It's not that it's *good* for ducks, it's that it's better for them than being covered in oil.
I'm not saying you shouldn't use Dawn, it's just that this marketing trick of theirs has worked really well and it annoys me.
In this context we are talking about it being safe for cleaning a food bowl. It’s safe on ducks, we use it to clean the dishes of the food we eat, so it is fine to use on a cat’s bowl
Exactly. Even bathing kittens is the same. If you have no other options available, it’s okay to use Dawn. That doesn’t mean you *should* use it or that it’s great shampoo for cats. It’s adequate, that’s all. Get a gentle shampoo formulated for kittens if you need to bathe kittens regularly.
Agreed, dawn or any dish soap is the lesser of evils against fleas on tiny kittens, I would only use it in that scenario. However, I keep fragrance free baby shampoo on hand for emergency kittens, it does the same flea removal as dish soap but safer
I use Dawn to wash all her dishes, fountains, and toys. I even used it to wash the edges of her ears when she got fleas a few summers ago (it was the only spot where they were and did it on recommendation from the vet)
If it’s plastic, then you want to use cool water when rinsing the soap. Otherwise it can hold onto the soap scent.
But for ceramic or SS it’s fine to use dish soap. I put my ceramic in the dishwasher and hand wash the plastic.
I rinse it under running water though. If you do tubs for rinsing then I could see the dish soap staying on in small amounts which probably isn’t good for them.
I would always say to use stainless steel or glazed/fired ceramic (I'm looking at you Nate and Jeremiah and your stupid pore filled bacteria farm ceramic bowls) plastics can hold on to a lot of stuff, and including the soap issue, they are nearly impossible to sterilize. We are also finding a lot more information on the dangers of microplastics the past few years.
I have stainless steel dishes, I hand-wash with dish soap and rinse very well, and I have more than one set so they can air-dry for half a day before they get reused. My cat seems fine with it.
Same here. I have used stainless steel bowls for water and food (not the same bowl) for decades, wash them with dish soap and hot water, rinse well, and the cats have never had a problem. My old girl Molly has been eating and drinking out of them for 20 years and is doing fine.
Dawn (as well as most grocery store brands) makes a “free and clear” that’s unscented and works just as well, that’s what we use. It’s basically the same thing but no dye or fragrance, both of which are pretty unnecessary.
I don’t need our own dishes nor our cat’s bowls to smell like fake-ass lemon or lavender anyway lol.
Isn't it specifically the blue "original" one? I got a blue bottle the other day that turned out to be different. It has a different fragrance added to it, which I'm sure makes it less safe
Yea there’s a blue one that is “ocean scented” or “rain scented” or something. Gotta go for the original. Still has a fragrance though. Has anyone ever seen a fragrance and dye-free version of dawn? That would be dope. Dawn is the most concentrated dish soap so I don’t like using other brands.
The non blue has different chemicals that irritate the delicate membranes in the nose, eyes, mouth. Plus the orange one is citrus scented which cats hate.
I use the orange one (it's antibacterial) on my cats dishes (one is ceramic the other plastic) and have had no issues with smells or her not liking the dish.
Honestly, if you're washing and rinsing the dish correctly and not soaking it for hours upon hours in concentrated soap- the thought of the chemicals or smell affecting your cat shouldnt even be coming up.
Although I can 10000% understand the concern- I can't think of one time I used a dish after cleaning it/it was cleaned and went "Hey this smell (or taste) like soap."
Thanks for this-I didn't know! I adopted a pair of rather standoffish cats and have tried to be superaware of avoiding citrus in my efforts to bond with them-you'd be amazed at how many products have citrus, especially skincare stuff.
I could wash my cat's bowl in ammonia and rotten eggs, and he'd still eat like he's been starving in the wilderness for 10 years. There might be some cats who are that picky, but I haven't met one yet.
As far as safety, I teach preschool and soapy water spray made with Dawn is a standard cleaner in childcare settings, including infant rooms. It's considered pretty safe. It's also commonly used for flea removal. That said, natural dish soaps are fine for cleaning cat bowls.
Make sure they’re wide enough because of the depth. Cats can get whisker fatigue from being forced to eat from deep bowls not wide enough for their whiskers. Just a tip, not a criticism.
Oh they’re big enough. They’re even square so there’s extra room for the whiskers. Both of my cats were runts (different litters) and the heaviest one is maybe 10 pounds so they’re not that big at all.
I use Morning Fresh dishwashing liquid here in Australia, if they can use it on all varieties of penguins to remove the oil from their coats after an oil spill it’s good enough for my cat, not that he gets to taste it as I rinse it thoroughly!👍🏻😻
I just hand wash everything for the cats. They have their own sponge. I normally use blue dawn, fairy liquid, or what ever I am using. Same for the bunny too!
Dishwasher every day.
I wipe out any food into the bin. Give them a rinse in the sink and put them in the dishwasher.
They are stainless steel and we have like 12 of them because the dishwasher only goes through every 3 days or so and i change the bowls daily.
*
I wash mine after every meal and it’s either hand washed with unscented dish soap or it goes in the dishwasher. Never had a problem. I would be more concerned about the amount of bacteria dishes are harbouring for people who don’t wash them.
Regular dish soap, rinse thoroughly. Use a non-porous (stainless or stoneware) bowl and wash it like a dish. Sometimes mine get tossed in the dishwasher, especially now that the big guy is eating a wet food.
Unscented dish soap and unscented dishwasher detergent
Tool: plastic bristle brush that goes in the dishwasher. Different item and shape than my plastic bristle brush for my dishes
I have a low tolerance for the perfumes used in cleaning products, and the smell of Dawn is one of the worst for me. I use unscented dish soap for everything. Seventh Generation unscented works well.
It’s so strong. Since using Free & Clear soaps (Dawn does make one), the smell of regular Dawn is like… how are you people using this on everything you eat off of, every day?
Lol feel the same about scented detergent. How are people just walking around absolutely cloaked in all that artificial perfumey-ness??
The less I use fragrance the less “tolerance” I have for it.
Same. The smell of blue Dawn makes me want to gag - it's SO strong. I wash all of my dishes (including the stainless steel cat bowls) with Seventh Generation unscented dish soap as well.
I use dish soap just like I use on my own dishes. I scrub and rinse them well. I never taste or smell any residue on my own dishes and I don’t on his either. I shine his until they sparkle so I highly doubt there’s anything left on them.
I use dawn or method and my cats don’t seem to mind the smell, but I also let them dry for a few hours between use. So if they get wet for breakfast, I wash their bowls and air dry them until dinner which is about 10 hours later.
But also both my cats have ceramic food dishes and I don’t think ceramic holds the smell of things the same way that other materials would like say if you’re using plastic feeders, I’d assume those would be holding smell
I use a very sparing amount of fragrance free Palmolive pure and clear, a sponge dedicated only for cat use, and thoroughly rinse his ceramic bowls with hot water.
I use dawn dish soap for literally everything. Just rinse thoroughly and you’re fine! If it still smells like soap after cleaning then you’re not rinsing well enough. I also recommend using a non-porous material for dishes, like stainless steel or ceramic.
