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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To believe feeding pets off plates is a tad unhygienic

73 replies

zignzag · 27/01/2013 10:21

Ok so I was house sitting and dog sitting lately. The dog a beautiful golden retriever is much loved and treated like another member of the family, which is to be admired. My kids were with me, who are used to visiting and staying in this house a good bit. Anyway after dinner I went to clear off plates into refuse bin when my little says ..."just let the plates down on the floor and the dog will clean them off" ! This happens after meals it appears. I'm not a fanatic about hygiene and I love my pets but is leaving them lick the plates clean a bit much?

I know some people will see nothing wrong and I know houses where cats are fed on counter tops in utility rooms etc but I think pets should not be fed around worktops or off plates

OP posts:
CreamOfTomatoSoup · 27/01/2013 10:25

My DM and DBro do this and bro did it in MY house with MY plates. YANBU but their house, their problem.

patienceisvirtuous · 27/01/2013 10:25

I put my cats tuna on a plate on the worktop - she then delicately takes each bit chunk by chunk and eats it off the worktop.

She also has a glass of water with her meal :o

Everything goes in the dishwasher together.

YABU.

Flobbadobs · 27/01/2013 10:26

Well, as long as the plates are properly cleaned after the pets have had a go I don't see the problem.

patienceisvirtuous · 27/01/2013 10:26

*cat's

BumpingFuglies · 27/01/2013 10:27

If the plates are washed properly afterwards, I don't see the problem?

FreudiansSlipper · 27/01/2013 10:27

Well it would be if they did not wash them after

My handsome little puss cat sleeps on my bed and I often wake up and find muddy paw marks on my sheets, jumps on the kitchen table, if you do put a plate down he will assume its for him and have a taste hardly hygienic but I do not really care :)

CailinDana · 27/01/2013 10:28

I can see why you're not keen on it, but it doesn't bother me at all, mainly because all our stuff goes through the dishwasher and comes out really clean anyway so it doesn't matter who uses it. Plus my cats don't carry any diseases that I know of so I don't mind them using our plates at all. I think it's a personal thing - either hating it or being ok with it is understandable.

pjmama · 27/01/2013 10:28

YABU, plates wash. Am totally with you about cats on worktops though.

Sirzy · 27/01/2013 10:29

although irrational as things are cleaned i do agree with you and find it odd feeding animals of plates (unless it is that animals own plate)

But I hate the idea of pets on kitchen worktops and similar things to

LazyMachine · 27/01/2013 10:30

Lazydog is our pre-wash!

It would only be unreasonable if we put them straight back into the cupboard after she finished her job... Grin

LazyMachine · 27/01/2013 10:30

Btw, Lazycat is NOT allowed onto tables or kitchen worktops!

patienceisvirtuous · 27/01/2013 10:31

I know I said YABU but having thought about this further, I am totally ok with sharing my plates with my cat but if I was eating in someone else's house and Si knew their dog shared the plates it might make me feel a tad ick :o

GlitterySkulls · 27/01/2013 10:31

as others have said, they get washed, i don't see the problem.

patienceisvirtuous · 27/01/2013 10:33

When you live in an open plan space as i do, keeping the mog off the worktops is nigh on impossible unless I monitor her every move.

D0oinMeCleanin · 27/01/2013 10:33

Dogs are excellent for removing crumbs and scraps, like mobile waste disposal units Grin

We use anti bac washing up liquid afterwards.

Original poster
zignzag · 27/01/2013 10:34

Yes I know it's probably not going to kill anyone and as I said I do love pets. Just would not feed them off my plates.

The way I would look at it is I might not mind sharing my plate with a dog but what about visitors, children etc. do not think its fair. Should you warn visitors that rusty had his breakfast off the plate you are going to have your slice of batten-burg off of.....

For those of you who do not mind pets eating off plates would you eating off plates in another's house where their dogs may have eaten off?

Not every house may worm and care for their dogs like you do!

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 27/01/2013 10:35

Sparkling Cat has her own plates. But they go in the dishwasher. Grin

MrsKeithRichards · 27/01/2013 10:35

I think it's gross, as is having a cat wandering about work tops

D0oinMeCleanin · 27/01/2013 10:35

Yes I would and I do and I know the dogs in that house are not wormed routinely. They are wormed as when needed.

crazycanuck · 27/01/2013 10:36

patienceisvirtuous a spray bottle of water set to mist is a good way to train cats to stay off worktops (has worked for me with 2 cats).

FreudiansSlipper · 27/01/2013 10:39

well handsome puss cat has his own bowls but when he has licked a plate I do not put it aside with the other licked plates it's goes in the dishwasher and is cleaned

So it I do not warn visitors and if they did ask I would use a party paper plate for them

Iteotwawki · 27/01/2013 10:41

As l

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 27/01/2013 10:42

How do you stop a cat wandering on worktops though?
Ours used to jump onto the microwave and get onto the boiler - on the topof the boiler about 12 inches from the ceiling.
We came home from work and couldn't find her- until we saw these little cat legs sticking out ...Grin

Chandon · 27/01/2013 10:44

I hate it when people do this, it is disgusting, but quite common in the UK, I think.

I get particularly annoyed when PIL invites his big dogs to te table, when at our house, to lick the plates. My Wedgwood! , seriously, faint...

Iteotwawki · 27/01/2013 10:45

As long as dog slobber isn't the only thing cleaning the plates! DDog often acts as a prewash for us but then everything goes through the dishwasher. The only thing that bothers me when pets clean plates is that not all human food is ok for dogs & I worry about accidental poisoning. The only things I know for certain to avoid are chocolate, onions & raisins. I'm sure there's other stuff DDog is happily lapping up that is terribly bad for him though.

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