We have always fed the cats up on the work top as you can't seriously expect a dog not to snirfle a bowl of cat food that's left out all day on the floor.

Well our two never have, they know they're not allowed to!

Plus not a fan of cats on work tops, can't stop thinking about where their paws might have been previously if you catch my drift!

I could have taught the dogs not to eat the cat food it really never occured to me to do that, much easier to feed them on their own work surface which luckily is on the opposite side of the kiotchen to the cooking area and is where the o/h usually strips down his model car engines.

It's hard enough to stop any dog we've ever owned hovering behind the cat's when they're using their tray and eating the result let alone trying to stop them eating the cat's dinner.

I dont have a dog gate,but i do have to wedge the parcel shelf from my car behind front door so Vegas cant get to mail which drops through letter box-he will eat it otherwise!

The cat eats in the hall, the dogs are confined to the kitchen unless told otherwise, so they don't get chance to go near the cat's dinner. She also toilets outside so no problem there either!

Horses for courses as they say.

That's one way I suppose!

oooops-i forgot something else!

I also have to put a clothes horse infront of bathroom so he cant get inside.He got in there once and destroyed 6 bog rolls,a towel,soap (yuk!),bog roll holder,bog brush (double yuk!) and bath mat.

Im aware that the easiest option would be for me to shut the bathroom door,but i leave the window wide open along with downstairs to create good ventilation through the house!

A normal babygate by the way would not be much of a challenge for Vegas to jump so little point of me even trying.

I don't need a gate at the moment as I find Rosie's crate to be all the confinement she needs and she's needing that less and less, the only place I need to keep her out of except when she's crated is the stairs and at the moment there is a door at the bottom of the staircase. When we move next month however and the new puppy arrives I may get a gate as the stairs are more accessable. Neither the dog or cats are allowed in the bedrooms and I don't like puppies and young dogs going up and down stairs.

My bigger dog can jump them but my little dog is ok and cannot escape haha

Steve, you have an eventful life!