Cat food saucers in the dishwasher - minging or fine?

[UsedtobeFeckless]

Row raging at work over whether putting the saucers you've been feeding the cat from in the dishwasher at 60 degrees is a no brainer or imperilling your family with horrible cat-borne lurgies ... What do you lot think, please?

Fine

I usually wash all the pet bowls in the bathroom sink, with their own sponges (one for the cat's bowls, the other for the rabbit's / guinea's, purely to keep any meat remains away from the herbivores).

If DP comes across any of the bowls (even the guinea's, which tends to have bits of poo stuck to the outside) he'll wash them in the kitchen sink. Presumably when everything else has been done, and possibly not with the same sponge as he uses with our plates, but I wouldn't put it past him.

We've not gone down with the dreaded lurgy. Yet.

What dreaded lurgy though Rabbit? Humans are the main source of any infections you might get - if you touch anyone the chances of catching something from them is high. Animal diseases on the other hand are mostly not passed from animal to human. Besides if you ever touch your animals then that'll be how any infection will pass - particularly with cats who have dried spit all over them.

Washing towels separately! We're definitely doomed ...

Also its contained as well, guess like the advice on not washing chickens now so you don't flick possibly contaminated water everywhere.

I know in my sensible head that it's fine, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
My sister chucks the dog bowl in the washing up bowl before I've finished our plates etc and I rage. Completely unreasonable I know but just feels icky.

My partner does it for his pets at his mums, also uses a human knife for the cats and dogs then puts it in the dishwasher then back in the draw so it's never the same one

Grosses me out but I don't have pets. My sister washes hers separately (no dishwasher) and uses one fork for them and keeps it away from the others imo that's the way it should be done

We do it. But then DH gives the cat the roast tin to lick before he washes it up when he thinks I'm not looking.
I think it's truly grim but she does do a good job, better than a scourer and I don't eat meat.

You think that is minging? My DH used a kitchen scourer to scour dog shit off his shoes then put the scourer in the dishwasher.

After I had yelled and screamed and dragged it out again and chucked it I then ran the diswasher through on several cycles without any dishes in it.

[shudder]

and uses one fork for them and keeps it away from the others

What do you think is lurking in a can of pet food? It's just food.

I don't like having to touch or scape cat food, so we usually feed our little darling on paper plates, but I have no qualms about putting any china plates he does use in the dishwasher.

@ CornChips Jesus wept!

Tell me about it. I was so horrified.... and thought what the fuck does he do when i am not around to see it????

I actively refuse to have anything in my house that will not go in the dishwasher. It's never occurred to me to not put them in, though the PP with the separate cat food fork reminded me that my DM used to do the same thing

Fine. You should have seen what my dad has put through the dish washer. I bet you all put knifes or scissors that has touched raw meat in the dish washer...

I put hop up stools through the dishwasher. God only knows what is on them (which is why they get washed - I cringe when a DC picks one up, moves it across the kitchen, hops up and gets their hands straight into whatever we are cooking).

Ooh - stealthsquiggle. I was looking at ours only last night and wondering if it would fit along with all the two little steps in the bathrooms and the kiddy potty seat

Ours go in, once any food bits have been scraped off and the dishes given a quick rinse. DH is crap though - I've pointed out the cleaning stuff for the cats dishes and then found him using my pot scourer. Grrr

It's fine - I do worse...

We have 3 cats. We briefly rinse their dishes before loading into the dishwasher.

We are still breathing.

People who have separate stuff, is it contamination from the food or from the cat that is the concern?

Thank god this thread is full of sensible posters.

It's fine. Our cats sleep on/in our bed. I have a friend who thinks this is minging and seriously her house is fairly filthy. Always makes me

I'm reassured - thanks all!

I do usually towels separately, mainly because I blitz through the house on a Monday, change all the beds and towels, etc and there's enough towels to make up a load.

I don't keep pet stuff separate though. I use a fork out of the drawer, it goes through the dishwasher then back in the drawer.

I always thought pet food was covered by the same standards as food for human consumption, so I'm not likely to catch anything horrific from sharing dishwashered forks.

My cat is currently asleep on my lap. If he really wanted to kill me via germs (actually, I'm pretty sure he does) it'd be more efficient to do it while sitting on me than sharing the dishwasher

I once had a housemate who complained about me using "the people spoons" to serve catfood.

I pointed out that since I had bought all the spoons and all the plates and he never washed up that it didn't really matter what he thought. But he should feel free to buy himself his own spoon.