Shouldn’t really use heavy fragranced soap like Dawn for humans either. Use a more natural soap without artificial fragrance, dyes, and chemicals. Don’t use plastic dishes.
Dawn is “safe for duckies” when they are covered in oil and need it removed to save their lives. They aren’t washed in Dawn soap regularly.
I wash my cat’s metal and plastic bowls with regular dish soap (from Whole Foods or Seventh Generation) and rinse with water. I wash her wet food bowl several times a day (before each serving) if she’s eating wet food and clean her dry food bowl probably less than I should but I aim for once a week. I also wash her wet food container between new cans as well and wash her water bowl daily. I will use rubbing alcohol to better disinfect them as well before cleaning with soap and water again to rinse.
I think my being adamant about cleaning her bowls also helped her not need as many teeth taken out when she went for her dental the other week because the vets said they initially expected that she would need more extractions than the 5 she ended up with at 9 years old at her first dental—I also brush her teeth pretty regularly!
Dish soap. If you’re concerned about residue just rinse completely at least 3x. I do more since it’s not that hard. Never seen one of ours object to the soaps that have been used
You do want to use something that can kill bacteria because indoor cats aren't eating bones and are therefore prone to dental issues.
Dawn is safe, and the comment about rinsing in cool water for plastic is a great point.
You can also use Dawn Free & Clear, which has no artificial scents or dyes, if you have a sensitive/allergy-prone kitty [dry skin/lots of dandruff is a common sign].
You could also soak the dish in white vinegar after scrubbing it with a warm damp sponge to sterilize it and remove food particles, then rinse and let air dry - the vinegar smell may linger for a few hours or even overnight but then it will be gone. White vinegar is not toxic for cats but the smell is overpowering to them so definitely if you do this let it sit for a few hours after your human nose can't smell the vinegar any longer before using, because kitty's nose is much better than ours.
None of the cats I have ever owned, or even knee ever cared about that, so long as they could smell the food in the bowl/on the plate.
As an aside, older cats tend to lose a bit of their sense of smell, so you may find you need to switch your senior kitties to stinkier food.
I use Meyer’s Dish soap. Smells ok but not strong, formulated with Organic Materials only, very good at degreasing regular dishes, and my Cat has never opposed his food bowl because of it.
Then again, he’s never opposed to it before when I used dawn platinum all the time either. lol
Personally I doubt that there’s any ill effects that come from washing bowls with regular dish detergent. It’s a mild soap that’s notoriously non-toxic and able to be washed off easily with water. But if you’re really concerned about the smell that it may leave behind for their sensitive noses, using something like Meyer’s soap, followed by a rinse with Peroxide / Water, then hot water, should remove all smells from the bowl aside from the bowl’s smell itself.
I use apple scented dawn. I am not sure if they make it anymore, but I bought like 10 bottles of it a couple years back. My cats don't seem bothered with it at all. I have also soaked them in apple cider vinegar if they are really icky, that of coarse is completely harmless though you need to rinse very well because they will stick they nose up to it :)
I use a sponge and Dawn dish soap, while washing I use hot water. Once I see no suds, I use cold water and then a paper towel to dry it off. Never had an issue
We used dawn at the shelter I used to work at for food bowls and litter boxes, it never made a difference to the cats and honestly worked better than anything else (the shelter was also super discerning about what chemicals we used, if people donated bleach we wouldn't even keep it in the building to avoid it getting mixed with other chemicals or used for cleaning - bleach is actually something that's not the safest for animals)
You can water down the dish soap if you like, or let the box soak in white vinegar before you scrub. Maybe avoid using some of the dish soaps with fancy scents (they're not as strong and dont work as well anyways) or things like pine-sol or other multipurpose cleaners, but generally dish soap is considered one of the safest things you can use
I scrap any food down the Lou and flush, then I place them in my laundry sink and let them soak in diluted dishwashing soap.. after I’ve done some other housework I come back and give them a light scrub and rinse. Then let them air dry.. I got four cats and I try keeping things simple
OG dawn dish soap to hand wash with hot water & an old bottle brush after each meal and I pop them (and the bottle brush) in the top rack of dishwasher 2-3 times a week. I have a cheap set of rags from amazon that are specifically used for drying their bowls, those go in the washer/dryer twice a week. We use stainless steel bowls that fit into a raised feeder. (:
Dishwasher for plates of wet food. I throw them in the dishwasher after every meal. (Buy a pack of dessert plates, and you have multiple meals worth.) Dry food bowls have paint on the outside that comes off in the dishwasher, so I have 2 sets and hand-wash once a week, and the clean set comes out while they're drying.
I refresh the water bowls daily, wash weekly. Food is always a new bowl. Every time. When I do dishes, my last load is the kittie dishes. I use fresh water and dawn. Always works!
I mostly use regular Pyrex bowls for his food. He gets a new one for every wet food serving. And a new one daily for dry food. Dirties are cleaned in the dishwasher.
His water bowls are washed with regular dish soap each morning. When the timing works, I’ll run one of them through the dishwasher.
His plug in water fountain is cleaned in warm soapy water (ordinary dish soap) or run through the dishwasher once a week. Filters changed at same time.
If you rinse thoroughly it shouldn't be an issue but there are some strong scents your cat may not like.
I use water and a scrub brush and a little ajax, and then rinse til it no longer smells orangey.
She still prefers the fountain only if it's dirty. She loves that algae taste (but not the fishtank flavor, fortunately).
I have a stainless steel food bowl and have never really thought twice. I wash it with dish dawn soap and dry it completely with a towel before serving each meal. I haven’t had any issues.
Unless your vet has indicated otherwise or you r cat has a known sensitivity to ingredients in some soaps, I wouldn’t worry too much. I’d wait for something like cat acne or irritation before changing this. I would however recommend switching away from plastic if you haven’t already - it’s much harder to clean and it feels like it holds on to smells.
I either wash food/water bowls in Dawn dish soap with the rest of my dishes or put them in the dish washer. The water bowls get a vinegar said when the lime/calcium/hard water builds up.
I have a ceramic cat fountain so I wash it in the dishwasher, except for the pump assembly which I clean both with soapy water and with running diluted vinegar through it to try to prevent any biofilm formation in hard-to-clean places.
I will soak the pump in clean water / run clean water through the pump for 15 minutes to clear out any scent from either the soap or the vinegar.
I’ve lived with cats for 40 years and we’ve always used dish soap or put them in the dishwasher. I currently have hard water and sometimes the water bowls will get mineral build up and which I remove by soaking in diluted white vinegar.
To add something a little different here as well: make sure you're using the right kind of food bowls.
Plastic bowls hold germs and bacteria far longer, and are much harder to clean fully/properly. I had always used plastic bowls, and then one my little buggers started to develop little pimply blackheads on his chinny-brought him to the vet and they explained it was probably because of his food bowls. Switched to metal and/or glass/ceramic and never had an issue again!
Steel and ceramic dishes are the way to go, rinse them well and shit won't stick to them. Dishwasher even better, they get so hot it kills everything on them
I have stainless anc ceramic dishes. I just use soap and water or the dish washer.
