How often do you clean your cat bowls?

mani

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Just looking at another thread about bowls and cat acne and I'm wondering if people clean their cats' bowls after every use?

I always do, just as I do for human plates, but I know people who leave it as their cats lick the bowls clean.

My routine is to clean the bowls well with detergent when they are empty (or when the little darlings are flatly refusing to eat what I've given them), and the same when I replace their water daily. I use ceramic bowls (usually really pretty ones, as they're out on the floor for all to see, so why not ?
)

What's your routine?
 
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peaches08

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I store/feed raw out of plastic sandwich containers, and the bowls are washed in the dishwasher after every use.
 

irinasak

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I have all sorts of food bowls - plastic, ceramic and stainless steel. I wash them after every use (after every meal).

I change the water and wash the two water bowls once a day. My cats also have a water fountain, I change the water and clean the fountain two, maybe three times a week.
 
 

Winchester

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We have 28 glass saucers and two large water bowls for the 7 cats. After each feeding, whether it's dry snacks or meals, the saucers go into the dishwasher. I run one load of dishes every night, which includes all of the dishes for the day. Their water bowl goes into the dishwasher every night, too, and I put out a fresh water bowl for them.
 

ondine

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I wash more cat dishes than people dishes!  Like Winchester, I use glass bowls (Corelle) and they go in the dishwasher after every meal.  We have four fountains and they get thoroughly washed once a week.  I change the filters every three weeks.  I hand wash the fountains because cat spit does not always come off in the dishwasher.
 

jcat

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The top rack of our dishwasher is always halfway filled with food dishes. I use glass compote dishes and put them in the dishwasher after every meal or snack. Three (china or glazed ceramic) water bowls get washed out and refilled every day, while a fourth is refilled every other day. All four get put through the dishwasher 2 - 3 times a week. The dishwasher is run every other day.
 

night wing

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We only have one cat. He gets his ceramic feeding bowl washed after every meal. His ceramic water bowl gets washed and new fresh water every morning.
 
 

ldg

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I feed 8 cats. I wash the dishes after every meal, three meals a day. We don't have a dishwasher. We currently use the small Correlle glass (fruit?) bowls.

I have two bowls of water out for the cats. Those are washed and refilled daily, at night. I only have one cat that drinks any water (I don't feed dry food). Ming Loy usually tips over one of the dishes by falling into it. :rolleyes:

I use paper bowls for the outside cats.
 

planetx

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my cats have a problem with acne. I switched to metal bowls and wash them well after every meal. Their acne cleared up, but has made a return this summer. I think the reason is that I have no hot water in the summer so I'm washing the bowls in cold. But washing definitely makes a difference.
 
 

newkittyowner

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Every time I change their water which is every day. I will clean with mild dish soap and hot water and then refill their bowl with water. When there dry dry food bowl is almost empty I will pour the rest on a paper towel, wash out the bowl the same as above for water dish, dry it and then refill with measured amount of dry food and put the stuff on the paper towel so they eat that first as it's been there the longest and needs to be eaten up!
 

mewlittle

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i have metal bowls for water and dry food i wash them every night and the plastic baby plates i use for wet they get washed after they get done eating in the morning the 2 plastic bowls i use on the dachshundsget washed after each feeding wet or dry i dont have bowls for the dogs at the moment so im re using hormel plastic bowls from a small ready to eat diner thing there hard to explain lol
 

ncst99

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Dry food dishes and water dishes are all washed daily, and wet food dishes are washed after every use and actually rinsed/dried again before use (I hate to think of dust collecting and bugging my little guys lol).
 

swellmomma

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I clean the water dishes once a day when I am refilling them in the am.  The food dishes get washed twice a day.  I own 7 food bowls for the cats to make it easier on myself since we don't have a dishwasher, in case I don't have time to wash the first set before supper there is always another set ready to go.  They get fed their wet/dry mix twice a day, so they get wahed twice a day, plus 1 bowl of dry kibble left out for them to have when they want.

