Cleaning the Eternally Gross Water Bowl

[ClassAction]

My cat has two water bowls: one to drink from and one to play in (and drink from too). The play one gets toys dunked in it, paws splashed around and his feather-on-a-stick can spend an overnight in there.

Needless to say, that water gets dirty REALLY fast. I’ve been swapping out the bowls every day, cleaning one and having the other one down. Unfortunately, both bowls have been er growing stuff by the end of the first day. No matter how much I scrub them with detergent!

I’d like them to be really clean but I don’t want to use something nasty because he does drink out of it sometimes and he carries his toys around (the ones that have been soaking) in his mouth. Any ideas for cleaning products that I won’t have to worry so much about?

[threedogpack]

wash as usual, then add a few drops of bleach to some water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Rinse well and let air dry. If these are plastic bowls they sometimes seem to hang onto bacteria even when washed with soap and water.

[Alagirl]

maybe time to ditch the bowls and get fresh ones.

Stick the bowl in the dishwasher, top shelf. A round of good hot water helps to curb some cooties growing.

I also wash the bowls with regular dish soap. If it’s good for me (or not bad) can’t be that terrible for the critters! (I rinse after scrubbing)

But seriously! The cat skipped kitteh 101: Cats are supposed to HATE water!
:lol::lol::lol:

[eventer_mi]

Automatic watering bowls tend to stay cleaner, longer, as the water is constantly circulating. I have one of those round ones that have four spouts so that all four of my critters (two dogs, two cats) can drink. I, too, have a kitty that likes to play with the water, drop leaves in it, put her green feather boa on a stick in it, etc. It stays cleaner than the ceramic bowl we used to use.

[bort84]

My cats are gross, and I have the stainless steel bowls (for food - wet - and water) that supposedly have some sort of antimicrobial coating - they stay fine even if I’m not great about cleaning them. I throw them in the dishwasher every now and again, and they are as good as new (or just a quick soak in hot water and some dish soap - same story). I have the same bowls for my dog, and they will get a little bit of that slick feeling after a couple of days (even with changing the water and adding fresh), but it comes right off with a quick rinse. Usually just a once a day rinse with my hand as a sponge and no soap is plenty, then a little soap from time to time whenever it’s needed.

Also, my kitties LOVE their water fountain. If you decide to get one of those, make sure you get one that’s easy to clean and take completely apart because you do still need to do it often to prevent scum growing. I had a more expensive one and then just got a $20 one that was a Petco brand because it had fewer nooks and crannies to get gross. It works quite well = )

[Alagirl]

@eventer_mi;5652775

Automatic watering bowls tend to stay cleaner, longer, as the water is constantly circulating. I have one of those round ones that have four spouts so that all four of my critters (two dogs, two cats) can drink. I, too, have a kitty that likes to play with the water, drop leaves in it, put her green feather boa on a stick in it, etc. It stays cleaner than the ceramic bowl we used to use.

[quote=bort84;5653465]My cats are gross, and I have the stainless steel bowls (for food - wet - and water) that supposedly have some sort of antimicrobial coating - they stay fine even if I’m not great about cleaning them. I throw them in the dishwasher every now and again, and they are as good as new (or just a quick soak in hot water and some dish soap - same story). I have the same bowls for my dog, and they will get a little bit of that slick feeling after a couple of days (even with changing the water and adding fresh), but it comes right off with a quick rinse. Usually just a once a day rinse with my hand as a sponge and no soap is plenty, then a little soap from time to time whenever it’s needed.

Also, my kitties LOVE their water fountain. If you decide to get one of those, make sure you get one that’s easy to clean and take completely apart because you do still need to do it often to prevent scum growing. I had a more expensive one and then just got a $20 one that was a Petco brand because it had fewer nooks and crannies to get gross. It works quite well = )
[/quote]

links pls…

[bort84]

@Alagirl;5653486

links pls…

Well the stainless steel bowls are the kind they have all over the place at any pet store. I think mine had some sort of antimicrobial coating advertised, but either way, stainless steel tends to be a good way to go because it’s nonporous. And these tend to be very cheap and offered in all shapes and sizes.

For the water fountains, I currently use this one from Petco because it was super cheap and a lot easier to clean than my other one: http://www.petco.com/product/109056/PETCO-Automatic-Cat-Water-Fountain.aspx

This is the old one that was a PITA to clean (needed little brushes and stuff to clean out all the crevices, boo): http://www.petco.com/product/8820/Drinkwell-Pet-Fountain-for-Cats.aspx

This is the one I’m coveting because it is stainless steel and also incredibly easy to clean (dishwasher safe and basically no little nooks or crannies!): http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+15+22535&pcatid=22535

[ClassAction]

Bother! I’m using stainless steel. Maybe Bean is just extra gross?

He’s managed this with a glass bowl too. I’ll try the auto waterer and see how that goes. Thanks!

[bort84]

@ClassAction;5653925

Bother! I’m using stainless steel. Maybe Bean is just extra gross?

He’s managed this with a glass bowl too. I’ll try the auto waterer and see how that goes. Thanks!

Yeah, if you’ve got stuff growing in a water bowl after just a day, maybe you’ve just got an extra gross kitty! Haha.

It’s hilarious to me that cats supposedly hate water! Mine love to get in the tub after we’ve showered, and my little one’s favorite thing to do is find stray water glasses and knock them over to play in… If she sees any water in a container that can be moved, she’s gonna mess with it, scooch it around, and get water EVERYWHERE. She requires a heavy fountain or a weighted bowl = )

[eventer_mi]

Like bort84, I used the first one she posted, and it was a PITA because of all the cleaning. I got this one recently: http://www.petco.com/product/110902/Drinkwell-360-Fountain-for-Pets.aspx?CoreCat=firstinresult_dogbowls and it’s much easier to clean. I have dogs drinking from mine so a little one doesn’t do the trick. I’ve noticed that it stays cleaner than its predecessor, and fewer toys get tossed into the “drink”.

[Alagirl]

I have one like the PITA one…what a fail design! (the pump is in the bottom where you can’t get to it to clean, but where the water can run out…there is a large tank with water that will never be drained into the drinking basin, plus if you turn it up too high, the water spills…sad waste of money!
(I should take it back, since the faucet drinker never really touched it…the main reason why I bought it)

[bort84]

@Alagirl;5656583

I have one like the PITA one…what a fail design! (the pump is in the bottom where you can’t get to it to clean, but where the water can run out…there is a large tank with water that will never be drained into the drinking basin, plus if you turn it up too high, the water spills…sad waste of money!
(I should take it back, since the faucet drinker never really touched it…the main reason why I bought it)

I was perusing Amazon after I found that stainless steel fountain I linked to: there are a couple more on there (one bigger) that aren’t quite as spendy… I may have to get one!