What kind of cat bowl should I get?
Is a plastic bowl ok for my cat?
What is better stainless steel or ceramic?
Should I use a glass bowl?
Are elevated cat bowls better?
If you are like me and have a cat, or maybe you are thinking about getting a cat, I always look for ways to improve my cat’s comfort. I have one indoor/outdoor kitty and 5 stray cats I take care of outside our apartment. Which also means that I need lots of cat bowls and there is a huge variety of bowls out there.
It is quite a bit easier to choose a bowl for an indoor cat compared to an outdoor cat. Inside I can use ceramic or glass bowls, which are not a good choice for feeding outside cats, as they can break and also slide around on a slippery surface like tile, concrete or even asphalt. So that leaves me with plastic or stainless steel.
For most of the year I prefer stainless steel as it is hot in Florida and the bowl does feel cooler than plastic in the heat. But even in South Florida we have cold days and sometimes very cold wind, and, on those days, I stay away from stainless steel bowls, as they get freezing cold and the warm water, I put in the food to keep the kitty’s food warm, gets cold too fast. So that leaves me basically with plastic bowls, or I could get insulated cat food bowls. My sister has a couple insulated bowls where she can fill hot water in the bottom container and then put the cat food bowl in – that keeps the food nice mouse warm for kitty to eat. But the food bowls are ceramic, and I don’t want to use those outside. So, there will always be decisions to make for your furry family members.
I prefer a stainless-steel bowl over everything else. They are easy to clean, have no odor and don’t breed bacteria, which means they are safe for our cats. But you have to be careful and make sure they are really stainless steel. The best way to check is smelling, if they give off any metal odor, are there is rust underneath the rims. If there is any indication for that then they are not stainless steel.
I bought 4 stainless steel cat bowls Gofetch Stainless Steel Cat Feeding Bowl for $5.00 a long time ago at Walmart, but as my cat family is growing, I needed some more. They are still available at Walmart for $10.73.
I also wanted to try some bigger bowls and maybe bowls that have a rubber on the bottom, so they don’t slide around. For the Gofetch stainless steel bowls, I made little baskets out of hot glue, so they won’t slide on the concrete.
The first ones I got were Yasma Cat Bowls Stainless Steel Pet Cat Bowl – set of 4 for $15.00 and Comsmart Stainless Steel Pet Cat Bowl – set of 2 for $12.00. Both sets are unavailable at the moment.
You notice the ‘stainless steel’ in the title – well, for from it. They had a rubber ring on the bottom, which you had to take off after washing, in order to dry the rim underneath. First it was very hard to take the rubber off and when I put it back on, I cut myself on the sharp bowl edges. I was not very happy with that, but the worst part was that the rim underneath the rubber was rusting and smelled like metal – a dead giveaway for those bowls not being stainless steel as advertised. So, I sent them back.
As winter was approaching and we were traveling for a month, I needed to get a few more cat bowls for our cat sitter that took care of our stray kitties. I decided to opt for 6 single serve 16oz plastic bowls Pureness Lightweight Small Dish, 16-Ounce for $6.00 for a set of 2. They are quite large and are perfect for dray or wet food. The cats can put their head into the bowl without hitting their whiskers on the rim. Now, being plastic, it came with the sliding problem. Their heads pushed the bowls around while eating. Only one of my cats is smart enough to use her paws to get the bowl back. The others just follow the bowl around. But other than that, I do like those bowls. Especially for my cat Papi, who only comes once a day from another community and is very hungry. So, he gets 2 5.5oz cans of wet cat food, and that fits perfectly into that bowl. These bowls are very easy to clean, and I wash them by hand after every use. They are available from Amazon for $6.90 at the moment.
I also decided to get 6 double dishes Van Ness Lightweight Small Double Dish, 8 Ounce per side for $1.03, as I was feeding both wet and dry food and having one dish for both is very convenient. They also slide around, but the kitties are used to them and sometimes they get a snack in the afternoon, and I fill one side with dry food and the other with water. They are very durable and easy to clean. As with the other bowls, I wash them also by hand after every use. 8oz per side is big enough to get every belly full. They are currently available from Amazon for $1.57.
Now our indoor cat has a Neater Feeder Express for Cats we got her almost 10 years ago. Which we basically use as a stand to put her cat dishes in. I cannot remember how much it was back then, but currently Amazon sells it for $24.99. I like it, as it is a great height for our kitty to sit comfortably while eating. It also keeps the ants out of her food. It has been used continuously through the last years and holds up perfectly. There is a plastic bottom and top with two stainless steel bowls st into the top. It is easy to clean and does not slide on the floor.
But as I mentioned, I use it more as a stand, because for our cat we have smaller cat bowls Whisker City® Stainless Steel Cat Bowl which are currently $9.00. Back when I got the 2 for our cat, they were about $6.00. We bought 6 more for our outside cats, as they are stainless steel and have sleeves and rubber on the bottom. I love this bowl, as they are easy to clean and stay in place while the cats are eating. But – when you wash them, water gets underneath that sleeve. I dry them on the side, but then I have to turn them to stand as water comes running out the bottom for a while. So, if you don’t turn them, you have water all over the place. That is the only problem I have with them.
Earlier this year my husband wanted elevated cat bowls, so I went searching and we bought SuperDesign Mess Free 15° Slanted Bowl for Dogs and Cats, Tilted Angle Bulldog Bowl Dog Feeder, Non-Skid & Non-Spill, Easier to Reach Food M/1 Cup Blue for $28.00 which is currently available for $20.00, and 4 S/0.5 Cup for $16.00. I like the design, as you can take the stainless-steel bowl out to wash and the plastic holder is elevated at an angle with rubber feet that keeps the bowls in place. The cats love them too, as it is so much more comfortable to eat for them in this position.
Let me know what kind of bowls – ceramic, glass, stainless steel, plastic – you are using and how you like them.