We had tried water fountains before with other cats that we had, to encourage them to drink more water. Actually, we didn't see a big difference and there was the additional upkeep of the fountain and filters, etc. So we switched to metal pet bowls. They seemed to last a long time.
When our cat Tori came into our lives, I bought her a new metal bowl of the same brand that we had purchased before. It didn't seem to last long at all. As before, I rinsed it each day and put in fresh water. After a month or so there was a roughness that I noticed when I rinsed the bowl out. I thought perhaps it was a fluke, and bought another one. Same thing happened. I purchased a different style metal bowl that was a different brand. Again, the same thing happened.
These were decent bowls, I had thought. They had a good weight to them and were coated on the bottom to prevent sliding. And I didn't have that issue before.
I decided to move up to human grade bowls and kept my eye out for one that would be a good size for our cat. I found an 11-ounce dessert bowl by Corelle. It was a great height for our cat and held a decent amount of water. This bowl is thicker than the cereal bowls in this style.
It worked! I do the same routine, and the insides of the bowl have remained smooth for months and months. And our cat even drinks more water now than she did before. The bowl doesn't have the rubber grip stuff under it, but I can live with that. A cloth mat under the bowl suffices. It is now our favorite bowl for our cat's water.
These bowls are available on Amazon as a set. Amazon wouldn't allow linking to the specific bowl, but did allow me to link to the page it is on. It is the 11-ounce size and is sold as a dessert bowl.
I bought mine as an individual bowl from Walmart.
Cheryl Paton
Interesting to know that this dessert style bowl works better than the metal bowls as a water bowl for cats. I wonder what was causing the roughness in the metal water bowls. Glad you found a helpful solution.
ReplyDeleteI wondered that too. Thank you Wednesday Elf.
DeleteInteresting
ReplyDeleteOur daughter has always used this type of bowl for our grandkitties. We used the metal dog bowls for our pups, but she prefers the ceramic or Corelle style bowls for the kitties. They wash them daily too. She did have one chip once so she replaced it, but otherwise they have served her and our grandkitties well too.
ReplyDeleteSylvestermouse, so glad that you referred to your daughter's cats as grandkitties. Adorable.
DeleteSo glad you found a simple solution that works for you! You could also glue a piece of webbed rubber carpet liner to the bottom of the both, if you wish.
ReplyDeleteThank you Margaret. Interesting idea for the rubber carpet liner.
DeleteI'm happy that your cat seems to like the "simple" things in life. Sometimes all the fancy "pet grade" necessities are just fancy and nothing more. When we had our pets, this would be our choice for their water dishes as well. Simple everyday dishes but we made sure to mark them as the "Cat's Bowl" just in case it ever got mixed up with our own!
ReplyDeleteI had a chuckle over labeling your cat's bowl. Cool.
DeleteGood idea to use our "human" bowls - I'm wondering as well what might have caused the problem with the metal ones? I'm currently using the metal ones for the dog, but I wash it everyday and keep a close eye on it. I'll watch for what you mentioned as well.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, do let us know if you notice anything. We had used metal bowls in the past and didn't have a problem with them before. I decided to replace the old metal bowls we had after our previous cat passed on.
DeleteIt sounds like you have found the perfect solution for your cat with a Corelle Human grade bowl. It is important that they drink enough and that bowls are easy to wash and care for. Good to hear you and your cat are happy with it :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Raintree Annie. Good health with ease are a great combination.
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