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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:
issey6cats · 27/12/2011 21:30

aww previouslyonlost my heart goes out to you 22 years is a lovely long life so console yourself with all the good memories

Anniegetyourgun · 27/12/2011 21:32

So sorry for your forthcoming loss, PreviouslyonLost. 22 years is a fabulous innings though, and you're doing the right thing by your old friend. Unlike people, he doesn't have to carry on long after his quality of life has gone down the pan.

PreviouslyonLost · 27/12/2011 21:32

Thanks Dustinthewind he's on my knee at the moment, and the tears were streaming just typing my post out. He's just pre-'suffering' stage so it has to be now.

sprinkles77 · 27/12/2011 21:43

previously Sad

OP YANBU. Though I only do ours on the rare occasion that she hasn't licked every last morsel of food off the inside and outside, or if I remember to put it in the dishwasher.

Original poster
DeepnCrispnEven · 27/12/2011 22:27

So sorry previously I feel for you.

OP posts:
simpson · 27/12/2011 22:30

my cats don't drink from their water bowl but prefer puddles outside Hmm

Have to confess I don't wash them every day (food bowls) but tbh they eat all the food as soon as its put down so nothing is left.

They are washed every other day in the dishwasher, although the dried food bowl lasts longer.

simpson · 27/12/2011 22:30

previously Sad

OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere · 27/12/2011 22:32

Cat food STINKs so yanbu.
In the summer it gets flyblown within minutes so YANBU.

effingwotsits · 27/12/2011 22:34

I wash my cats bowls after each meal. However, my dogs are fed outside and they are done considerably less Blush

Spero · 27/12/2011 22:39

I wash them every three days or so. They don't leave huge amounts of food to go rotten, usually bowls are licked pretty clean. My mum washes bowls twice a day. I have not noticed any difference health wise between our cats. I think she is a bit ott but if that is how she likes to spend her time, it's up to her.

I not think your husband is unreasonable. They are cats, not new born babies. If it bothers you so much, for sake of domestic harmony, you should feed and wash so it's done to your standards.

Bunbaker · 27/12/2011 22:47

Previously I have been through this as well. My heart goes out to you.

Back to the original subject. Not washing a cat bowl is a revolting practice, especially in summer. I left a dish of cat food down one hot summer's day and went to work. By the time I got home there were maggots crawling around the bowl.

I always washed the cats dishes - food and water, every day. The food dishes were washed after every use.

Spero Your kitchen must stink. Leaving cat dishes unwashed for three days is gross.

BibiBlocksberg · 27/12/2011 23:00

My two have their bowls washed after every meal - just realised from this thread how spoilt they really are.

Mind you, when I see them disembowelling a mouse or a bird or have to listen to them noisily 'eating' their backsided in the middle of the night, I do wonder why I feel their bowls have to be cleaned for every meal Grin

zukiecat · 27/12/2011 23:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BibiBlocksberg · 27/12/2011 23:00

'backsides' - sigh, can't even blame auto-correct this time.

marriedandwreathedinholly · 27/12/2011 23:27

previously I will think of both of you tomorrow afternoon.

LordOfTheFlies · 27/12/2011 23:33

Awww previouslyonlost that is Sad
.

We had our 17 yo moggie PTS a few years back- she was going downhill fast.
And it was very peaceful, dignified and decent.
Better a week too early than a day too late -the saying goes.

Fellow daily cat bowl washer.

Spero · 27/12/2011 23:45

Nope. Kitchen doesn't stink. They eat all the food then lick it the bowl clean. Perhaps a few small hardened crumbs on side. Never had any maggots. Maybe some of you are putting too much food in at one time?

It's up to you how you spend your time. My opinion has been sought and I give it. I don't think it remotely unreasonable to leave it a few days between washes.

LordOfTheFlies · 28/12/2011 00:00

Our Feline Furbaby ( IABU calling her that Xmas Blush ) didn't drink tap water either.

The composty,tepid water that the begonias sat in was much more to her taste !

PreviouslyonLost · 28/12/2011 00:50

DeepnCrispnEven Sorry for slight thread hijack, and thank you all for the kind words...he is a great cat. At the risk of outing myself in RL, I've put a picture of him onto my photos.

He has a brilliant backstory btw, and would agree that YANBU Smile

Thanks again.

PoppaRob · 28/12/2011 03:49

My two very healthy border collies got new bowls about 5 years ago. The bowls remain unwashed!

nooka · 28/12/2011 04:07

Our cats have dry food, and I can't remember the last time their bowl went into the dishwasher. They get new water when they drink their water up. In the summer they usually drink out of the pond, so I don't think they have any problem with stagnant water. Our previous cats had wet food and their bowl got stuck in the dishwasher when they were a bit smelly, which might mean immediately in the summer. I have to admit it wasn't for their benefit.

nooka · 28/12/2011 04:09

Oh and our current cats seem to enjoy all sorts of water, the pool, puddles, the dog's bowl, their bowl, bathwater (hot and cold), and they also enjoy drinking out of the loo!

jchocchip · 28/12/2011 04:43

Cat has a nice deep water bowl but he much prefers to stand in the bath and drink from the tap or out of a bucket standing for the goldfish...

echt · 28/12/2011 06:22

I change the cat's bowl because I wouldn't leave a human's bowl dirty. It's the bowl that's dirty, not the creature that ate from it.

Also the ants where I live are absolute buggers, and all food has to be removed, all surfaces cleaned as soon as a meal is over.

I was always this clean with cat's bowls, but not so red-hot on the post-meal clean-up until our recent move. Serves me right for living on a sand-dune.

The dog and cat have communal water bowls inside and outside the house - they are booted out when we are at work. The cat requires the shower to be run a little very morning so he can drink from the floor. He attributes his long life (18) to this practice.

previously I hope it went as well it could for your old cat. Looks like he had his nine lives and more.

liveinazoo · 28/12/2011 06:41

previouslybin in your position.heartbreaking saying goodbye to a faithful friend.sending you sympathy and a hug if its wanted
unwashed bowls are for the slothernly!they stink and i hate dlies in the house