Food and water dishes

What kind of food and water dishes do you use? I was using the water/food combination bowls and I discovered that they are bad. Because the water gets into the food and make it soggy. The other day, I discovered the reason why Rascal was a little sick. The dry food in his dish was covered with mold. I think because the water gets into the food. So now, I put the water separated from the food.

I have found that the best and the easiest to keep clean are the stainless steel bowl.

You can also use ceramic (For dry food only not water) or glass dishes (wet & dry). Avoid plastic at all cost since some cats are alergic to them so why even go that route.

All the best

I use a combination of mismatched saucers and small glass bowls for wet food. When I run the diswasher, I just toss them in with the regular plates and they come out very clean. For dry food, I use a paper plate. Sometimes it lasts for weeks. But the wide shallow dish means they can both eat from the same dish at the same time without getting crowded. They prefer to drink water from the tap, but I mix extra water into their wet food, and when the food is gone I often put more water in the same dish.

I actually use the plastic ones, and I don't have a problem I have individual ones though, not the attached side by side ones. For wet food though, I just use a saucer and then wash it.

Oh my gosh, you're not supposed to use a ceramic bowl for the water bowl!?!? Why not? I just switched from their plastic water bowl to a ceramic one!

I used to use plastic dishes but found that after a while, bacteria seeps into the plastic and can cause kitty acne. So now I have either ceramic or stainless steel. And I keep the water separate from the food, although sometimes the cats will drop pieces of food in their water.

Donna

I used to use stainless steel but Smokey kept getting acne and I switched to glass bowls for each of them. It seems to be helping. I really don't know if that was the problem. I wash them twice a day and keep fresh food and water in them after washing. Smokey has completly cleared up so I hope that was the reason.

I use ceramic bowls for Kiki's dry food and her moist food.. Believe it or not the only place she will drink water is a styrofoam cup in the bathtub!!! She is healthy so I guess this is ok.

Meme

I'm confused about the acne. I had been told that acne on the chin is common for cats because they cannot clean that part of themselves easily or well. That is why they like us to rub them there, I thought. At least, my kitties like to have the underside of their chins rubbed and even the front of their throat . . . I didn't know bacteria played such a big part.

I use the plastic ones.... I used to use the stainless steel for both the food & water bowls, but since switching to the Drinkwell Fountains, I have quit. Tigger used to have acne. Well, I should say she still does, but not noticeable, anymore, which is the main reason I switched.

So, are the best all-around dishes to use glass ones? Right now, mine are using plastic ones (shaped like kitties...so cute!)but I'd like to switch to something more sanitary. My kittens eat their wet food from small stainless steel dishes.

It is my understanding that - yes, plastic collects bacteria, but so can others if they aren't cleaned regularly. My suggestion is to wash the bowls with scalding water regularly. I had a free feeder for my cats that was made of plastic and my boy had horrible places on his face that he scratched raw. I threw that away, bought stainless bowls and no more problems. (It is also solving the problem of obesity.)

I've put Rascal's dry food and water in separate tupperware containers until I can go buy the stainless steel. For the canned food, I use a small child's bowl.

Sfell: Plastic is the worst, but even ceramic dishes can harbor bacterias, which can cause feline chin acne.

But the ceramic should be okay if I wash them regularly?

I hope so!! I use ceramic ones too....I wash them regularly and I don't see any problems with the babies...so hopefully it'll stay that way!! I use plastic bowls outside though but they get washed alot too.... I guess its just a question of washing them often enough....

That's one thing I like about a dishwasher. Even though it's kind of a nuisance to practically wash the dish by hand before putting it in the machine, lots of them get hot enough to sterilize. Not all of them, and it varies between machines and locations due to water temp, but it generally gets hot enough to kill stuff that would survive washing by hand.

An overnight soak in diluted bleach would probably be a good alternative, though you have to wash it off very well afterward because bleach is toxic to eat. Also, it can fade the colors in plastics, I don't know about ceramics. My grandad swore by sunlight for disinfecting and would leave things on a picnic table in the yard.

And of course there is antibacterial soap now.

I use plastic and glass and have never seen a cat with acne. I wash the dishes every night. I have a double plastic but I just put dry food in both sides. I put the water dishes away from the food dishes.