Containers And Bowls For Dry And Wet Cat Food: Varieties, How To Choose, What To Look For, Where To Place And How To Care

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Serving rules: choosing a bowl for a cat

When choosing dishes for a cat, its owner strives to take into account the needs of the pet in order to make food intake comfortable and safe for him. The assortment of cookware for animals is extensive, but not every product is worthy of the attention of a caring owner.

Content

• 1 What dishes does a cat need

  • 1.1 What is a feed container for

    1.1.1 Video: Using the Feed Container

• 2 Types of bowls and containers

  2.1 Photo Gallery: Bowls and food containers

• 3 How to choose the best bowl

  3.1 Video: Choosing a Bowl

• 4 How to care for your cat's dishes

• 5 How and where to put the bowl

  5.1 Video: bowls for the cat

• 6 Host feedback on bowls and containers

What kind of dishes does a cat need

In most cases, if the cat eats ready-made industrial food, he needs 3 bowls:

• bowl for water;
• a bowl for dry food;
• bowl for canned food and delicacies.

If the cat eats natural food, then the size of the "service" can be larger, since the range of dishes served is more varied.

A cat needs at least three bowls

Of the auxiliary items that add convenience to feeding the cat, you should consider:

• anti-slip mat under the bowls - needed to increase the stability of the bowl, which makes eating food more convenient, the process is silent, the surrounding space is cleaner;

• a stand for bowls - it can be very useful:

  • when feeding large breeds of cats - Maine Coons, Ragdolls, as it avoids tension of the neck muscles when eating food from low-lying dishes;

    

    Bowls on a stand will be convenient for large cats to eat

  • for feeding a lambing cat, as there is a risk of drowning small kittens in a deep bowl on the floor intended for an adult cat;
• feed container - makes it easy to store.

What is a feed container for?

Many owners have already appreciated the benefits of using a feed container, since not all manufacturers supply dry food packages with zip bags, and they certainly do not have the most profitable so-called "breeder" packages to buy.

Food containers are usually plastic, tight-fitting containers for storage. Containers differ in capacity and external dimensions; they are used both for storing dry food and wet food in the refrigerator. Containers are made of food grade plastic.

The main advantages of the container include:

• convenience of storing feed - they are equipped with lids, and some even with dispensers; large containers can have wheels to facilitate their movement;
• aesthetic appearance;
• preventing feed contamination;
• the impossibility of excessive eating of food by a particularly voracious pet;
• lack of excess moisture, and therefore, mold in the feed;
• maintaining the attractiveness of dry cat food;
• Convenience of storing wet food, since after opening a jar or bag with food, their contents can be moved into containers suitable for storage in a refrigerator.

The container partially protects the food from the adverse effects of air, slowing down the oxidation process, but at the same time it is not completely airtight, therefore, when choosing a storage container, you should focus on the amount of food consumed by the cat in 1 month, since with longer storage, rancidity is likely stern.

You don't have to buy feed containers. They are very often played out in sales promotions of feed manufacturers both in online stores and at retail outlets. All of my containers are obtained in this way; they are completely different in quality - in the best ones I store food, in those that are worse - soil for plants. Particularly interested persons can clarify the conditions for obtaining the coveted container on the website of the feed manufacturer. Very often, a container is given when buying a quality "starter" - food for puppies and kittens. Often, owners of large dogs are "rewarded" with small and unnecessary containers that are just right for cats.

Caring for the container is very simple - after the food is finished, the container is washed with warm water and ordinary soap and dried thoroughly. Do not put fresh food in a container with traces of moisture.

Video: using the feed container

Types of bowls and containers

You can choose the optimal dishes for a cat, guided by a number of its characteristics:

• bowl shape - commonly found:

  • round, the most ergonomic and easy to clean; especially convenient are bowls in the shape of a truncated cone - expanding downward, since this gives them additional stability;
  • rectangular - useful for cats with extra long mustaches
  • designer bowls - often very beautiful and attractive; when choosing such a bowl, you should pay attention to the convenience of its use by a cat, as well as how easy it will be to wash it;

  • double bowls can be handy if there is a need to feed two cats at the same time; in other cases, you should pay attention to how far the bowls are from each other in order to avoid getting food into the water, as well as whether it is possible to wash each bowl separately (i.e., can the structure be disassembled);

    

    Twin bowls are convenient for feeding two cats at the same time; at the same time, if food and water are simultaneously placed in them, it will lead to water pollution

• bowl size - dictated by the cat's one-time need for food, as well as the purpose of the bowl:

  • the deepest and most capacious should be a bowl for water;
  • shallower - a bowl for dry food;

  • the smallest - bowls for wet food and treats;

    

    It is convenient for a cat to eat wet food from small and wide dishes

• Bowl Material - Bowls are usually available from:

  • ceramics, as well as earthenware and glass - these are the best bowls, since the material is inert, has low thermal conductivity, is very easy to clean, they are quite heavy, the cat will not move them; the service life of these bowls is long, but when chips appear on the edges, they must be replaced; they are durable, but they can be accidentally broken by dropping them from a height when washing; the cat himself will not break such a bowl; the appearance of ceramic bowls is extremely attractive and cozy, but the price is slightly higher than that of metal and plastic;

