How to choose the right cat bowl?
Did you know cat bowls can affect your cat’s appetite? Choosing the right cat bowl is very important for cats. We can’t choose containers as cat bowls at will, which will affect the cat’s appetite and health. How to choose the right cat bowl for our cats is a very important thing.
How to choose the right cat bowl? We analyze according to material, size, height and cat characteristics, etc., to help you choose the right cat bowl for your cat.
1. Cat bowl material
In addition to the difference in appearance. Different materials of cat bowls will also affect the use experience of cats and subsequent cleaning. The common materials of cat bowls on the market mainly include: ceramic, glass, stainless steel, and plastic materials. Let’s talk about the difference between cat bowls of different materials.
1.1 Ceramic cat bowl
Cat bowls made of ceramics have the advantages of not being easily damaged and easy to clean, and the weight of ceramics is heavier than cat bowls made of other materials. The cat bowls have good stability and will not move due to cats licking. It is recommend that when you choose ceramic cat bowls. It is best to choose ceramic bowls suitable for microwave ovens. When making raw food for cats, you can slightly heat them so that cats can taste the best food.
1.2 Glass cat bowl
The glass cat bowl also has the advantages of good stability, not easy to damage, and easy to clean. In addition, the simple and elegant appearance of the glass material. It has become the first choice of many owners who pursue beauty, but special attention should pay when using glass cat bowls. Glass products are quite easy to break. So you must pay more attention when moving and using them to avoid harm to cats.
1.3 stainless steel cat bowl
The biggest advantage of stainless steel cat bowls is that they are very scratch-resistant and drop-resistant. Plus they are quite easy to clean. Even if the appearance is not as good as glass or ceramic cat bowls. Stainless steel bowls are still a popular choice for pet owners to choose cat bowls.
Because the weight of stainless steel cat bowls is not as heavy as that of glass and ceramic cat bowls, cats tend to move the bowl when eating. Therefore, when choosing stainless steel bowls, it is recommend to choose a cat bowl set with a cat bowl non-slip mat or a fixed cat bowl shelf. But be careful, not every cat can accept the taste of metal products, so it is best to know the cat’s preferences before choosing to buy a stainless steel cat bowl.
1.4 Plastic cat bowl
The biggest advantage of plastic cat bowls is that they are cheap. The smoothness of plastic prevents cats from feeling uncomfortable due to metal taste and cold stimulation when eating. Therefore, plastic cat bowls are also a popular choice for cat bowls.
However, the plastic cat bowl is cheap is its advantage, but also because the material is plastic. It also has the biggest disadvantage. The material is not hard enough. It is prone to scratches. And it is not easy to clean, allowing bacteria to breed in the scratches. It is not replaced regularly after long-term use. It Can cause health problems for cats, so plastic cats must be replaced regularly.
Degao Pet Supplies suggestion: no matter what kind of cat bowl you choose, it should clean regularly to avoid the growth of bacteria and affect the health of cats.
2. Cat bowl size
The size of the cat bowl includes the width of the mouth of the cat bowl and the depth of the cat bowl. It seems unimportant, but these two data directly affect the cat’s eating comfort.
2.1 The width of the cat bowl
Cats are sensitive to the width of the cat bowl. The cat’s whiskers are use to maintain balance and judge the environment. When the cat is eating, the width of the cat bowl is not enough, and the cat’s whiskers will definitely touch the cat bowl. Cat to avoid the discomfort of cat whiskers touching cat bowl. The cat will take out the food in the cat bowl and then eat. In order to prevent the cat from getting food everywhere, choose a cat bowl with a wider width as the cat bowl.
2.2 Depth of the cat bowl
The depth of the cat bowl will affect the key to whether the cat can eat the food in the bowl smoothly. If the depth of the cat bowl is too deep. The edge of the bowl will get stuck in the cat’s throat when the cat eats, causing the cat’s discomfort. Cat cannot to eat the food in the bowl. If the cat bowl is too shallow, there is no problem for the cat to eat, but the food is easy to spill when the cat eats, resulting in a mess after the cat meal. When choosing a cat bowl, it is necessary to choose a cat that is suitable for the size of your cat. cat bowl depth, depth is suitable for neither affecting the cat to eat, nor spilling food.
3. The height of the cat bowl
If you are a cat owner, you must have heard that the cat bowl must elevat, otherwise the cat’s cervical spine will be easily injure. Do cat bowls have to elevate? Does the height of the cat dish rack really affect the health of the cat’s cervical spine?
For cats, the posture of leaning over and bowing their heads to eat is actually the most suitable for cats’ physiological structure and is very comfortable. If the cat bowl is raise without considering the actual situation. It will increase the risk of cats choking when eating.
Under normal circumstances, the cat’s cat bowl does not need to raised hight. Usually, only the cat suffers from a special disease, and the cat bowl needs to raise high under the advice of the veterinarian.
Some special cats will have special preferences, not as good as the angle of the cat bowl, and there will be special requirements. For cats with this special preference, the angle of the cat bowl can only be adjusted by raising it. Some owner take care cat like a children, Protect cat’s diet clean. Adjust the height of the cat bowl to prevent dust, foreign objects and insects from entering the cat bowl.
In fact, whether the cat bowl needs to raised, except for special diseases, we can determine whether the cat bowl needs to be raised by measuring the height of the elbow joint of the cat’s front legs. If the cat needs to bend the elbow when eating, then the cat bowl should be properly raised. Let the cat eat in the most relaxed posture, otherwise there is no need to raise the cat bowl.
4. Characteristics of cats
In addition to choosing the size and material of the cat bowl, another important feature is the cat’s eating characteristics. Some cats will gobble up food, some cats are more gentle, and some cats will eat a lot. , and then spit it all out, and some of them affect eating due to physiological structure reasons, these should be observ and considered at ordinary times.
For example, if a cat eats gobble up food, and then spit it all out, it is necessary to choose a cat slow bowl with a raised design in the bowl according to its characteristics. The slow food bowl can allow the cat to slow down when eating because of the obstacle design in the cat bowl Speed to avoid the possibility of vomiting or choking if you eat too fast.
Cats with special physiological structures, such as Persian cats, Garfield cats and other cats, have short snouts. The cat bowls used by general cats are too deep for them. Shallow and uncurved trays serve as cat bowls, allowing them to eat in a clean and elegant manner.
5. The cleaning and service life of the cat bowl
5.1 Cleaning the cat bowl
When cats eat, they will lick the bowl cleanly. Many cat owners think that this way they don’t need to clean the cat bowl, but this is wrong. In fact, there will be a lot of grease, saliva and bacteria that are invisible to the naked eye. If you feed them Wet food such as raw food should wash immediately after the meal. If it is dry cat food, it is recommend not to exceed 3 days, and it is best to clean it every day. Cleaning must be done with a detergent that is harmless to pets, and then rinsed with clean water to prevent cats from accidentally eating the detergent and affecting their health of the cat.
5.2 Lifespan of the cat bowl
If you use a plastic cat bowl, it is best to change it every 3 months to half a year; if you use a hard bowl such as glass or ceramics, it is recommend to change it every 1 to 2 years, so as not to allow bacteria to have a chance to grow and thrive.