bowl also helps make the gunky food clean up and off easier...
i pretty much repeat that process at night... the soak in super hot water with some detergent usually works for me...
for cutlery i do the same type of soaking thing.. i'll leave them soaking upright in a large tumbler filled with hot water, if something doesn't want to loosen i'll pour boiling water over it in whatever it's soaking in... quick scrub with a bristle brush....
if it's something i know that will get encrusted on if i let it sit i try to remember to give it a quick wipe off with a paper towel or napkin... eggs and cheese are common crusting offenders in ourhousehold so i try to wipe them off after the meal and before soaking...
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Post by charis on Mar 18, 2010 12:20:18 GMT -5
The idea posted about using layers of scrap paper seems very sensible--we all have lots of that lying around
A very old fashioned way to clean cutlery is to keep a little flower pot of sand next to the sink. You take the dirty fork or knife and jab them into the sand several times and it takes off everything, including melted cheese---do not do this with silver or silverplate! My great grandma kept a flower pot full of sand in her pantry to clean knives.
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Post by Chris on Mar 18, 2010 15:59:54 GMT -5
I have only one fork I use for my cats' canned food -- and I rinse it immediately and then wash it with our stuff. It's different from the others.(it's a fork left from an old set) Also, I use the Corelle desert size plates too - they clean off real easily if you get to them before the food hardens -- and they soak off real well -- I seldom leave them sitting long enough for food to harden on though -- and I admit to using the create a size paper towels more than I probably should to wipe the plates clean before washing. It can get tricky unless I keep up with it immediately. I used to use small paper plates but I truly can't afford to do that anymore.  |
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Post by Butterfly on Mar 18, 2010 16:16:33 GMT -5
I use Dixie 5 7/8" paper plates for my kitty who gets special canned food. I use 2 of them at a time and they are thrown away 2x a day. They do not leak or cause a problem. I bought a huge bag of them a long time ago at Costco for very little money and using 2 at a time (4 a day total) costs next to nothing. I would/will use generic when my large supply runs out but the Dixie plates were cheaper at Costco than I could get generic anywhere else.
I use generic plastic cutlery for regular eating and get a box with about 30 pieces for 99 cents. I get mine delivered with my groceries from Safeway but I bet you can also find it at the dollar store. I do use "real" cutlery for non-eating tasks like cutting up food during prep, etc. But those just go immediately into the dishwasher and, since there's not many of them, clean up is a breeze.
In my particular situation, I don't think it costs me much more, if any, to use the generic plastic cutlery and paper plates than it would to clean "real" cutlery and dishes and it's certainly cheaper if you factor in the non-squalor benefit.
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Post by Magpie on Mar 18, 2010 22:07:58 GMT -5
Unless there is a medical reason for leaving food out at all times, pick up the plate within 30 minutes of feeding so you can rinse it. Its better for the cat to be a bit hungry before feeding, rather than being able to eat out of boredom and get overweight.
Maggie
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Post by CaringFriend on Mar 19, 2010 1:00:44 GMT -5
I think the frequency of changing the dishes makes a big difference - most wet food sets like cement after a couple of hours! I use Corelle dishes for my cat now, he has a clean dish every morning, and I just put his used dish in the sink with some water in it - then I wash it when I do my own. I used to have lots of dishes when I had two cats, and then found that I tended to let them build up - now I just have two dishes and that has simplified things a lot! I do the same. It sure keeps life simple. I put my cat's used dish in the sink, add a tiny drop of liquid dish detergent and hot water to the dish. It can then be washed after sitting for a few minutes, or it can sit until you wash your own dishes - as Lizzie has suggested. Dawn for dishes is your friend!!!  Speaking of Dawn and other liquid dish detergents, I make mine last twice as long. They are so concentrated, it doesn't take much to do the job. What I do is keep the empty bottle and pour half of a the contents of a new bottle in it. Then I add water to each bottle until it is filled and give it a shake to mix it. Works like a charm!  Heretoday, if you have a potful of cutlery beside the sink, does it have water and dish detergent in it? No? Fill the pot with HOT water and detergent and let them soak. Go back later, rinse, dry, and put away. After you get the cutlery under control, keep after it and the cat dishes daily. They will almost wash themselves when they soak in hot suds. On a daily basis you could try to get into the habit of soaking the cutlery in a mug or glass before rinsing and putting away. |
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Post by zen on Mar 19, 2010 1:13:04 GMT -5
When both of our pups were alive we would often reuse the plastic containers from frozen dinners - they are small dogs, and Hector loved to pin down his food plate with his paw. These worked great when they both had most of their teeth pulled as elderly toy breeds often do. It was even an extra treat if we left a bit of people food in the container - works great for a finicky eater.
Wet dog food grosses my whole family out - hubby calls it 'tubes' - as in honey, will you get Pablo his plate of tubes for dinner. ick!
I agree with CaringFriends advice on letting cutlery soak in hot soapy water - we do the same and it works like a charm.
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Mar 19, 2010 8:00:43 GMT -5
I buy disposable plastic plates and use them for canned cat food. My cat eats canned Fancy Feast once a day plus dry food left out all day. I dump the dirty plastic plate daily. I hate smells!
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Mar 19, 2010 14:56:08 GMT -5
And if you're soaking anything greasy, a little vinegar to the soaking water will cut the grease.
Don't use very hot water for soaking anything with protein (eggs, meat, cheese, etc,) because the heat will denature the protein, making it harder to remove.
For stuck-on food, use table salt or baking soda as an abrasive cleanser. Effective and safe.
When I have an empty container of soap, shampoo, detergent, etc, I add some water, shake, and use it for soaking. Practically free!
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Post by heretoday on Mar 20, 2010 18:19:05 GMT -5
Thanks very much for all your helpful suggestions, esp. soaking the cutlery with different things, will print out the replies!! And also for the suggestions re the cat food dishes, kitchen and dirty things stacked around is the worst problem I have.
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Mar 24, 2010 2:44:40 GMT -5
 , my first thought was....doyou have a dog, too? my dog knows that when the cat finished up, it's allllllll hers. they are clean as clean as can be, sparkly shiny afterwards. Mine, too! They also try to help me clean the litter box!  |
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