Written by Karen Lease on 21^st May 1997

Recently a friend in England gave Harrietta, a blue cream Burmese, for her birthday a lovely ceramic feeding bowl. Harrietta is her favorite Burmese of those that I have bred. It was lovely beyond words. It was to her great dismay that this careful selected dish would never be used by this cat but that I have it as a nut dish on my sideboard.

Of all the different types of food bowls, ceramic bowls are often the most attractive choice for your home décor. Ceramic comes beautifully painted and glazed in a wide variety of designs and colours. Just because they look beautiful, doesn’t need they can’t be dangerous or even deadly to your cat. Many of the glazes used on ceramic ware contain lead, which is toxic to your cat.

What other food bowls are safe or not so safe for your cat? A glass bowl is certainly elegant. A crystal dish would make any feline an aristocat. However, while glass is most people choice for drinking from, as it doesn’t produce any smell or taste, it does break…and they are cats. It would be a rather traumatic event for any veterinarians who have to put them back together again should this occur.

Nearly every store carries a huge range of plastic dishes in every size, shape, and color for cats. Many experts agree that wrong plastic can be the worst container for your pet’s food. Plastic is not a good choice as its wears and as the edges get rough, bacteria can hide in the crevices. The bacteria can not only irritate the cat’s skin but cause stomach upsets.

The best choice according to most experts is stainless steel dishes. The reasons why stainless is preferred is due to the ease of cleaning; it can’t break; and will not harbour bacteria.

Irrespective of what bowl your cat is given to eat from, it should be clean. Bowls should be washed in hot soap water and disinfected with Clorox bleach most experts agree.

I personally used disposable take away food containers, which are used only 3 to 4 times and washed after every meal at very high temperatures in the dishwasher. If I am not prepared to eat from a dish myself, I am certainly not prepared to feed my Burmese and Birman from them.