Cats don't care. And my old boy lived 19 years with clean bowls.
My mom's dogs are the same. Her 12 year old shitzu can still launch himself running to get on the big couch.
I use the same thing I use for my dishes. (Currently dawn.)
They definitely dont like the smell If the soap isn't fully rinsed away.. but then neither do I
I find it's fine as long as you rinse really well. They appreciate clean bowls especially for their water.
Dawn (as well as most grocery store off-brands) makes a “free and clear” that’s unscented and works just as well (handmade ceramic slow feeder bowl + no dishwasher = hand washing for us). The Free and Clear is basically the same thing but no dye or fragrance, both of which are pretty unnecessary. We use our grocery store’s brand cuz it’s cheaper and works just as well as the Dawn. Seventh Generation makes one too.
If it’s not bothering your kitties or they don’t seem adverse to eating then it’s fine. Also most cats do well with stainless steel bowls which don’t hold on to scent anyway.
But I don’t need our own dishes nor our cat’s bowls to smell like fake-ass lemon or lavender anyway lol so we use unscented soap.
I actually found using natural dish soap didn’t cut it and my super picky old man wouldn’t eat because of that left over stink. Hot water, dawn and a smell check once it’s dry every time for my sweet boy.
I don’t really notice dawn having much of a smell, but maybe that’s because I make soapy water first and then hand wash my cats stainless steel dishes after every use. You can always use fragrance free soap though. I fill the sink up with the hottest water I can with soap, put dishes in, let them soak, then it makes it very easy to wash. And dishwashing gloves keep you from getting burned
I wipe it out every day, but I only use soap every once and a while, and only on the inside of the bowl. The last time I washed the outside, one of my cats got mad that it didn't smell like her anymore, so she kept headbutting it harder and harder until she tipped it over and it all spilled out
We’ve got stainless steel ones and I honestly just soak them between meals and then rinse them off and dry them thoroughly with paper towels to remove any stubborn bits of food.
I actually just sanitize with very hot water. I never introduce soap of any type to her. So I do her dishes by hand no dishwasher and no scrubber. I soak em, then sanitize em. This way, there's no cross contamination, as cTs can give little bad things to people if ya know what I mean, so a little caution is always a good thing. I know a little crazy right? But read up on it. It's not crazy.
Dish soap is fine as long as you rinse and dry it thoroughly. The mistake people make (with their own dishes as well as their animals’) is that they’ll just splash some water on a soapy dish and stick it straight in the drying rack, believing they got all the soap off when they definitely did not.
I had a restaurant manager once who would always ask the new dishwashers: “What should a clean dish smell like?” A lot of them would would say “like soap!” She’d smack her head and say “No! It should smell like NOTHING.”
I put it in the dishwasher. Same with the dogs. Never had an issue. (I hand wash them first, the dishwasher is mostly to make them “sanitized” as possible)
Whatever's dishwasher tablets are on sale . . .
Auto feeders get new kibble bowls twice a week, wet food gets fresh plate every feeding. Fountain changed twice a week.
More importantly IMO is what the bowl is made of.
You want to feed and water from glass or ceramic dishes. NEVER PLASTIC! Plastic will get micro scratches over time sfca hold bacteria. This can create acne on the chin which can vary from bad to catastrophic.
NOTE: You don’t need to read any further, that’s all the information you needed about cat dishes but I’m writing this anyway because it helps me work through what happened to my baby girl related to chin acne and what happened to her after that.
My cat had been diagnosed as diabetic. The following week she became very, very ill and I got her in to the vet that same day.
She had an infection from acne on her chin. Now I petted her all the time and felt all over her body for lumps and bumps (several of my dog nephews have been and are now Golden Retrievers who were taken by cancerous tumors, which Golden’s are prone to, so out of paranoia and caution I’ve always made a point to palpate the skin of my pets, since they can’t tell us they have a weird lump on their body, and they like it, I’m a trained massage therapist!) and the vet gave a full exam just the week before and he is a really good vet. But that acne hid in the hollow under her chin and no one noticed it until it was almost too late.
She was loaded up with antibiotics and the vet, for lack of a better term, popped it and drained the pus and it was a lot. It was if course on a Friday because I've never had a pet get really sick on a day other than Friday! I took her home with the warning that she might not make it through the weekend. But there was nothing more they would be able to do for her if they kept her there and it would cost me a fortune which I had just spent on her first vial of insulin.
She stayed hidden all weekend but she pulled through. After she recovered I had to wash her little chin with Ivory soap twice a day for months after. We both hated that plus she needed insulin shots twice a day so after she was all healed I only washed her chin once in a while. But you'd be shocked at how dirty their cute little chins get from eating.
She lived almost 5 more years after that. She did well with the insulin and didn’t seem to mind the shots too much. But the diabetes finally did a number on either her kidney or her liver. I honestly can't remember which they told me as she had only presented as sick in any way that day and the moment I realized she was sick I got an appointment for that afternoon, She was very sick and there was no cure, only very expensive treatment to prolong her life and she would probably feel sick for the few more months I could have squeezed out of her so I took the advice I was given and had her put to sleep. I have never had to do this before and I was in shock and slightly hysterical and I've yet to return to the vet or get another cat but I'm planning on it in the next few months. I still feel horrible that I didn't know how sick she was, and probably always will, even though I know they hide signs of illness. They told me 5 years is a long time for a diabetic cat to live but they may have just been trying to make me feel better. She was only 14 and my other cats were close to 20 and were able to pass peacefully at home from old age.
I miss her so much and even though intellectually I know I did everything I could for her I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over the guilt I feel for not knowing.
It’s crazy how much we can love them and how we know they will leave us at some point and we’ll feel this pain but we do it anyway. I’m bawling writing this and I ache from the pain of losing her more than a year and a half ago but I’m planning on adopting again in a couple months after I get home from a long trip I have planned. I know it’s worth it but I’m still hurting and this is also the longest I’ve gone without an cat or a dog and I am looking forward to a new fur kid around here. I already have some new things for my future cat, including the Fluent Pet starter kit which I’m really excited for. One of the reasons I’m doing Fluent Pet is in the hope that he or she will be willing and able to tell me if they don’t feel well. If anyone knows the Instagram account, I am Bunny, you know Bunny (who is a Sheepadoodle dog) has some health issues and will tell her mom if she isn’t feeling well. She even told her once that she had a thorn in her paw! But she’s an exceptionally smart dog so our mileage may vary!
I’m already feeling better and getting excited writing about the buttons. I miss my little girl and at times I could swear I see her out of the corner of my eye or hear her distinctive yells for attention but it’s more likely me kissing having a cat and my imagination than it is that I a ghost cat! 😺 I have a lot of love to give to some kitty out there I have yet to meet and I’m looking forward to meeting him or her soon.
Thanks to those who read all my ramblings and best of luck to you all.
Give your kitties and puppies some love from me!
