Cat owners with Dogs

I have an island type counter in my kitchen that the cats have claimed as theirs and since it's too far away from the stove or anything else to be of use, I let them have it. I feed them up there and they lay up there all day. It's a big joke with me and my mom but about 6 months ago I had put a box up there with some things I needed to take upstairs. There was a fleece blanket in the box and the cats claimed the box as theirs, it's still there and I don't really mind.
 
I also have a room for them upstairs. I have a 41 inch safety gate across the door so the dogs can't get it, but it has a little cat door built into the bottom of it so the cats don't have to jump over, they can just walk right in. The gate swings open for me to get in, one of the best pet investments I've made in a long time. That is the cat room basically. I have an old living room chair in there they like to cuddle on, some other cat toys and scratching posts, litter box and a free feeder in there as well. They also have a table that sits under a window so they can look out.
 
Can't wait until Gracie can't fit through the cat door anymore, getting close but for right now she can still squeeze through.

we have our cats' food and litter box in a spare room. our cats free feed, so we keep up a baby gate all the time. it is low enough that the cats can jump over, but so far (knock on wood) the dogs have not attempted to jump over it. i have been thinking of doing something similar to what glenda described... high enough for the cats to go under, but low enough that the dogs can't get under. one of our cats has some arthritis issues and is getting to where she doesnt want to jump over and ends up staying in the room most of the time.

edit:
trishanne420: where did you get teh gate you mentioned? it sounds like a great investment.

We set up a baby gate in the doorway to the laundry room. Since my cats are older 'senior' cats, the gate is positioned so that the cats can fit under the gate but the dog can't. That probably wouldn't work too well if you have small dogs. []

We have a different kind of gate blocking off the office. The cats can fit through a gap in the side of the gate. It is a removeable adjustable type gate with padded screws on the sides so you can create a large enough gap on the side that the kitties can fit through. Here is a link to a photo of the gate, you can clearly see the gap on the side. http://www.surreypetsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/FOURPAWSGATE.jpg

We feed our cats inside there cat tree. It works great...
 
Remember that cats should not free feed.  Get them on a schedule if they are not already.

ORIGINAL: mrgmfoster
Remember that cats should not free feed.  Get them on a schedule if they are not already.

Why?   My cats have always been free fed (with measured amounts).

70% of the world cats are obese.  Scheduled feeding helps control the cats weight.
 
If your cats are not over weight (by vet standards) then by all means continue, but if they are even a pound over weight I would get them on a schedule and carefully control there food.
 
We have 24 cats in today and every single one of them is over weight.
 

Cats seem to be better self-regulators than dogs.  I would think the TYPE of catfood (high calorie/fat) would have more to do with their weight than limiting feeding times.  It seems more overweight cats are usually over-treated animals - as in, "Here, have a can of tuna on top of your food, and the rest of my chicken parmesean... oh and a little kitty treat to go with that." 
 
As for where... all the suggestions are good.  A high bookshelf, far underneath something you can get access to, but the dogs can't/won't.  Good luck.

Right now I have a large counter in the bathroom. I guess you could call it a vanity. The cat's food is on top and underneath where a chair would go is the litterbox. Gertie still sneaks a kitty crunchy everyonce in a while. I have previously put the cat food on the dryer and the litterbox in a huge garden bathtub that we rarely used. It was just high enough that Gertie couldn't get in but very easy for the cat.

If your cats are not over weight (by vet standards) then by all means continue, but if they are even a pound over weight I would get them on a schedule and carefully control there food.

mrgfoster - Do you mean one should pick up the cat's food after 20 minutes or so? I have two cats that can stand to lose about a pound each. If I cut back their food they drive me batty with their meowing [] Any tips on putting the cats on a diet would be much appreciated.

As far as the op goes, we have a basement in which we keep the litter and their food. The basement door has a small cut out at the bottom that allows the kitties to come and go as they please. It worked great until....we got Dasher....he can slip right down the hole. [] Now we also put the litter and their food on tables down in the basement as well.