Anyone got a suggestion for a cat dish?

[thecatsandus]

We bought a bunch of those bowls that have two sides to them, one side for water and the other side for food.
Except we put dry cat food on one side and wet on the other and use a completely different dish for water.
Problem is the cats push a lot of the food into the corners of the bowl and wind up eating only half of whatevers in there. Because they can't get to the rest.
Right now we're experimenting with a nice sized soup bowl. Our hope is that the sides aren't to high and the cats can get to all the food in the bowl. With out squishing it into the sides and losing half of their dinner in a corner of the bowl.
Can't really tell how good the soup bowl is so far. We've only just started using it today.

Anyone have any suggestions on a good food dish to use?

 

[strange_wings]

I use a bunch of small pyrex bowls that I bought at a garage sale.

They have nice rounded insides with no sharper bends. But that doesn't really help you much because buying those new costs too much.

Just remember that whatever you pick out needs to be able to be washed/sterilized well. This leaves stainless steel as the best choice. Pyrex or glass works better than ceramic because the ceramic glaze can crack.

There are some shallow, but larger, stainless bowls that you might find in the dog section. I have a couple for my outside cats (along with the more standard small stainless bowl). For glass bowls, just keep your eyes open when passing through the dish section (human not pet) at a store.

 

[allykat0601]

I use the saucers from my dishes. They work very well and I didn't have to spend a dime.

 

[ryffian]

I like using flat saucer-type dishes with no real raised edge. But then again my cats all inhale their food and don't leave it sit long enough to play with it or push it around!!

 

[stephanietx]

I use metal dishes for my girls. One of them has to have sides on her dishes. The other isn't quite as picky. Check at resale shops for good values.

 

[laureen227]

i bought the ones i'm using @ big lots - they're people dishes. the bowls for kibble are squarish, fairly small - hold at most 1/2 cup each. for wet, i use salad plates [also gotten @ biglots]. this way, i can have lots of plates, since they need washing more often.

 

[mystik spiral]

Originally Posted by allykat0601

I use the saucers from my dishes. They work very well and I didn't have to spend a dime.

I bought one of those "side by side" plastic dishes when I adopted Holland and she did the same thing - got her food into her water. Now I fill both those with fresh water every day, and rotate out saucers for her food. I don't use them anyway...

 

[alicatjoy]

I have run the gamut of pet dishes in my lifetime and have finally found a number of different options that work well for both myself and my kitties.

Currently, I use only stainless steel dishes. I have a large combination feeder (which sounds like the type the OP has been using) that has removable stainless steel bowls that can be washed, sanitized, and replaced quickly and easily. In fact, I have a number of these dishes (I believe they are 1 pint sized) that can be switched in and out when necessary. I only use that feeder for my kitties' measured dry. I also have small stainless steel combo dishes with rubber bottoms for when I give each kitty their dry and wet food together. None of mine are picky and so it works well. But, I do also have individual stainless steel dishes with rubber bottoms that I use for wet food feedings and larger ones for water (though I use fountains as my cats' primary water source).

I've used plastic in the past and will NEVER go that route again. I used plastic when I didn't know better, but now strictly use the stainless steel due to its ease of cleaning. Ceramic is okay, but I second the fact that the glaze can crack -- for my cats, I just don't want to risk it. And, glass? Glass is fine, but I am clumsy and break everything so it's not really the right choice for me. I've also used bowls which seem to be easiest for my kitties as well as saucers which had me cleaning the floor surrounding them more frequently than I'd have liked. I suppose it depends on what your cat or cats like and what works for you. And, in most cases, it does take some trial and error before the right choice makes itself known.

Good luck and please let us know what you find that works best for you and yours in your situation

.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by Alison Joy

And, glass? Glass is fine, but I am clumsy and break everything so it's not really the right choice for me.

Me too! But the pyrex bowls I use are surprisingly resistant to breaking.. I've dropped them a few times, a couple of those times they landed on my feet, though.

 

[laureen227]

forgot - underneath the dishes are trays [from ikea] & underneath the trays are doormats [dollar general]. helps a lot on keeping the stray kibble contained!

 

[thecatsandus]

Thank you all for the reply's. There are some really good suggestions.
I like the stainless steel option myself, the best.
Right now we're using a soup bowl as stated in the OP.
It's a thick ceramic soup bowl. I didn't notice any difference so I tried a thick ceramic saucer plate, which has a slight lip on it, that's rounded.
Both come from a set we got 8 years ago. So no loss there.

I've been worried about our mommy cat.
She has 5 three week old kittens and she doesn't eat much.
I was thinking, she just didn't want to get her nose into the corner of the bowl.
I've seen her use her paw to feed herself on several occasions.
While she was pregnant and even now we make sure her food dish is always full.
Lately she's been leaving a lot of food in her bowl or on the dish as it were.
But she still cry's like she wants food.
I'll sit with her and give her tons of attention and she usually winds up walking away from me. So, I don't think that's it.
And when I put food in her dish she tears into it for about 3 or 4 bites and stops.
So I wonder if we've spoiled her and made her finicky?
Or could there possibly be something wrong with her?
She's thin as a rail.

 

[jennyr]

I use stainless steel bowls that are really cheap to buy, and put them on plastic trays to keep mess at a minimum. The problem with plastic bowls is the scratch easily and then harbour the bacteria that can cause feline acne. Glass I have found dangerous and ceramic, though hygienic, can break and chip easily.

 

[Winchester]

We live in PA and shop at the Outlets in Reading about three or four times a year. At Reading China and Glass, we found a box of 12 plain glass dishes. Nothing fancy, just glass dishes, about the size of a small salad dish. I think they were $7 for the box, something like that. We have six cats, so we bought them for cat dishes. They work very well.

For Mollipop during the day while we're at work, we're using two small Fiesta bowls, one for dry kitten kibble and one for water while she's in the computer room. There's also a Fiesta saucer that I put her Sip in for her. (All her dishes are Periwinkle Blue

.)

 

[neely]

Originally Posted by jennyranson

The problem with plastic bowls is the scratch easily and then harbour the bacteria that can cause feline acne.

Exactly, we used plastic many years ago when we didn't know better and our cat got feline acne. We now use stainless steel for both our cats and dog.

 

[~*regina*~]

I have this, It works great!
http://www.petco.com/product/112055/...eedersWaterers

I was having the same problem as you and she wouldn't eat all her food. I think it was because her whiskers were hitting the bowl. This bowl is nice and shallow. I put about a 1/4 cup dry (single layer of kibble), also helped with the eating to fast and puking

 

[littleraven7726]

My cats like shallow dishes. For dry we have 6" shallow bowls in their elevated feeder. For wet food we use shallow 5" cat bowls or Corelle dessert bowls. They fit in my dishwasher really well.

 

[furrypurry]

Maybe I shouldn't admit how spoiled my two cats are

but I bought polish stoneware soup bowls for them. The bowls are larger and lead-free. I have two sets and switch them out every couple days for washing.

They get their water from a fountain.