How do you wash food bowls?

[PotassiumPermanganate]

For those who hand wash their dishes rather than using a dishwasher, do you wash your cat's food bowls in the same dish as the rest of the washing up? Do you use the same cloth or scrubby thing? I wait til all the dishes are done and then wash out the food bowls separately with a sponge that is only for use with cat food bowls. But my husband just chucks it all in together, same dish, same cloth. Is he being disgusting? Or am I being too fussy?

Mine licks his bowl clean, so after I wash up I pour the dirty water over it in the mini sink. Honestly that cleans it enough, might wipe round with a piece of kitchen roll.

I wash the cat bowls separately, using a separate washing sponge and tea towel. I would worry about picking up germs.

I wash mine by hand in the morning. They have their own sponge.

Human dishes go in the dishwasher. Most dishwashers don’t sterilise so I wouldn’t put cat dishes in there personally.

I wash them at the end with their own dedicated cloth. I don’t want my washing up sponge to smell of cat food! Same washing up bowl but after everything else has been washed up.

Ugh am I reading this right....people put their pet bowls in the dishwasher or same washing up area as humans use?! That's thoroughly gross....
Cats and Dogs lick their bums, then eat their food....pet saliva is absolutely full of germs! 🤢🤢🤢
I seriously hope you all never have any poor unsuspecting guests round for meals....or have babies....or are pregnant, as that is a health risk with the likes of toxoplasmosis in cats.

And yes i've had cats and dogs before....but their dirty bowls would either be washed outside at tap or in old bowl of hot soapy water, or in a separate downstairs sink.Never in the same washing up bowl/sink as human washing up was done.And always with completely separate cloths, and dried with kitchen roll.

My Mum did the same and lived to 86 and I seem to have made it to 50 without the cat poisoning me! My guests seem to be doing ok as well and I have no idea how my cat sitter survived looking after my cat when she was pregnant.

Talk about overreact! Not all of us have a separate downstairs sink and I’m not standing in the garden to was the cat bowls FFS!

Yes to all of those things and we’re all alive and kicking, hale and hearty.

Mine get fed in the utility. So they have their own little sink and sponge in there. But I used to keep a cat bowl sponge under the sink when they were fed in the kitchen

Dishwasher here. After a wipe out with a bit of kitchen roll. (wet food cat)
Always a clean bowl twice a day though. I’ve seen people just fill up an empty pet bowl which is a bit gross when it’s had meat and saliva in it.

Yep - we don’t even own a dishwasher. Cat and dog bowls get washed in the sink along with our bowls - never been an issue in all my years of owning animals.

I also work with animals and don’t have a single client who has a separate area for washing their pet dishes.

None of us have died or poisoned ourselves yet

I’m a bit fussy about it all because I have a scar on my retina from getting toxoplasmosis as a child when we had cats. It’s meant I’ve got a tiny bit in my vision that is completely black. It happened when I was about 5 (now 44) and opticians always comment on it in eye exams. Because of this I’m super conscious about cleaning cat bowls and cat litter trays completely separately. I’d never wash them with our own things.

With the bowls I wait till they’re finished and then as soon as I can I squirt some washing up liquid and hot water into them and leave them to soak on the side. When I’m ready to use them again they just need a quick rinse out with clean water and a sponge and they’re good to go.

As a pp said, cat food by law must be fit for human consumption. Any dangers to health from washing pet bowls and human bowls together comes from bacteria which grows on any dirty food bowl, so a cat bowl left out dirty is about as dangerous as a "human food" bowl or plate left out dirty for the same length of time.

Any dangerous bacteria in the saliva of pets is only harmful if it gets into broken skin.

As a single person I don't run the dishwasher every day but cat bowls get cleaned twice a day, so I'd guess my own dishes are actually worse than the cat dishes!

I wipe scraps out, then put them in the washing basin (not bowl), very hot soapy water, left to soak then washed with own sponge. I do change the sponges often. Rinse then put on own dedicated drying rack I bought for the cat bowls.

Washed after the human dishes, just use fingers to scrub bits off (dry food so never too bad) and kitchen roll to dry them.

Well i hope you at least have a separate washing up bowl for human dishes 🙈

It's not just about the health risks, its also about mixing up dog drool and cat saliva with things humans use....Surely it's just basic hygiene :-/

But then I wouldn't let a dog kiss me on the mouth either and i'm guessing alot of people on this thread are in the camp of that being okay too 🤢

Dishwasher

It's not just about the health risks, its also about mixing up dog drool and cat saliva with things humans use....Surely it's just basic hygiene :-/

I'm surprised you even have pets, tbh.

Cats lick themselves constantly - I assume you never touch them, let them on your furniture etc. in case of germs?

I’ve shared a washing up bowl, had dog kisses, had dogs sleep on my bed for almost 50 years. I’m healthy as a horse. The only reason I have an animal specific dishwasher now is that I have so many of them, I can’t be arsed to hand wash them all and they won’t all fit in the main dishwasher.
I also, you will be horrified to learn, host many, many dinner parties at my house. Everyone who attends knows exactly what animals live in my house and how I treat them. No one has ever refused to attend and no one has ever been ill.

Two washing up bowls, one for humans and one for cats. Cat one sits on the floor and gradually fills up over the day. No need to wipe them clean as we have one specific cat whose job is to lick all dishes clean. Hot soapy water from human dishes added in the evening and many, many dishes washed ready for the following day.

Nope, same one - I have a postage sized kitchen so no room to keep a second washing up bowl.

I don't have a dog but I kiss my cat on the nose, he's so cute it would be rude not to!

Mine are washed separately, the thought of mixing them in with my own bowls makes me feel sick (and I don’t change my bed weekly or my towels after every wash)

I put my in the dishwasher along with our plates and the toilet brush.

Like this?

Toxo comes from cat poo - not many cats poo in their bowl.

Grew up with pet bowls kept away from human bowls, washing up too and stick to the same rules as an adult. Same as never letting a pet eat food from human crockery, basic hygiene. Animals, as cute as they are, can be dirty!