food and water distance

How far should the water bowl be from the food? Andy eats only dry food.

others will disagree but I always have the water on the same placemat as the food

I don't think it matters does it? The only problem is that cats will often drop their kibble into the water which can fowl it up. My cats prefer drinking out of water glasses we leave out. So we have made one glass teh designated "water bowl" and we refill it as needed. They seem to prefer it that way.

I keep a couple of water bowls round the house, but also have one beside the food dish, and they all seem to use them. Ellie would not eat without a drink to hand, as she likes to eat a bit, then take a little drink and then go back to her food. She is the only cat I have ever known who eats/drinks like a human!

i keep the water bowl separate from the food bowls. we have a 1-bedroom apt, with not alot of spare space. i have the food bowls (3) in the kitchen on a mat, and the water bowl at the end of our hallway (near bathroom & bedroom). the guys like this setup. i also elavated the water bowl, and they like that alot.

i have read in different places that you should keep the food & water separate. we ended up doing it because otherwise we would constantly be kicking over the waterbowl. (our kitchen is small!)

I like 2 separate bowls - not the connected ones. They sit next to each other and get changed at least once a day. Dog's bowls are same way (side by side). The cats like the dog's water more then their own

Because our one cat is 15 yrs old, we elevate the cats food and water.

I keep Phenoms on the same place mat. She has a big automatic waterer and the little double bowl is her food dish. One side for wet and one side for dry. She likes it that way. She had a little glass bowl for water and played in it all the time until we got the big water thing.

I have 2 food bowls...one in the kitchen and one in the living room and one 50 oz. Fresh Flow fountain in the bathroom, and no issues here!

They only get 1/4 cup of dry each MAX, the rest is wet...

Dori's food and water bowl sit next to each other in the dining room. I also have a Fresh Flow fountain in my room that she loves. She actually never drinks from the water bowl that is next to her food, but I keep it there just in case.

Originally Posted by jennyranson

Ellie would not eat without a drink to hand, as she likes to eat a bit, then take a little drink and then go back to her food. She is the only cat I have ever known who eats/drinks like a human!

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Jenny thats so sweet!.

I keep the girls water bowl about a 1' apart from their food bowl.

I've found that all the cats we've had drank more when the water bowl was at least 6 to 8 feet (2 meters) away from the food bowl. One cat we had wouldn't drink out of his water bowl next to his food, but would walk over and drink out of the dog's bowl, and another would drink out of her upstairs bowl after eating downstairs, so I started separating food and water bowls.
I have a couple of bowls strewn around - one in the kitchen, near Jamie's window perch, instead of near his food, a Fresh Flow fountain in the living room, one in the upstairs bathroom, and one in the upstairs study. In summer, I add one down in the cellar, where it's coolest.

I remember reading somwhere that it is best to keep the water dish
away from the food dish to break the association of the two always
going to gether for the cat. If the cat ONLY drinks when she/he
eats, it won't be enough water consumption.

That said, I've never had a problem with it.

One of my friends keeps two water bowls - one by the food
and one on the other end of the house, in a bathroom.

Carol

I've never heard about keeping water and food bowls apart but it makes sense. We have one of those connected bowls but the cats don't drink out of it (I think only Willow does). They eat their food then they jump down to the floor and go over to my dog's water dish and drink out of that. Willow probably drinks out of the cat water dish because she's too afraid to get close to Jake (the dog water bowl is right in front of his crate). There's also cat and dog water bowls in the kitchen just in case any of the animals happen to be dying of thirst and they can't get to their regular bowls, lol

My cats get fed in the dining room, how appropriate, huh? Anyway, we have two rows of food bowls on two sides of the room, a wet and dry one for each cat. The fresh flow is in the corner about 6 inches away. I used to have another upstairs, but one of them is broken and keeps leaking everywhere!
In the old apartment I kept the food bowls next to the fridge and the fresh flow was about 4 feet across the room. Haven't noticed any major difference in water consumption except I now have four instead of two!

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

I don't think it matters does it? The only problem is that cats will often drop their kibble into the water which can fowl it up. My cats prefer drinking out of water glasses we leave out. So we have made one glass teh designated "water bowl" and we refill it as needed. They seem to prefer it that way.

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I am glad to know I am not the only on with a cat that only drinks out of a water glass. She has a water bowl but I finally gave up getting her to actually use it a year ago and it has a water glass sitting in it. She kept hunting for alternate water sources (including toilets) when I first adopted her. Bless her heart, she could not get use to having clean water out. I finally just gave her a water glass all her own and she was so happy when I did so. -LB

Thank you all for the comments. When Andy was a baby he used to drink a lot of water. The food bowl was in the kitchen, and the water bowl in the computer room because he used to spend most of his time there. He does drink but not as much as he used to. Now I placed his bowl close to his food bowl, and he has been drinking more. But time ago I read somewhere that it was better to keep the food and water bowls separate. But I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t remember how far. I think the reason is that if the water is kept close to the food, the food spoils faster.

It shouldn't matter to much because you should put down fresh food daily. If you free feed then on a daily basis will ensure the food is not stale.

Originally Posted by Liberty's Buddy

I am glad to know I am not the only on with a cat that only drinks out of a water glass. She has a water bowl but I finally gave up getting her to actually use it a year ago and it has a water glass sitting in it. She kept hunting for alternate water sources (including toilets) when I first adopted her. Bless her heart, she could not get use to having clean water out. I finally just gave her a water glass all her own and she was so happy when I did so. -LB

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Yah they never even noticed their water dish. We just give them their glass of water and are all very pleased! I feel they are drinking a healthy amount, which didn't seem the case with the other dish.

Yes, it shouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t matter. I put new food every morning. And he does notice.

I have a decent-sized clear glass cube (open on one side, of course) that I use as Fatty's water bowl. I put it right next to her food, and when she gets food in it (which is rare), I just change it out. I completely wash it with soap and water often.