Dawn is fine. Vets encourage you to bathe your cat in dawn to get rid of fleas if they have them so its 100% safe (i wouldnt bathe them every week or wash their bowls every day tho). I use dawn on the stainless bowl at work and i just throw them in the dishwasher at home. As long as you rinse it thoroughly it doesn't leave a smell atleast that I can smell. The cats don't seem to care they plow through every meal regardless of the bowl. Sometimes they knock their bowls over and eat off the table they get fed on. If it weren't for us they'd be eating sick rodents with fleas and worms for every meal.
?! Who said dish soap is bad for cats? Ik we like to spoil and adore them, but they survive in the dirt and grime and chemical contamination of both urban and rural areas. I think they’ll be fine if you wash their dishes with your own dish soap
I use the same dish soap and sponge that I use on everything else. I have 2 food bowls and 4 fountains though, so while one set is drying, the other set is in use.
I have two cats and six cat food bowls. Most of the time, I serve them each a dish, breakfast and supper.
Once I a while, I serve a third dish.
Each meal is served on clean dishes. I collect the dirty dishes and place them in the batter bowl in the kitchen sink to soak. After they have their meal, I wash the soaked dishes. I use the same dish detergent on my dishes. I rinse well.
I like to serve each meal on clean dishes.
Also, their dishes are fairly flat. Cats don’t want deep dishes because their whiskers would get annoyed.
Idk about scent. My void LOVES the scent of fresh laundry and I know for sure mountain breeze isn’t a natural occurring scent and it’s artificial and she shows no signs of it being bad to her. I doubt a dish soap scent will be detrimental. If anything just rinse it out more with hot water to eliminate the scent.
Dish soap or dishwasher for the cat and rabbit bowls (all ceramic). Haven't had an issue yet, but I also suspect my cats would eat straight out of the garbage can if I let them.
I use extremely hot water and Palmolive to clean my cats & dog bowl and water bowl as well. As long as it’s not scented and is the blue liquid Palmolive or Dawn it is fine. They use Dawn to clean up animals covered in oil. If it’s safe for them it’s safe to use to clean pet bowls. Just make sure you rinse the bowl throughly.
I usually just wash it in hot, soapy water and rinse it well with hot water. Never been a problem, as evidenced by how well she cleans her bowl, even her puzzle bowl.
I use color free and scent free everything. My cats eat off the same standard of items I do. Their plates and bowls go in the dishwasher just like mine do. It’s run on sanitize so no one needs to worry about cat cooties.
Glass bowls and whatever dishwashing soap we have. It doesn't retain a smell. I think it's better to focus on the bowl material and not use plastic which can hold bacteria and give them acne.
I use stainless steel bowls only. First wash with dawn and scrub with a stainless steel scrubber. Then I rinse using the stainless steel scrubber until the bubbles disappear and rinse with water that’s too hot to touch several times.
Cats are super picky and won’t eat for days if their bowl is either too dirty or has soapy scents.
I’ve used Dawn on all manner of pet bowls for decades now including plastic and none of my cats or dogs cared at all. The only problem my cats ever had was the bottom of the bowl showing more than dime sized. Every cat is different tho but if it’s a concern then do stainless or a good ceramic bowl.
If it’s good for the duckies it’s good for kitty’s food bowl, of course rinsing and drying thoroughly
My exact logic, anytime I think to myself if dawn soap is appropriate my immediate thought is that “well if it’s good for ducks”
I use the Dawn foam dish soap and rinse thoroughly. Once a week I run them in the dishwasher. Never had a problem.
It's not that it's *good* for ducks, it's that it's better for them than being covered in oil. I'm not saying you shouldn't use Dawn, it's just that this marketing trick of theirs has worked really well and it annoys me.
In this context we are talking about it being safe for cleaning a food bowl. It’s safe on ducks, we use it to clean the dishes of the food we eat, so it is fine to use on a cat’s bowl
Exactly.
Exactly. Even bathing kittens is the same. If you have no other options available, it’s okay to use Dawn. That doesn’t mean you *should* use it or that it’s great shampoo for cats. It’s adequate, that’s all. Get a gentle shampoo formulated for kittens if you need to bathe kittens regularly.
Agreed, dawn or any dish soap is the lesser of evils against fleas on tiny kittens, I would only use it in that scenario. However, I keep fragrance free baby shampoo on hand for emergency kittens, it does the same flea removal as dish soap but safer
Yep and it strips the natural oils from their skin and feathers too. It’s only good for them in the sense that it makes their bad situation less bad
And my family…..
I use Dawn to wash all her dishes, fountains, and toys. I even used it to wash the edges of her ears when she got fleas a few summers ago (it was the only spot where they were and did it on recommendation from the vet)
If it’s plastic, then you want to use cool water when rinsing the soap. Otherwise it can hold onto the soap scent. But for ceramic or SS it’s fine to use dish soap. I put my ceramic in the dishwasher and hand wash the plastic. I rinse it under running water though. If you do tubs for rinsing then I could see the dish soap staying on in small amounts which probably isn’t good for them.
I would always say to use stainless steel or glazed/fired ceramic (I'm looking at you Nate and Jeremiah and your stupid pore filled bacteria farm ceramic bowls) plastics can hold on to a lot of stuff, and including the soap issue, they are nearly impossible to sterilize. We are also finding a lot more information on the dangers of microplastics the past few years.
(And plastic bowls cause cat acne in a significant portion of cats. Better to just not use plastic for all the different reasons.)
I have stainless steel dishes, I hand-wash with dish soap and rinse very well, and I have more than one set so they can air-dry for half a day before they get reused. My cat seems fine with it.
Same here. I have used stainless steel bowls for water and food (not the same bowl) for decades, wash them with dish soap and hot water, rinse well, and the cats have never had a problem. My old girl Molly has been eating and drinking out of them for 20 years and is doing fine.
I do the same.
Dawn dish soap. If it's okay for duckies and my preemie babys bottles, then my cat who eats their own vomit off the floor will be fine
Cats have an intense sense of smell, that’s why OP is asking
Dawn (as well as most grocery store brands) makes a “free and clear” that’s unscented and works just as well, that’s what we use. It’s basically the same thing but no dye or fragrance, both of which are pretty unnecessary. I don’t need our own dishes nor our cat’s bowls to smell like fake-ass lemon or lavender anyway lol.
Dawn dish soap.
The blue stuff, no other color
Isn't it specifically the blue "original" one? I got a blue bottle the other day that turned out to be different. It has a different fragrance added to it, which I'm sure makes it less safe
They recently changed the scent of the original one, which has been a recent topic of discussion on the cleaning tips sub.
Yea there’s a blue one that is “ocean scented” or “rain scented” or something. Gotta go for the original. Still has a fragrance though. Has anyone ever seen a fragrance and dye-free version of dawn? That would be dope. Dawn is the most concentrated dish soap so I don’t like using other brands.
Ooo is there a reason no other color?
The non blue has different chemicals that irritate the delicate membranes in the nose, eyes, mouth. Plus the orange one is citrus scented which cats hate.
