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?

well since animal food i.e. cat and dog food is made with human grade food and has to be in the uk its no different from human food bowls

and how many of you lot moaning have sex many more germs etc than a cat or dogs mouth lol no wonder there's more diseases now than before my gran lived to 96 and fried chips in a pan mice had taken a bite out yet most on here be dead by 60 no proper immune system

I don’t know a single person IRL who gets up to wash their hands every time they stroke their cats. Do you, really?

I wash my dogs bowls in the sink after I’ve done my own stuff . same water but last to be washed

Oh ok.

I do before I handle food!

I wash my pets' bowls in the utility room sink, with a washing-up brush that is kept just for them. I know it's human-grade meat (as in, the less desirable cuts from farm animals that have been approved for human consumption), but I suspect that the food is not produced to quite the same standards of hygiene as human food is. And even if it has, I know the cat was licking her bottom five minutes before she was licking up her food, and the dog eats the most unmentionable things on her walks, so I don't want their saliva anywhere near my cutlery and crockery!

All that being said, the cat sits on the table and the dog sleeps on our beds, so I know I'm being illogical about this.

Before cooking, sure, but I don’t know a single person who would wash their hands between say, fussing their cat and grabbing a banana or chocolate bar.

But then I share my food with the animals and let them lick my plate, and the cats are always on the counters or on the beds and nobody has ever been sick from it.

Each to their own!

You can catch things like E.coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter from cat and dog dishes and saliva, as well a variety of parasites, including Toxoplasmosis. The chance of catching these things from a cat’s fur is virtually non existent, so simply fussing a cat is not the same thing at all.

If you want to take that risk then that’s up to you, but I wouldn’t let any animal lick my face or plate, and would always wash pet dishes separately. I would also wash my hands if they were licked by any animal.

Meh. My animals lick my plates, share my food (only pet-safe food) and sleep in my bed. I also work with 15-20 animals a day (from goats to horses to cats and dogs) who lick me and drool on me and all sorts - I'm never sick.

May be down to pure luck tho!

Maybe, but I'll take my chances. I'm a big believer in natural immunity and exposure to germs.

Oh wow, I didn't expect so many responses, I haven't been checking! It looks very much split down the middle here, and I'm going to stick with my own method of a separate wash. My cat hangs around with some dodgy looking mates so lord knows what mucky stuff they get up to around the streets!

I’ve got the Minky fish shaped ones !

I rinse out the bits, as soon as they are used, spray with an anti bac spray then wash them up at the end / last thing, with minky pet scrubby, there is no way I’d mix them i with my crocks

The sink in the utility room

I take the washing up bowl out of the sink and then put the bowls in the sink (3 per day). A tiny squirt of washing up liquid in each and fill with hot water. Leave for an hour, rinse out and put on drainer to dry.

Really no faff at all.

But you stroke them with your hands, which is different to something related to your mouth

But the vast vast majority of people don’t wash their hands every time they stroke their pets. So they’re then rubbing their eyes, moving hair out of the way, maybe licking their fingers to turn a page, using their phones etc.

Mine have there own brush i wash them at a different time of day to the regular washing up though because they eat meat overnight so its not all washed together

Salmonella, for example, isn't always killed in a dishwasher, pets can harbour salmonella in their poop and mouths, esp dogs.

While vast majority as you put it don't wash their hands, I was always brought up to wash my hands after a big cuddle, be it dog or cat after. Sure, as an adult I will touch my face or something before washing my hands but I do tend to wash them as a general rule and always before eating, making a cuppa, whatever. I think there are a fair few of us do too.

Sure, it's not 100% fool proof but to me it makes no sense to up the odds of getting sick significantly by allowing a pet to eat of human plates. We are advised not to, for our sake as well as for the animals sake.

I wash my dogs stepping hot soapy water with a different sponge thing to the rest, also have a silicone brush thing for them as they are slow feeders so easier to get in the tricky bits. Also use separate fork for their food, it gives me the heeby jeebies with their dog food. The horse bough I would happily share with 🤣

I wash them on their own in hot water, then dry them with a paper towel.. job done.

When a washing up sponge starts to get manky it is retired to either bathroom, garden or cat bowl duties. They get cut in half on retirement, so small sponges are for other jobs, big ones for human pots. Same sink but different water or cat bowl last.