Colored powder-coated stainless steel bowls - safe?

Any drawbacks to these?  Can it scrape off and be harmful or "contaminate" their drinking water?  My cats only drink water if something is off but I like to have plenty of bowls around the house, should they decide to have a drink.  I just noticed that one of the plain stainless steel bowls is rusted in various places(scratches?).  

@OceanBreathes, i'm not sure about the colored powder coating on your stainless steel bowls. but i thought i'd reply to tell you what i use for my cat water bowls. i use corelle livingware 28 oz soup/cereal bowls for my snick's water dishes. i chose these because they're ceramic, so won't rust or absorb odors (like plastic can do). also, while they can chip/crack/shatter, it would take a heck of a lot to get them to. i've never had one of snick's water dishes get damaged at all.

i do use stainless steel bowls for snick's canned food dish and the dish i serve her freeze dried chicken treats in. i have a bunch of the durapet non-skid stainless bowls, which i bought years ago from drs foster smith dot com -- http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1910+18668&pcatid=18668. i've never had any rust develop on any of these bowls, and they've been in constant use for over 5 years now. i hand wash them, and also run them through the dishwasher on a regular basis.

I'm also not sure about the type of stainless steel bowls you are referring to; so I can't comment on them unfortunately. 

I use Corelle dishes for my girls.  They have a petmate fountain so I typically only put down a bowl of water when that is being cleaned; but they eat from those.  I use the smallest size for their food and a normal cereal/soup size for water.  They wash perfectly in the dishwasher too.  We have lost one bowl in the past.  DH was emptying the dishwasher and dropped it on top of the other bowls.  My mother's set is nearly 20 years old and I don't think they've lost one piece.  We also have a couple  hand-me-down pieces that are REALLY old; from DH's bachelor days.  But they work so I am keeping them! 

I've never had a stainless steel bowl rust either but this one did for whatever reason(it was used exclusively for water): 
Maybe I scrubbed it too vigorously?

These are the bowls I was considering buying: http://www.petsmart.com/supplies-tr...-36-catid-200062?var_id=36-6051&_t=pfm=search

I thought I'd experiment with "elevated feeding" for them but I decided to wait and perhaps place their bowls/plates on boxes or bricks until then.

I'll check out the Corelle dishes; thanks!

I like all the colors they come in...    Too bad they aren't sold in stores; I'd check them out on our next trip for kitty food.

I think the corelle dishes may be cheaper too if you can find them loose.  Our Walmart used to sell them and I also have access to an outlet store that has had good prices on some pieces.  

I always assume it's toxic if it's made in China.

Personally I use made in USA clear, glass bowls.

Purrrdy said:

 
I always assume it's toxic if it's made in China.

Personally I use made in USA clear, glass bowls.

Click to expand...

Yep   

I'm with you ...although my reservations extend beyond China.  Or, actually, just distrust of corporations, especially as concerns their knowledge of cats and their needs. 8-\   We have learned the hard way over the years how to be good (or, at least, much better) pet guardians, and as we all know that's a continuing process.

However, no matter how perfect I thought this danged dish set-up was  --design, height, color, dimensions, sturdiness-- I was not about to toss the huge strides we've achieved with homemade cat food/raw meat, flower essences, Chinese herbs, homeopathy, and holistic vet care out the window for a cute bowl set, especially in trade of my kitties' so-far-perfect-health.  Then I did some (more) research.  Unless I missed something, it seems as if the process of powder coating itself diminishes to almost zero any outgassing or other dangerous effects.  It's considered low-VOC ...which may still be cause for reticence, but I guess that's where we each decide how much more research to do. 

Read for yourself from these 2 websites (links below).  Admittedly, the first one is from the Powder Coating Institute ...hello? what are they going to say - that it's dangerous? ...don't think so.  The second one is a Wikipedia article which, I know I know, may still not be the perfect Gold Standard, but the description tells me that I needn't worry so much about using these bowls, after all.  Draw your own conclusions. In fact, I went ahead and bought the dish set for the one of our kitties who has an easier time eating if the bowl is up off the floor, and I've just been putting her old stainless steel bowl on top of it (it doesn't fit in the circular space provided).  It's stable, the bowl "holder" itself is kinda heavy and super-sturdy, and it works just fine!  In trying to figure out what the heck to do with the bowls that came with it, I researched a little more thoroughly, apparently --or, perhaps, just asked Google the "right" question--  and came up this info that I didn't find in previous searches.  Maybe I can use these bowls after all - I believe I'm satisfied!  Here are the links:

     http://www.powdercoating.org/11/Industry/What-is-Powder-Coating

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating

Hope this proves helpful to any of you!  ;o)

I just did a Google search on "powder coated stainless steel" and found this: http://www.psppowdercoating.com/index-4.html.

It sounds like it may do a good job of protecting the metal from rust, but I'd want to know exactly what chemicals are in the paint before I used it as a water dish for Jasmine. As for rust, a bit of extra iron in the diet is probably not going to hurt a cat, though I certainly understand the desire to get something more durable.

I think the only way to tell is to ask the manufacturer.

Margret