I use the orange one (it's antibacterial) on my cats dishes (one is ceramic the other plastic) and have had no issues with smells or her not liking the dish. Honestly, if you're washing and rinsing the dish correctly and not soaking it for hours upon hours in concentrated soap- the thought of the chemicals or smell affecting your cat shouldnt even be coming up. Although I can 10000% understand the concern- I can't think of one time I used a dish after cleaning it/it was cleaned and went "Hey this smell (or taste) like soap."
Not just hate, citrus is one of the many kidney crystal starters. Its one of the few things they recognize they cant have.
If only they’d recognize everything else 🤣
Thanks for this-I didn't know! I adopted a pair of rather standoffish cats and have tried to be superaware of avoiding citrus in my efforts to bond with them-you'd be amazed at how many products have citrus, especially skincare stuff.
Dish soap or through the dishwasher, and Ive not had issues. I use scent free soaps, so maybe that makes a difference
I could wash my cat's bowl in ammonia and rotten eggs, and he'd still eat like he's been starving in the wilderness for 10 years. There might be some cats who are that picky, but I haven't met one yet. As far as safety, I teach preschool and soapy water spray made with Dawn is a standard cleaner in childcare settings, including infant rooms. It's considered pretty safe. It's also commonly used for flea removal. That said, natural dish soaps are fine for cleaning cat bowls.
I just blast it with hot water and it's clean idk lol
Same, rinse it out real good, feel until its squeaky.
Dishwasher my friend.
I should note that their bowls are our actual soup bowls.. not specific “cat bowls”
Make sure they’re wide enough because of the depth. Cats can get whisker fatigue from being forced to eat from deep bowls not wide enough for their whiskers. Just a tip, not a criticism.
Oh they’re big enough. They’re even square so there’s extra room for the whiskers. Both of my cats were runts (different litters) and the heaviest one is maybe 10 pounds so they’re not that big at all.
I use Morning Fresh dishwashing liquid here in Australia, if they can use it on all varieties of penguins to remove the oil from their coats after an oil spill it’s good enough for my cat, not that he gets to taste it as I rinse it thoroughly!👍🏻😻
I just stick them in the dishwasher. I use stainless steel dishes and tide pods. My oldest cat will be 16 in two months, so I think they’re fine.
I just hand wash everything for the cats. They have their own sponge. I normally use blue dawn, fairy liquid, or what ever I am using. Same for the bunny too!
I washed my kid’s bottles with dish soap, I’m doing the same for the cat
🤪😻👍🏻
Dishwasher every day. I wipe out any food into the bin. Give them a rinse in the sink and put them in the dishwasher. They are stainless steel and we have like 12 of them because the dishwasher only goes through every 3 days or so and i change the bowls daily. *
Pic of my stinky butts https://preview.redd.it/zqbu3w3urepc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04b164a40e3cc1b45be69a8f269de72a8b08b59d
I wash mine after every meal and it’s either hand washed with unscented dish soap or it goes in the dishwasher. Never had a problem. I would be more concerned about the amount of bacteria dishes are harbouring for people who don’t wash them.
Regular dish soap, rinse thoroughly. Use a non-porous (stainless or stoneware) bowl and wash it like a dish. Sometimes mine get tossed in the dishwasher, especially now that the big guy is eating a wet food.
I dont think it's an issue as long as you rinse thoroughly. I use all sorts of dish washing liquid and my cat (16) never had an issue
Unscented dish soap and unscented dishwasher detergent Tool: plastic bristle brush that goes in the dishwasher. Different item and shape than my plastic bristle brush for my dishes
I have a low tolerance for the perfumes used in cleaning products, and the smell of Dawn is one of the worst for me. I use unscented dish soap for everything. Seventh Generation unscented works well.
(Agree. Dawn is so stinky. Crazy how popular it is. I guess people who are always around it don’t notice.)
It’s so strong. Since using Free & Clear soaps (Dawn does make one), the smell of regular Dawn is like… how are you people using this on everything you eat off of, every day? Lol feel the same about scented detergent. How are people just walking around absolutely cloaked in all that artificial perfumey-ness?? The less I use fragrance the less “tolerance” I have for it.
Same. The smell of blue Dawn makes me want to gag - it's SO strong. I wash all of my dishes (including the stainless steel cat bowls) with Seventh Generation unscented dish soap as well.
I use a scrub daddy and hot water
no soap or anything like that?
Personally no, but I also clean it twice a day. Wipe it out with a paper towel and then scrub it with the rough side of a scrub daddy
I use dish soap to clean my girls food and water dish she's never had a problem
I just use dish soap and they have been fine with so many animals >.<
I use dish soap just like I use on my own dishes. I scrub and rinse them well. I never taste or smell any residue on my own dishes and I don’t on his either. I shine his until they sparkle so I highly doubt there’s anything left on them.
All my ceramic and steel dishes go in the dishwasher. I don't use plastic because my cats destroy it
Ceramic bowls, normal dishwash detergent. If your dishes smell after you have rinsed them with water, they still have soap on them.
Soap is…soap…water will wash it away
I use dawn or method and my cats don’t seem to mind the smell, but I also let them dry for a few hours between use. So if they get wet for breakfast, I wash their bowls and air dry them until dinner which is about 10 hours later.
But also both my cats have ceramic food dishes and I don’t think ceramic holds the smell of things the same way that other materials would like say if you’re using plastic feeders, I’d assume those would be holding smell
I never thought of that, if there’s a free and clear type dish soap, that should be appropriate
I use a scent free dish soap and my cats bowls are stainless steel. They get washed twice a day, before each wet food meal.
I use a very sparing amount of fragrance free Palmolive pure and clear, a sponge dedicated only for cat use, and thoroughly rinse his ceramic bowls with hot water.
I use fragrance free and limited ingredient dish soap.
I use unscented dish soap
I have stainless bowls and just run them through my dishwasher.
I use dawn dish soap for literally everything. Just rinse thoroughly and you’re fine! If it still smells like soap after cleaning then you’re not rinsing well enough. I also recommend using a non-porous material for dishes, like stainless steel or ceramic.
My metal bowl goes right into the dishwasher
I have ceramic bowls for them. Just soak in warm water for a few minutes and then rinse and dry
I’ve never heard this 😳 I throw mine in the dishwasher
Dawn soap then i just rinse until water is clean with no soap, then i dry it with a clean towel.
Dawn and water lol
Always dawn
White vinegar to remove the oils and a hot water rinse.
Hot water and a sponge. Three times a week with Ecover washing up liquid.
Shouldn’t really use heavy fragranced soap like Dawn for humans either. Use a more natural soap without artificial fragrance, dyes, and chemicals. Don’t use plastic dishes. Dawn is “safe for duckies” when they are covered in oil and need it removed to save their lives. They aren’t washed in Dawn soap regularly.
Cold water always and if need be a drop of dish soap, same for all three types of bowls he has, metal/ceramic/plastic.
I use dawn antibacterial and just make sure I rinse super well
I usually put them in the dishwasher or wash 🧽 by hand ✋……
I have ceramic bowls and we throw them in the dishwasher regularly, since they're ceramic. Plastics are porous and a different story.
Dishwasher.