    

    Ceramic is the benchmark for making cat bowls

  • steel bowls - bowls made of surgical steel are a good choice, this is also an inert and hygienic material, but its thermal conductivity is higher, therefore, food will cool faster; steel bowls can make noise if not properly secured (this can be easily remedied by purchasing bowls with rubberized edges and placing them on a non-slip mat); in terms of service life, these bowls are indisputable champions and, undoubtedly, will become valuable artifacts during archaeological excavations;

  • plastic bowls - should not be considered as dishes for permanent use by a cat; short-term use of such products in field conditions is permissible, while they must be made of food grade plastic; these bowls have a number of disadvantages:

    • plastic is a porous material in which small food particles are easily retained and microflora grows abundantly, entering the bowl both from the external environment and from the cat's mouth, it is unrealistic to ensure the required hygienic cleanliness of such a product, especially if it has been in operation for a long time, and this increases the risk the occurrence of acne and eosinophilic granulomas in a cat, gingivitis and stomatitis can also occur in a pet, migration of infection through the Eustachian tube can contribute to the development of otitis media; existing foci of chronic infection deplete the immune system and threaten the cat's health;
    • plastic is not a chemically inert material, and it is impossible to reliably know what it is made of, therefore, those impurities that the cat will receive when eating from plastic dishes will also remain a secret, but it is quite obvious that this will not add health to the pet;
    • plastic contributes to the accumulation of static electricity, which is definitely not appreciated by long-haired cats;
    • plastic bowls are light, so the cat often turns them over, can use them as a toy and carry around the house - but this is the least evil.

Photo gallery: food bowls and containers

The best choice of dishes for a cat is a ceramic bowl.

Not a bad choice - a steel bowl with a rubberized hoop at the bottom to prevent slipping

Designer bowls can serve as interior decoration

When purchasing double bowls, the degree of their distance from each other is important to prevent contamination of drinking water

Bowls on a stand are a good choice for tall cats.

Containers make storing feed stocks more convenient

The container protects the feed from contamination, drying out and excess moisture

The use of an auto feeder and a drinker is possible in the absence of the owner of the house for a long time

How to choose the best bowl

When choosing a bowl, they are guided by the individual characteristics of the cat. What matters:

• a single portion of food: it is obvious that for a large cat there will be more bowl, while the size of a kitten's bowl should increase with its growth; larger bowls can contribute to overfeeding the pet by a loving owner, since not everyone can put a half-empty bowl in front of the adored cat;
• the structure of the cat's muzzle: cats of brachycephalic breeds (Persian, Himalayan, British) require smaller bowls than cats with a normal skull structure;

• the size of the cat's whiskers: cats often feel uncomfortable when their whiskers touch the edges of the dishes, as is the case with narrow and deep bowls; in some cases, this forces the cat to leave part of the food uneaten, as well as throw food out of the bowl with its paws and eat it from the floor, therefore, the minimum allowable size of the bowl should exceed the size of the cat's muzzle, taking into account the length of its whiskers;

  

  If the bowl is small, the cat's whiskers can touch the edges, which irritates the pet.

• breed and individual characteristics of cats: for example, Maine Coons love to get pieces of food from the bowl with their paws, so the stability of the bowl is important; Bengals love to play with drinking water - the bowl should be both stable and spacious;
• in some cases, an auto feeder can come in handy - if the owner is away from home and there is no one to feed the cat, however, most auto feeders are made of plastic, so you should not use them on an ongoing basis, and you also need to choose quality products from trusted manufacturers; only dry food is used in auto feeders, which makes maintenance somewhat easier.

Video: bowl selection

How to care for your cat's dishes

The dishes of the cat are washed with warm or hot water using ordinary soap without fragrances, since the smell of chemical fragrances, elusive to a person's sense of smell, can ruin the cat's appetite for a long time. The water bowl is washed daily, twice a day on hot days, as the rate of bacterial growth in the water increases. Food bowls are washed after each meal.

If you have a bowl rug or tripod, they will also be wiped with a damp cloth every day as they become contaminated with food particles and cat saliva.

The bowl mat needs to be wiped clean daily

Ceramic and steel bowls can be loaded into the dishwasher and, if necessary, exposed to disinfectant solutions.

How and where to put the bowl

Bowls are best placed in an area that is easily accessible to the cat and for cleaning, but not in the aisle. The cat should be able to eat in a calm and safe environment. The location of the bowls must be consistent.

Video: bowls for a cat

Host feedback on bowls and containers

Dishes for the cat must be of high quality. Priority is given to ceramic bowls and surgical steel bowls. You should not risk your pet's health and feed it from plastic dishes. When choosing dishes, you should focus on both the individual and the breed characteristics of the cat. The shape and size of the bowl is important. The bowls must be kept clean as the health of the cat depends on it. There are a lot of dishes for animals, but items worthy of belonging to a cat should be chosen carefully.