Cat debate, need back up!

[ProudMamaBear92]

Okay so I need help to settles this once and for all because it’s a constant argument in our house. I’ll try keep it concise.

We have two lovely cats, one pedigree one moggy, both equally gorgeous. One was a surprise present from DH for my 30th, the other inherited.

DH hates me cleaning the cat bowls in the house and insists I clean them outside. I think this is ridiculous. I use a sponge just for the cats, I wash them seperately with hot water and soap and clean the sink after. I prefer they eat inside so I can clean the bowl soon after they are done. He makes them eat outside and then the bowls get gross with flies and slugs because we work all day.

He wants me to use the garden hose to rinse off and just let them dry outside, but then they don’t get properly clean and the cats will get sick. So he suggests I sit outside with a bowl of soapy water and clean them there. I’ll add I have a toddler and work full time, who has time for that?! Also means DS can’t go outside with the gross cat bowls because he’ll touch them.

I refuse to play along, try do it my way when he’s not there and he gets really angry about it and we argue.

AIBU??

What the hell is wrong with him??

We probably don't wash them regularly enough. But then, they eat dead things and drink out of puddles. And they're never ill.

Bleach. You need bleach. And acid. And fire.

Surely everyone just feeds the cats outside, burns the bowls and any other paraphernalia each time, then dissolves the ash in acid. Followed by a bleach shower for themselves and the neighbours for six doors in each direction. Anything less and you are just a filthy minger.

Actually fuck it. Just fire the entire street after feeding time. You can't be too careful.

Two small dogs, lots of bowls, washed after each use in sink (at end of “human” washing up) rinsed thoroughly as they can smell any trace of detergent left in them. Try to use the “dog fork” but really use any one. Cat and dog food smells nasty but it’s much worse if the bowl has been outside in the sun all day with flies and baked on bits. He is being a twat. Ask him to clearly articulate the problem (as he sees it). If it’s bollocks (and it will be) tell him no - the sink is fine.

That’s ridiculous. I’m a vegetarian & I still wash the cat bowls in my sink.

Absolutely ridiculous. My cats bowl gets rinsed and put in the dishwasher or washed in the sink after our dishes.

Wrong husband alert 🔔 Next question?

That’s honest I suppose. Disgust is disgust. But there’s no real reason for that feeling, which raises some questions I guess.

How bizarre. What does he think about washing a raw chicken covered chopping board in the sink?! Surely there’s a simple solution though that if he wants the dishes washed in a certain way then he can do it.

Your husband is either on another planet or is insisting on such a ridiculous routine so that he doesn’t have to deal with the feeding and cleaning the bowls ..
Cat food isn’t alien , and no matter how clean your house I’m sure they lick things (any maybe you) with the same tongue they lick the bowls, so I’m not sure what his point is. What you are doing is exactly what I’d do too !

If I fed them outside, I'd never get them in for the night. Coming in is the price they pay for dinner.

I do the same as most people - in the sink with their own sponge. They have their own fork but sometimes it's not available and I just use another one! I use our own side plates to put cooked chicken on sometimes, then just put the plates in the dishwasher. We're all still alive and not ill! I wouldn't want to feed my poor cats outside, they wouldn't like it and especially not in bad weather! What do yours do if it's raining or really cold?

Mine get washed in the sink with hot water and fairy liquid. The spoons just go in the dishwasher after a rinse (along with the human spoons 😱).
It's cat food that has been manufactured under sterile conditions.

It's just cat food fgs!

If he wants it done a certain way, he can do it.

Cats eat in the utility room, bowls washed in the utility room

Edited your DH is wrong

It actually doesn't smell that bad! The dry biscuits on the other hand...!!!

🤷🏼‍♀️ I gave an honest answer to OP’s request for “help” in settling her dispute with her husband.

incidentally, I think sometimes one needs to behave against one’s own preferences in order to accommodate the feelings and wishes of one’s partner.
That might be a bit too controversial for MN but I’m no stranger to controversy 🙂

I wash them in the kitchen sink with hot soapy water. It's cat food not toxic waste. I use normal teaspoons for dishing the food and then they go in the dishwasher

Same. Wash in hot soapy water. Rinse. Dry with a piece of kitchen towel

Ridiculous op.
Mine just go in the dishwasher.
Job done. If dh didn't like it (although he honestly wouldn't let it use up any of his valuable headspace), he would bwle very welcome to wash them himself!

Mine go in the dishwasher with the dog bowl

I wash my cat's bowls every night after I have finished our own dishes in the kitchen sink. I use a separate dish brush for them. The cats have only licked them with their tongues- as I figure it they lick themselves all over and then I cuddle and stroke them and they lie on the bed, sleep on the sofa, roll on the floor so their saliva is everywhere in the house anyway. Exposure to animal germs builds a strong healthy immune system.

Your DH is bonkers. What does he think is going to happen.

Our cat dishes and cutlery go in the dishwasher.