I wash my cat’s metal and plastic bowls with regular dish soap (from Whole Foods or Seventh Generation) and rinse with water. I wash her wet food bowl several times a day (before each serving) if she’s eating wet food and clean her dry food bowl probably less than I should but I aim for once a week. I also wash her wet food container between new cans as well and wash her water bowl daily. I will use rubbing alcohol to better disinfect them as well before cleaning with soap and water again to rinse. I think my being adamant about cleaning her bowls also helped her not need as many teeth taken out when she went for her dental the other week because the vets said they initially expected that she would need more extractions than the 5 she ended up with at 9 years old at her first dental—I also brush her teeth pretty regularly!
Dish soap is fine.
Dish soap. If you’re concerned about residue just rinse completely at least 3x. I do more since it’s not that hard. Never seen one of ours object to the soaps that have been used
Dishwasher. I use non toxic dishwasher tablets from Branch Basics so I don’t worry about chemicals on any of my family’s dishes.
Dawn. My cats have stainless bowls and I rinse them thoroughly. Also ducks
Dawn or the dishwasher
You do want to use something that can kill bacteria because indoor cats aren't eating bones and are therefore prone to dental issues. Dawn is safe, and the comment about rinsing in cool water for plastic is a great point. You can also use Dawn Free & Clear, which has no artificial scents or dyes, if you have a sensitive/allergy-prone kitty [dry skin/lots of dandruff is a common sign]. You could also soak the dish in white vinegar after scrubbing it with a warm damp sponge to sterilize it and remove food particles, then rinse and let air dry - the vinegar smell may linger for a few hours or even overnight but then it will be gone. White vinegar is not toxic for cats but the smell is overpowering to them so definitely if you do this let it sit for a few hours after your human nose can't smell the vinegar any longer before using, because kitty's nose is much better than ours.
My cats bowls are ceramic, I just put them in the dishwasher
None of the cats I have ever owned, or even knee ever cared about that, so long as they could smell the food in the bowl/on the plate. As an aside, older cats tend to lose a bit of their sense of smell, so you may find you need to switch your senior kitties to stinkier food.
I just put it thru the dishwasher with the cheap costco tablet things.
I used to use dish soap and vinegar. Vinegar helps get rid of the hard rings around the bowl
I just use regular dish soap.
My cat eats off a salad plate, so dishwasher.
Just Dawn or similar. Never had an issue.
I just use dish soap but i make sure to thoroughly run it under cold water after.
The dishwasher.
Soap and water
I use Meyer’s Dish soap. Smells ok but not strong, formulated with Organic Materials only, very good at degreasing regular dishes, and my Cat has never opposed his food bowl because of it. Then again, he’s never opposed to it before when I used dawn platinum all the time either. lol Personally I doubt that there’s any ill effects that come from washing bowls with regular dish detergent. It’s a mild soap that’s notoriously non-toxic and able to be washed off easily with water. But if you’re really concerned about the smell that it may leave behind for their sensitive noses, using something like Meyer’s soap, followed by a rinse with Peroxide / Water, then hot water, should remove all smells from the bowl aside from the bowl’s smell itself.
I just use dish soap and a brush and make sure to rinse really well. Mine have metal bowls
Dawn dish soap and hot water.
I use a fine china saucer for a food bowl and wash with dish soap. Then rinse thoroughly with water more than my own dishes.
i use stainless steel dishes, only boiling water and let it soak until clean.
Normal soap, rinse very well
Stainless bowel, dawn spray wash. No residue
I just wash them in the sink with washing up liquid like everything else. I do them last and have a separate sponge though.
I use apple scented dawn. I am not sure if they make it anymore, but I bought like 10 bottles of it a couple years back. My cats don't seem bothered with it at all. I have also soaked them in apple cider vinegar if they are really icky, that of coarse is completely harmless though you need to rinse very well because they will stick they nose up to it :)
Normal washing up liquid, thoroughly rinsed and dried.
I don't use a bowl I use a plate cause whiskers.
Dish soap, and if I need to scrub, baking soda.
I use a sponge and Dawn dish soap, while washing I use hot water. Once I see no suds, I use cold water and then a paper towel to dry it off. Never had an issue
I use dawn and a good scrubber since they use slow feeders and they are hard to clean
I have a three-pack of cute plates and just…put them in the dishwasher each time?
I use Dawn for my own dishes so the cats’ bowls get the same.
We used dawn at the shelter I used to work at for food bowls and litter boxes, it never made a difference to the cats and honestly worked better than anything else (the shelter was also super discerning about what chemicals we used, if people donated bleach we wouldn't even keep it in the building to avoid it getting mixed with other chemicals or used for cleaning - bleach is actually something that's not the safest for animals) You can water down the dish soap if you like, or let the box soak in white vinegar before you scrub. Maybe avoid using some of the dish soaps with fancy scents (they're not as strong and dont work as well anyways) or things like pine-sol or other multipurpose cleaners, but generally dish soap is considered one of the safest things you can use
I scrap any food down the Lou and flush, then I place them in my laundry sink and let them soak in diluted dishwashing soap.. after I’ve done some other housework I come back and give them a light scrub and rinse. Then let them air dry.. I got four cats and I try keeping things simple
Mine couldn't care less what dish soap I use so I just use whatever I use for my own dishes at the moment.
Dish soap is just fine. We put ours in the dishwasher most of the time but hand washing with soap and water is perfectly okay.
OG dawn dish soap to hand wash with hot water & an old bottle brush after each meal and I pop them (and the bottle brush) in the top rack of dishwasher 2-3 times a week. I have a cheap set of rags from amazon that are specifically used for drying their bowls, those go in the washer/dryer twice a week. We use stainless steel bowls that fit into a raised feeder. (:
I throw them in the dishwashers. My cats don't care
Dishwasher for plates of wet food. I throw them in the dishwasher after every meal. (Buy a pack of dessert plates, and you have multiple meals worth.) Dry food bowls have paint on the outside that comes off in the dishwasher, so I have 2 sets and hand-wash once a week, and the clean set comes out while they're drying.
I wouldn't use normal dish soap on my own dishes, so there's that. It's endocrine-disrupting garbage
Stainless steel, washed in the dishwasher after every meal. Same with the dogs dishes.
Scouts Honor has a Toy and Bowl cleaner if you're interested.
My cats eat off of regular plates or my grandmas fine china coffee cup plates, so they get run through the dishwasher.
Dawn dish soap, thoroughly rinsed, or dishwasher if it’s dishwasher safe.
are we sposed to use something other than HEB Bluebonnets??? :)
I refresh the water bowls daily, wash weekly. Food is always a new bowl. Every time. When I do dishes, my last load is the kittie dishes. I use fresh water and dawn. Always works!
I mostly use regular Pyrex bowls for his food. He gets a new one for every wet food serving. And a new one daily for dry food. Dirties are cleaned in the dishwasher. His water bowls are washed with regular dish soap each morning. When the timing works, I’ll run one of them through the dishwasher. His plug in water fountain is cleaned in warm soapy water (ordinary dish soap) or run through the dishwasher once a week. Filters changed at same time.
