Cleaning the food bowls - how often?

grogs

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Hi,

Over the last 3-4 weeks, I have moved my 4 guys from a diet of almost exclusively dry food to one that's 50%+ wet. Right now, I feed them dry in the morning from one set of bowls and then feed them wet on another set in the evening. one can when I first get home and one can a couple of hours later. In the last couple of weeks, I have fed them wet on the weekend mornings as well, so 100% wet food on those days.

I'm just curious how often I need to clean the bowls I'm using to feed them wet. I don't clean their normal (dry food) bowls very often, but with the wet food I've been cleaning them after pretty much every meal. The only exception is that I feed both of the cans at night (a couple of hours apart) off the same bowls before washing them. Do I need to clean the bowls this often or am I being overly paranoid? I don't have a big problem cleaning their bowls every night or even twice a day, but I'm going to be out of town soon. I have a friend who will feed my cats while I'm away, but asking her to clean the bowls every day or twice a day is probably more than she can do. I'd eventually like to go 100% wet, but I'll probably have to have her feed them dry food while I'm gone if she can't clean the bowls twice a day.
 

cat.ling

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I always wash the bowls/plates after wet food has been on them for one feeding (or 2 if they're only a few hours apart). I consider it like our regular food-- would I want to eat off the same dirty plate the next day or even later at night if I'd eaten off it in the morning?

I wash the dry food bowls every few days or when it looks dirty to me.

That's just me though. I tend to be a bit more fastidious than my other friends, so I don't know about other people. I don't let other people do my dishes because I don't think they wash them clean enough.


For your friend, what about disposable plates? Plastic or heavy duty paper plates would do nicely, and she'd just have to throw them out after each meal.
 

missymotus

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Mine are raw fed so I make sure to take up the plates after each meal, at least put it in the sink, I have tons of cat plates and don't wash up everyday even for my own dishes.

Back when I fed dry, I'd wash that bowl every few days.

For the pet sitter, I'd either use disposable or ask if she's wash up for a little extra money.
 

carolina

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Dry food dishes: every day,when I replenish their food; wet food dishes: after every meal...
 

skimble

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The dry food leaves an oily residue on the dish and the cats saliva from picking up the dry kibble leaves a slimy residue so, I put out a clean dish daily and after every wet meal. Clean water and bowl each day.

I have a large supply of correlle plates and bowls collected from garage sales or discount stores. Also have a stack of stainless steel bowls that I have picked up on sale. That way I can put the dirty ones in the dishwasher and get a clean one.
 

proudmamiof4

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I wash my kitties bowls between each feeding.The dry food bowls always have an oily residue, and the wet food bowls, I just worry about germs!!
 
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grogs

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Originally Posted by Cat.Ling

I always wash the bowls/plates after wet food has been on them for one feeding (or 2 if they're only a few hours apart). I consider it like our regular food-- would I want to eat off the same dirty plate the next day or even later at night if I'd eaten off it in the morning?
Yeah, that's been my line of reasoning. Sometimes I do think "But I don't lick other people's butts," though.
Clean after every meal does seem to be the consensus though, so I'll keep doing what I've been doing.

Originally Posted by missymotus

Mine are raw fed so I make sure to take up the plates after each meal, at least put it in the sink, I have tons of cat plates and don't wash up everyday even for my own dishes.
Yeah, I wish. I live in the stone age unfortunately.
I have no dishwasher and my sink is a single basin sink, so I really can't let more than a few dishes pile up at once or the sink becomes unusable. I'll definitely get some more when I move into a new place with a bigger sink and a dishwasher in a year or two.

Originally Posted by missymotus

For the pet sitter, I'd either use disposable or ask if she's wash up for a little extra money.
Disposable sounds like a good idea. I don't normally like to use disposable things, but under the circumstances, I think it's justified. It's not a money issue, but she has back and migraine problems, so I don't want to make her do any extra avoidable work.
 

alicatjoy

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I'm a person who tends to be overly conscientous regarding both my health and that of my loved ones (including the kitties, dogs, and bird) so I may not be the best example, but, when it comes down to it I'd far prefer to be over zealous about cleaning than not following proper husbandry skills enough. That being said, I clean my kitties' dishes after each meal. I feed a portion of dry food both in the morning and in the evening and feed a 3 ounce can of wet food (per cat) each evening. The dry food dishes get washed with soap and warm water in the morning before I feed and again in the evening. The wet food dishes get picked up immediately once the cats are finished eating and are washed before being put away until their meal the following night. Water bowls are washed and refilled on the same schedule as the dry food and anytime in between as necessary. I also disinfect the dishes further about once weekly by using a 50/50 bleach water solution and then placing them in boiling water for about 10-15 minutes. I replace their dishes yearly.

I use stainless steel dishes, but if you're using a plastic dish I would suggest washing them even more often as the plastic tends to wear down and bacteria can get trapped within any scratches or dimples in the material. I also found that I needed to replace their plastic dishes every 3 months so it is far more cost effective, in my opinion, to use either stainless steel or ceramic dishes. I figure there are so many unavoidable health issues that can arise that the ones that can be avoided should be. But, again, that's just me...

If you're having someone come in to care for your cats while you're away, I would definitely consider purchasing disposable dishes for use during that time. They are an added expense and aren't ideal for long-term use, but it would give me peace of mind to know that my cats were not being exposed to the potential for harmful bacteria. If you're comfortable with asking the person caring for your cats to wash their dishes on the same schedule that you do (and trust that they will do so), then that is an alternative, but be prepared to offer some additional money if that wasn't in the original agreement.

Like I said, I tend to be a bit over zealous about hygiene -- both mine and that of my fur-kids. But, my motto is "better safe than sorry" and it's what works for me. Regardless of what you decide on, good luck, try to relax and not worry too much, and enjoy your trip!
 

goldenkitty45

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I'm lax at cleaning the bowls - they get one meal dry, one meal canned. My guys pretty much lick the bowls clean, so I wind up washing in soap and hot water about twice a week.

I know they should really be done every day.

Now you guys made me feel really guilty - so I guess I will have to do better
 

ms.blackie

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Dry dish I wash 2 times a week.
Wet dish couple times a day, real good once a day and the second
one I wash with hot water rince with my hand, usually its licked clean
anyway.
If I give raw I wash immediately after its eaten. I going to buy some
small paper plates I think for raw. If she will eat off them, she is very
funny about her dishes. Weirdo.

I used to wash the dry bowl everyday but I dont anymore.
 

bbdoll22

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Originally Posted by Ms.Blackie

I going to buy some
small paper plates I think for raw. If she will eat off them, she is very
funny about her dishes. Weirdo.
My babies wont eat off of paper plates only the outside TNR's will
 

yosemite

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I bought a bunch of stainless steel food dishes at the dollar store so our food bowls are only used once before being put in the dishwasher. He gets a clean dry food dish every day and 2 wet food dishes every day. I have at least 12 dishes so I could easily go 4 days without turning on the dishwasher but I have to do our own dishes at least every second day.
 

catfaery

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Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

I know I don't do them as often as I should - wet food bowls every 2 days and dry food once every 10 days
Do you have an extra paper bag?


If it gets really bad I'll wash them, always by hand for some reason even though I have a perfectly good dishwasher. Usually they get the dish so clean that I wait.
 

wingss2fly

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I wash my dry dish every other day, by hand, I run them through the dish washer each week. The grems that grow in the dish can cause problems on the cats skin. Our wet foods go down on a dinner plate, clean. Water bowl get freshend each time I walk by it. Washed everyday.
Litter boxes I have 3, get full change and scrubed every 4 weeks. I do alot of washing here...LOL

But I love them!
 
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