We have four indoor animals.
Three dogs.
One cat.
Feeding them has become… a system.
Mostly because I’m blind.
If everything looks the same, eventually I’m going to grab the wrong thing. So I don’t make everything the same.
Hogan’s cat food is in a different container than the dogs’. Different shape. Different size.
Works for me.
Heloise is almost eleven.
She’s had more than a dozen teeth removed over the years, so every now and then we call her Fourteen Teeth.
She still has plenty of opinions.
I bought her a slow feeder bowl.
Then Hoss got one.
Then Hondo.
Now everybody eats a little slower.
We’re also trying a couple of puzzle toys.
The jury’s still out. The dogs seem interested. I like that dinner lasts longer than thirty seconds.
Hoss is the one with the sensitive stomach.
Food matters.
Treats matter too.
We’ve learned that one the expensive way.
Hondo, on the other hand, has never met a meal he didn’t think should be finished immediately.
Being blind changes how I notice things.
I don’t watch them eat.
I listen.
I notice who’s still crunching.
Who’s already checking somebody else’s bowl.
Who’s asking to go outside again.
And yes…
Sometimes I know somebody’s stomach isn’t happy before anyone else in the house.
Hondo isn’t subtle.
None of this is complicated.
It’s just a bunch of little systems that make life easier.
For me.
And I think for them too.
Things we’re using lately:
- Slow feeder bowls
- Puzzle toys (still testing these)
- Food for Hoss’s sensitive stomach
- Separate food containers for Hogan and the dogs
that blind chicken lady 