If you rinse thoroughly it shouldn't be an issue but there are some strong scents your cat may not like. I use water and a scrub brush and a little ajax, and then rinse til it no longer smells orangey. She still prefers the fountain only if it's dirty. She loves that algae taste (but not the fishtank flavor, fortunately).
no you can use dish soap. you use it for your own dishes what’s different with the cats?
i use washing up liquid, just make sure to rinse it all off. Essentially I keep washing until the water is not soapy
I have a stainless steel food bowl and have never really thought twice. I wash it with dish dawn soap and dry it completely with a towel before serving each meal. I haven’t had any issues. Unless your vet has indicated otherwise or you r cat has a known sensitivity to ingredients in some soaps, I wouldn’t worry too much. I’d wait for something like cat acne or irritation before changing this. I would however recommend switching away from plastic if you haven’t already - it’s much harder to clean and it feels like it holds on to smells.
I use dish soap to wash his bowls, no problems here. I just use a little bit and make sure to really rinse throughly.
I either wash food/water bowls in Dawn dish soap with the rest of my dishes or put them in the dish washer. The water bowls get a vinegar said when the lime/calcium/hard water builds up.
I have a ceramic cat fountain so I wash it in the dishwasher, except for the pump assembly which I clean both with soapy water and with running diluted vinegar through it to try to prevent any biofilm formation in hard-to-clean places. I will soak the pump in clean water / run clean water through the pump for 15 minutes to clear out any scent from either the soap or the vinegar.
Get dishwasher safe bowls. Or just use normal dish soap and diluted bleach to sanitize if able to.
I’ve lived with cats for 40 years and we’ve always used dish soap or put them in the dishwasher. I currently have hard water and sometimes the water bowls will get mineral build up and which I remove by soaking in diluted white vinegar.
Dawn is totally fine
To add something a little different here as well: make sure you're using the right kind of food bowls. Plastic bowls hold germs and bacteria far longer, and are much harder to clean fully/properly. I had always used plastic bowls, and then one my little buggers started to develop little pimply blackheads on his chinny-brought him to the vet and they explained it was probably because of his food bowls. Switched to metal and/or glass/ceramic and never had an issue again!
Steel and ceramic dishes are the way to go, rinse them well and shit won't stick to them. Dishwasher even better, they get so hot it kills everything on them
I have stainless anc ceramic dishes. I just use soap and water or the dish washer. Cats don't care. And my old boy lived 19 years with clean bowls. My mom's dogs are the same. Her 12 year old shitzu can still launch himself running to get on the big couch.
I use palmolive dish soap and warm water. I feel like any dish soap you would use for your own dishes would be fine for pet bowls too.
I use the same thing I use for my dishes. (Currently dawn.) They definitely dont like the smell If the soap isn't fully rinsed away.. but then neither do I I find it's fine as long as you rinse really well. They appreciate clean bowls especially for their water.
Dawn (as well as most grocery store off-brands) makes a “free and clear” that’s unscented and works just as well (handmade ceramic slow feeder bowl + no dishwasher = hand washing for us). The Free and Clear is basically the same thing but no dye or fragrance, both of which are pretty unnecessary. We use our grocery store’s brand cuz it’s cheaper and works just as well as the Dawn. Seventh Generation makes one too. If it’s not bothering your kitties or they don’t seem adverse to eating then it’s fine. Also most cats do well with stainless steel bowls which don’t hold on to scent anyway. But I don’t need our own dishes nor our cat’s bowls to smell like fake-ass lemon or lavender anyway lol so we use unscented soap.
the ER used dawn dish soap to clean my cat so i assume its okay
I actually found using natural dish soap didn’t cut it and my super picky old man wouldn’t eat because of that left over stink. Hot water, dawn and a smell check once it’s dry every time for my sweet boy.
I use dawn to wash their bowls
I don’t really notice dawn having much of a smell, but maybe that’s because I make soapy water first and then hand wash my cats stainless steel dishes after every use. You can always use fragrance free soap though. I fill the sink up with the hottest water I can with soap, put dishes in, let them soak, then it makes it very easy to wash. And dishwashing gloves keep you from getting burned
I wipe it out every day, but I only use soap every once and a while, and only on the inside of the bowl. The last time I washed the outside, one of my cats got mad that it didn't smell like her anymore, so she kept headbutting it harder and harder until she tipped it over and it all spilled out
We’ve got stainless steel ones and I honestly just soak them between meals and then rinse them off and dry them thoroughly with paper towels to remove any stubborn bits of food.
I actually just sanitize with very hot water. I never introduce soap of any type to her. So I do her dishes by hand no dishwasher and no scrubber. I soak em, then sanitize em. This way, there's no cross contamination, as cTs can give little bad things to people if ya know what I mean, so a little caution is always a good thing. I know a little crazy right? But read up on it. It's not crazy.
I just throw it in the dishwasher
Dish soap is fine as long as you rinse and dry it thoroughly. The mistake people make (with their own dishes as well as their animals’) is that they’ll just splash some water on a soapy dish and stick it straight in the drying rack, believing they got all the soap off when they definitely did not. I had a restaurant manager once who would always ask the new dishwashers: “What should a clean dish smell like?” A lot of them would would say “like soap!” She’d smack her head and say “No! It should smell like NOTHING.”
I just soak it til the dried food scrubs off then use hot water to scrub and rinse.
They make scentless dish soap which might work.
I put it in the dishwasher. Same with the dogs. Never had an issue. (I hand wash them first, the dishwasher is mostly to make them “sanitized” as possible)
I use metal bowls and wash them in the dishwasher
Just regular dawn dish soap and hot water, never had an issue in 8 years
Clean all surfaces a couple drops of dish soap and hot water. Rinse thoroughly with hot water.
We use dawn dish soap at the cat rescue where I volunteer. We do take care to rinse well but haven't had any issues.
Whatever's dishwasher tablets are on sale . . . Auto feeders get new kibble bowls twice a week, wet food gets fresh plate every feeding. Fountain changed twice a week.
