Being a pet owner is a lot of responsibilities being added to your plate. Having a pet is very rewarding. Sometimes you have to come up with solutions to your pet issues. Some of those issues include changes to your home.

My last home had a lot of room. It was nice. When I decided to downsize it came with some obstacles I had to find my way around. One was moving from a house that gave my cat it's own space in the basement. A space that I could keep my dogs from accessing.

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My dogs were always a fan of eating my cat's food. They also loved to clean out the litter box and either eat what was in there or move it around my home. So when I moved into a smaller home I had to punt.

That included finding a place that my dogs couldn't access. So I found this item called the Cat Hole.

credit: Melissa Bartlett
credit: Melissa Bartlett
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It basically was a doggie door for my cat. One that my dogs could not squeeze their big behinds through. This was installed in my laundry room. Now behind that door was Twilight's litter box and cat food. Problem number one is solved.

Problem number two was what to do with my dogs when I took a quick trip out of town to see my daughter. I would go broke getting sitters each time. They were pretty much self-sufficient except for feeding them and giving them shelter.

So I first decided to leave my detached garage door access giving my dogs access to their dog kennel. Then I thought there had to be a better way.

credit: Melissa Bartlett, TSM
credit: Melissa Bartlett, TSM
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So I combatted this issue by placing a doggie door leading into my detached garage. There was no way to have one installed in my home. I thought of every logical way but with my screen doors, that was not happening.

My garage was the next best thing. I also added a dog run inside so that the dogs couldn't escape when I returned home and opened the garage door. I also bought automatic feeders that would give my dogs food throughout the day.

credit: Melissa Bartlett, TSM
credit: Melissa Bartlett, TSM
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This way they had something to look forward to. My feeders also let me record my voice calling for them. So I still had interaction with them. I was also over-prepared. I have cameras up in my backyard so I could check on them and make sure they were doing ok.

Dog Feeder Photo
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With a little planning and thinking outside the box, even these problems can be overcome.

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