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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wash cat bowl every day ?

60 replies

DeepnCrispnEven · 27/12/2011 19:16

I wash the cat bowl every day because I have memories of maggots appearing when was child. The cat won't eat out of a dirty bowl anyway.

DH says I am spoiling the cat and twice a year when he feeds her he won't clean the bowl. Unsurprisingly the cat won't eat what he leaves for her and it has to be thrown away. He says this is is wasteful and indulgent.

I think cat bowls need to be cleaned everyday. AIBU ?

OP posts:
tigerlillyd02 · 27/12/2011 19:19

To be honest, I never washed them every day when I had cats. But, it is nice to - I wished I was more disciplined and did it! I did it more if giving them tinned food but not for dry food. It's definitely not spoiling - you're not spoiling yourself by washing up your own plate are you?

RainboweBrite · 27/12/2011 19:19

Our cat is 13 now and hasn't tolerated canned food well for a few years. She still enjoys it, so we feed her it once a day every other day, so dry food three quarters of the time and wet one quarter. So in our case, we don't wash the bowl every day, but I think if you feed canned food every day, the bowl should be washed every day, or every other day at the least.

Sparklingbaubles · 27/12/2011 19:20

Yes-clean bowls every day and fresh water. Would he like his dinner on a dirty plate?

MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay · 27/12/2011 19:20

You are NOT BU! UGH at your DH not cleaning the bowl. That's gross!

We wash the cats food bowls every day.. cats go by sense of smell and ours avoid old food, and besides old cat food in the kitchen isn't nice!

Tell him that when the cat gets sick from having to eat from a dirty bowl he can pay the vet bill...!

squeakytoy · 27/12/2011 19:21

I figure that I wouldnt want to eat rotten dirty food from previous meals, so I wouldnt expect my pets to either.

fifteenfiftyfive · 27/12/2011 19:24

er, "spoiling" the cat when putting down more wet food the next day?

Your DH sounds like a bit of a lazy bastard that has no idea about the care of animals. I'm not a cat owner, but I did grow up in a family where cats were owned - they're not terribly fussy, but do normally have minimum standards of cleanliness, which is massively being pushed if it's to your DH's standards.

just when WOULD he clean the bowls if you left him to it?

In all honesty, without joking around, your DH is possibly causing the cat quite an amount of stress - it doesn't take 2 minutes to rinse and clean out a bowl of cat food (I presume the cat you have is eating most of what you put down anyway as a matter of course). Lazy fecker, really, your DH.

Winkly · 27/12/2011 19:25

Personally I wouldn't eat off a dirty bowl!

fifteenfiftyfive · 27/12/2011 19:28

Also, fresh water goes without saying. Isn't there an inbuilt aversion to food that's been left to lay overnight/water that's been there for hours, i.e. because in the wild they would never drink from stagnant water or food taht wasn't fresh from the kill? I'm desperately trying to remember the cat care tips from when I was a child, but I DO remember that causing your cats unnecessary stress by fucking around with their food (which is what your DH is doing, if he's choosng a lazy option as opposed to doing the bare minimum to ensure fresh food/water is down) can cause issues like them not eating well, or drinking enough water, which OF COURSE has UTI implications.

Which equals huge vet bills, and pain/discomfort for what is supposed to be a family member!

Honestly, your DH is an ARSE.

mummymccar · 27/12/2011 19:28

If you don't clean the cat's bowl everyday they can get cat acne which if left untreated can spread all over their body making them itchy and irritable. The problem is that if they have thick dark fur you can't tell very easily that they have it so YANBU!

alistron1 · 27/12/2011 19:28

YANBU at all, but then again I do pamper my little kitty to a ridiculous extent Grin

Today I have cleaned out chickens, washed cat bowls and am now about to clean out the rabbit - I do all of this every day. it's easier spending an hour a day doing all the above than leaving it to mount up and I can't bear thinking of the animals being uncomfortable.

zukiecat · 27/12/2011 19:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TeaandHobnobs · 27/12/2011 19:35

My DH also thinks I am mad for giving the cat a clean bowl every day. I tell him to feck off Xmas Grin

marriedandwreathedinholly · 27/12/2011 20:16

Three cats here: bowl each for wet food and communal large bowls for dry food and water. The bowls are washed every morning. Would you keep using the same dirty plate for your food? Yuk.

hiddenhome · 27/12/2011 20:40

I wash ours every day Smile

YANBU

Noopypappy · 27/12/2011 20:44

Mine only eat dry food and I don't clean the bowl every day. I change the water every other day but if it looks manky then I change it sooner. If they ate meat I would certainly change the bowl after every meal.

Dustinthewind · 27/12/2011 20:44

I wash the dishes every day, wet food, dry food and water fountain.
The cat obviously has higher hygiene standards than the OP's DH.

CurlyBoy · 27/12/2011 21:19

Ours get soft food twice a day and the bowls get changed every 2 or 3 days. They never seem to have a problem with it.

squaresausage · 27/12/2011 21:20

Eh, No.

usualsuspect · 27/12/2011 21:22

I don't wash my cats bowl every day , but then he prefers mucky old rain water to fresh water so I don't think hes too bothered

Also hes a cat ,not a human

MrsvWoolf · 27/12/2011 21:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

usualsuspect · 27/12/2011 21:26

I've never met a cat yet that didn't drink puddle water

Dustinthewind · 27/12/2011 21:28

Mine likes the rain barrel water, but that is a bit different to eating from a dish contaminated with rotting meat.

PreviouslyonLost · 27/12/2011 21:28

Daily cat bowl washer here...but tomorrow I will be doing it for the last time. Vet booked for home visit at 4pm. 22 years of companionship, sleep well gorgeous old boy.

Sad
issey6cats · 27/12/2011 21:29

i have five cats and i wouldnt like to eat off a reused dirty plate so neither would they, but where water is concerned cats actually prefer water that has been stood for 24 hours as there is too much chlorine in fresh from the tap water and then after a few hours the chlorine has dissipated, the solution is to have a four pinta milk bottle, fill it and leave it for 24 hours and use the water out of that, that is what is done at the cat rescue i work at aswell, and thier dishes go through a dishwasher every day so ultra clean

Dustinthewind · 27/12/2011 21:30

Oh Previously, I'm sorry. Sad