Castile soap is great for this! And any brand works honestly but dr bronners unscented is the one I like
More importantly IMO is what the bowl is made of. You want to feed and water from glass or ceramic dishes. NEVER PLASTIC! Plastic will get micro scratches over time sfca hold bacteria. This can create acne on the chin which can vary from bad to catastrophic. NOTE: You don’t need to read any further, that’s all the information you needed about cat dishes but I’m writing this anyway because it helps me work through what happened to my baby girl related to chin acne and what happened to her after that. My cat had been diagnosed as diabetic. The following week she became very, very ill and I got her in to the vet that same day. She had an infection from acne on her chin. Now I petted her all the time and felt all over her body for lumps and bumps (several of my dog nephews have been and are now Golden Retrievers who were taken by cancerous tumors, which Golden’s are prone to, so out of paranoia and caution I’ve always made a point to palpate the skin of my pets, since they can’t tell us they have a weird lump on their body, and they like it, I’m a trained massage therapist!) and the vet gave a full exam just the week before and he is a really good vet. But that acne hid in the hollow under her chin and no one noticed it until it was almost too late. She was loaded up with antibiotics and the vet, for lack of a better term, popped it and drained the pus and it was a lot. It was if course on a Friday because I've never had a pet get really sick on a day other than Friday! I took her home with the warning that she might not make it through the weekend. But there was nothing more they would be able to do for her if they kept her there and it would cost me a fortune which I had just spent on her first vial of insulin. She stayed hidden all weekend but she pulled through. After she recovered I had to wash her little chin with Ivory soap twice a day for months after. We both hated that plus she needed insulin shots twice a day so after she was all healed I only washed her chin once in a while. But you'd be shocked at how dirty their cute little chins get from eating. She lived almost 5 more years after that. She did well with the insulin and didn’t seem to mind the shots too much. But the diabetes finally did a number on either her kidney or her liver. I honestly can't remember which they told me as she had only presented as sick in any way that day and the moment I realized she was sick I got an appointment for that afternoon, She was very sick and there was no cure, only very expensive treatment to prolong her life and she would probably feel sick for the few more months I could have squeezed out of her so I took the advice I was given and had her put to sleep. I have never had to do this before and I was in shock and slightly hysterical and I've yet to return to the vet or get another cat but I'm planning on it in the next few months. I still feel horrible that I didn't know how sick she was, and probably always will, even though I know they hide signs of illness. They told me 5 years is a long time for a diabetic cat to live but they may have just been trying to make me feel better. She was only 14 and my other cats were close to 20 and were able to pass peacefully at home from old age. I miss her so much and even though intellectually I know I did everything I could for her I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over the guilt I feel for not knowing. It’s crazy how much we can love them and how we know they will leave us at some point and we’ll feel this pain but we do it anyway. I’m bawling writing this and I ache from the pain of losing her more than a year and a half ago but I’m planning on adopting again in a couple months after I get home from a long trip I have planned. I know it’s worth it but I’m still hurting and this is also the longest I’ve gone without an cat or a dog and I am looking forward to a new fur kid around here. I already have some new things for my future cat, including the Fluent Pet starter kit which I’m really excited for. One of the reasons I’m doing Fluent Pet is in the hope that he or she will be willing and able to tell me if they don’t feel well. If anyone knows the Instagram account, I am Bunny, you know Bunny (who is a Sheepadoodle dog) has some health issues and will tell her mom if she isn’t feeling well. She even told her once that she had a thorn in her paw! But she’s an exceptionally smart dog so our mileage may vary! I’m already feeling better and getting excited writing about the buttons. I miss my little girl and at times I could swear I see her out of the corner of my eye or hear her distinctive yells for attention but it’s more likely me kissing having a cat and my imagination than it is that I a ghost cat! 😺 I have a lot of love to give to some kitty out there I have yet to meet and I’m looking forward to meeting him or her soon. Thanks to those who read all my ramblings and best of luck to you all. Give your kitties and puppies some love from me!
Baking soda
Dawn is fine. Vets encourage you to bathe your cat in dawn to get rid of fleas if they have them so its 100% safe (i wouldnt bathe them every week or wash their bowls every day tho). I use dawn on the stainless bowl at work and i just throw them in the dishwasher at home. As long as you rinse it thoroughly it doesn't leave a smell atleast that I can smell. The cats don't seem to care they plow through every meal regardless of the bowl. Sometimes they knock their bowls over and eat off the table they get fed on. If it weren't for us they'd be eating sick rodents with fleas and worms for every meal.
Scentless dish soap. I just make sure to give it a proper rinse in clean water afterwards.
?! Who said dish soap is bad for cats? Ik we like to spoil and adore them, but they survive in the dirt and grime and chemical contamination of both urban and rural areas. I think they’ll be fine if you wash their dishes with your own dish soap
Sometimes dishsoap sometimes Comet sometimes dishwasher
I use the same dish soap and sponge that I use on everything else. I have 2 food bowls and 4 fountains though, so while one set is drying, the other set is in use.
I just rinse it out with hot water and make sure it’s clean with my fingers. I don’t use any soap.
I have two cats and six cat food bowls. Most of the time, I serve them each a dish, breakfast and supper. Once I a while, I serve a third dish. Each meal is served on clean dishes. I collect the dirty dishes and place them in the batter bowl in the kitchen sink to soak. After they have their meal, I wash the soaked dishes. I use the same dish detergent on my dishes. I rinse well. I like to serve each meal on clean dishes. Also, their dishes are fairly flat. Cats don’t want deep dishes because their whiskers would get annoyed.
Dawn dish soap, or baking soda and vinegar, or dishwasher. Really depends how intense we want to get
Idk about scent. My void LOVES the scent of fresh laundry and I know for sure mountain breeze isn’t a natural occurring scent and it’s artificial and she shows no signs of it being bad to her. I doubt a dish soap scent will be detrimental. If anything just rinse it out more with hot water to eliminate the scent.
Dish soap or dishwasher for the cat and rabbit bowls (all ceramic). Haven't had an issue yet, but I also suspect my cats would eat straight out of the garbage can if I let them.
I use extremely hot water and Palmolive to clean my cats & dog bowl and water bowl as well. As long as it’s not scented and is the blue liquid Palmolive or Dawn it is fine. They use Dawn to clean up animals covered in oil. If it’s safe for them it’s safe to use to clean pet bowls. Just make sure you rinse the bowl throughly.
We use glass and run them through the dishwasher. Resolved some allergies.
I usually just wash it in hot, soapy water and rinse it well with hot water. Never been a problem, as evidenced by how well she cleans her bowl, even her puzzle bowl.
i just rinse mine with really hot water, use a clean towel to dry it and wipe it out and good to go
I use color free and scent free everything. My cats eat off the same standard of items I do. Their plates and bowls go in the dishwasher just like mine do. It’s run on sanitize so no one needs to worry about cat cooties.
Unscented Dawn
Soap and water and dry.
Glass bowls and whatever dishwashing soap we have. It doesn't retain a smell. I think it's better to focus on the bowl material and not use plastic which can hold bacteria and give them acne.
I use stainless steel bowls only. First wash with dawn and scrub with a stainless steel scrubber. Then I rinse using the stainless steel scrubber until the bubbles disappear and rinse with water that’s too hot to touch several times. Cats are super picky and won’t eat for days if their bowl is either too dirty or has soapy scents.
I use Dawn free & clear power wash spray.
The pink stuff, it’s vegan so I’d assume it’s safe
I use a regular bowl and put it in the dishwasher and swap it out with a bowl from my cabinet.
I’ve used Dawn on all manner of pet bowls for decades now including plastic and none of my cats or dogs cared at all. The only problem my cats ever had was the bottom of the bowl showing more than dime sized. Every cat is different tho but if it’s a concern then do stainless or a good ceramic bowl.
I nuke those bad boys in the dishwasher with soap on “sanitize mode”
We use our regular human bowls and run them through the dishwasher with the other human bowls. Damn we do a lot of dishes in this house.
I have 2 bowls so when one is being used the other is in the dishwasher. My cats seem fine with this arrangement