Important Things to Consider When Buying Food and Water Bowls for Your Cat

Whether you need new food and water dishes for a furry-footed addition to your family, or you need to replace existing containers, you can find quite a selection at your local pet store. Even places like Wal-Mart, K-Mart and even your local Big Lots and hardware and grocery stores carry food and water dishes. But, if you pick one that's "cute" or simply "cheap", you can very well regret your decision later. That's why you need to know "3 important things to consider when you're buying food and water dishes for your cat!"

1. Single Dishes Versus Double Kitty Dishes

I once bought an adorable, purple with gold trimmed double- compartment cat dish. I thought it would be easy to move when I swept the floor. Boy, was I wrong. It's hard to pick it up without sloshing the water into the food compartment. Not only that, but whenever it got accidentally kicked or bumped, both food and water flew everywhere. Add that to the fact that, everytime I looked, there was food in the water compartment. Obviously my cat is a sloppy eater, or, she still had food in her mouth when she would reach over to get a drink of water. I soon retired that container and bought two single bowls instead.

2. What's the Best Material to Choose?

Another important thing to consider when you're buying food and water bowls for your cat is the material they're made of. These containers are typically made of plastic, ceramic, stoneware or stainless steel. Plastic is durable and resists breakage, but it scratches, can fade, and can be hard to clean. Ceramic or stoneware cat bowls can be a good choice, except they can chip or break easily.

Because they are heavier, these types of containers stay put better and don't slide across the floor as easily as their lighter counterparts. If you choose a ceramic bowl, make sure it's made with lead-free paint and glaze. Stainless steel cat bowls endure a lot of abuse, and are easy to clean. They are usually fitted with rubber on the bottom so they don't glide across the floor too.

If you're going to put your cat's food and water bowls in your dishwasher, be sure you choose containers that have "Dishwasher Safe" stamped on them.

3. Choose Appropriate Sizes of Cat Bowls

Kittens can use small food and water bowls, but as they grow up, you'll need to buy them larger bowls to accommodate their appetites and drinking habits. An important thing to consider when you're buying food and water bowls, in relation to their sizes, is how many cats will be sharing the bowls and how often you will feed and water them. For example, two of my adults cats share food and water bowls that hold about a half cup each. The bowls are really too small since I have to refill them once or twice a day. But, since I work at home, that's usually not a problem. My other five felines all share large-sized food and water bowls that I can fill up in the morning and it lasts them all day. For people who work outside their homes, or who don't want to keep remembering to refill the cat dishes, it's best to buy larger bowls you can put more food and water into at a time.

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/470514/important_things_to_consider_when_buying.html