 
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Since I feed raw, I wash their dishes after every meal, so I wash their food dishes 3 times a day.  I don't know why, but I never put their dishes in the dishwasher, and I never put them in the drying rack with the other hand washed dishes either.  It's just a quirk I have.  They even have their own little drying towel that their dishes, including their own little spoons that I use to dish up their food go own to dry. 

As far as their water fountain goes, I wash it out probably once every 2 weeks, but where I live there is about zero humidity, which supposedly makes a difference
.  That's what it says in the cleaning instructions anyway.  I haven't changed the filter in a long, long time, however, since I ran out of new ones.  I just rinse the old one and stick it back in.  I read somewhere that you could do that.  For a long time I just ran it without a filter and wondered WHY I even used one at all, then I found one in a drawer so decided to use it .  Boy, it really does fill up with saliva!!
 

smitten4kittens

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They get a clean dish for every meal. I don't have a dishwasher but I have 6 dishes for the two of them. Dishes are my least favorite chore but somehow I don't mind washing the cats dishes
. I wash the water bowl once a day.
 

sivyaleah

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For food, they get a new clean dish each time  I have literally like 20 small Fiesta fruit bowls I use for their food, so even if a bunch are in the dishwasher, there are always clean ones ready.

Their water dishes, I probably could do better.  I have just 2 of those, 1 for each, they are much larger than the Fiesta.  I typically fill them each morning regardless if there is some left or not and do a quick rinse with use mild detergent (I like Method) and rinse/wipe.  

During the daytime if the bowl goes dry I just rinse it with scalding hot water (my tap water is ridiculously hot).  I really should just buy more water bowls.  I don't know why I haven't.  
 

gloriajh

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Every feeding - even with the outside ferals - a freshly cleaned and sanitized dish.  I prefer the ceramic or glass dish, and the dishes get bleached with every washing - and usually then placed into the dishwasher.  The outside cats sometimes get plastic dishes except when it's windy because the wind will blow the plate off or upside down.

I started using bleach when we rescued/adopted a FeLV cat, so now, just in case, everyone gets a clean and sanitized plate with every meal.  

We now have 13 (all rescued and no other place to go) inside with us and I make every attempt to provide a clean bowl of water each day for each water station (that's 6 water containers  - can't say I'm always successful, though. :)

Do you want to hear about the fun I have with litter pans?  LOL
 

stephanietx

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I have 2 sets of stainless steel bowls for wet food.  Those are washed after every meal (twice a day).  Each kitty has their own ceramic dry food dish.  Those are washed whenever I think about it, which is about 2 or 3 times a week, except for Hannah's.  Her bowl is washed once a day because she is very prone to acne. 
 

mservant

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I have 7 melamine food bowls and if any wet food has been put down the bowl is washed with hot water and fragrance free detergent after each use.  I leave one bowl with a few TD biscuits in it most of the time and the bowl is washed when it is empty, usually every other day. Mouse doesn't eat his dry food out of the bowl but paws it out and eats it off the floor away from the bowl - his usual means of feeding is having his biscuits throw across the sitting room so he can chase them, and having little piles of biscuits placed in various slightly hidden areas for him to seek out - I keep these areas, and floor in general, free of crumbs by sweeping up at least once a day.  

I had 2 water bowls until recently and both were washed and changed at least once a day, but as Mouse never used the one on the floor and opted for the ceramic bowl up beside the sink I've done away with the other one.  He also drinks from any dripping tap he can persuade me to leave on / find..... and likes to drink water from the syringe used for and oral medication he needs so that gets washed each time it's been used. 

I don't have a dishwasher and, like mrsgreenjeans, keep the cat bowls separate to the rest of my washing up. I have a drainer on both sides of my sink: I wash the cat bowls after the 'human' stuff and drain on the other drainer. I don't really know why as the cat goes everywhere - keeping the clean dishes separate is a bit pointless!
 
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