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Your cat can dine in elegance (plus stop making a mess with their dinner) when they have the right dish. Luckily, there are plenty of affordable options around: cute cat food bowls with amusing sayings, bowls that keep everything neat, options that avoid crushing kitty’s sensitive whiskers, and some that make life easier for the human who has to clean up after meals.
We tried out dozens of bowls (including, we confess, our own everyday dishes) to see what works best.
Expert Advice on Cat Food Bowls
While a lot of the decisions about cat food bowls rely on your preferences and your cat’s eating habits, there are also some health considerations. Many vets discourage the use of plastic bowls because tiny scratches in plastic can harbor bacteria. Chipped areas on ceramic bowls can also encourage bacteria—so recycle that chipped bowl and get kitty a new one.
Veterinarians like Dr. Jennifer Coates advise that the safest materials for cat bowls are food-grade ceramic and glass. Stainless steel is a good choice as well. Each type of bowl has advantages and disadvantages, depending on your cat and your house.
- Stainless steel bowls are sturdy and unbreakable. But if you’ve ever heard a cat banging a stainless steel bowl around on a tile floor, you might quickly prefer another type of bowl.
- Ceramic bowls are attractive and easy to clean—but keep quality in mind when you are purchasing. Cheap ceramics chip easily, and you want to make sure the bowl is labeled as “food safe,” which means the glaze used is not toxic. Look for a bowl that is free of lead and cadmium.
- Glass bowls are also easy to pop in the dishwasher for thorough cleaning—but you’ll want to purchase sturdy bowls to minimize breakage.
Whatever type of bowl you choose for your cat, be sure to wash the bowl with hot water and soap frequently.
Whether you select ceramic, glass, or stainless steel, the shape of the bowl is important. Look for a shallow bowl that won’t crush your cat’s sensitive whiskers while they’re eating. That said, there’s a balance—you also want enough of a raised rim that kitty won’t lick food right out of the bowl and onto the floor.
The 10 Best Cat Food Bowls
Here’s our list of great cat food bowls (most designed for pets, but one intended to be regular household dishware). We’ve included a few bowls for every type of eater, including raised cat food bowls for older cats.
Necoichi Ceramic Elevated Pet Food Bowl
This high-grade ceramic raised bowl is especially great for an elderly cat to eat more comfortably. It checks all the boxes for a great cat bowl: it’s shallow, so your cat can reach their food without hurting their whiskers, and it has a tiny inner rim that helps prevent food from spilling out. The only drawback? It takes up a fair amount of dishwasher space, where you need to position it carefully so both the bowl and the hollow base get sprayed clean. It comes in three sizes: a half cup, one cup, and one-and-a-half cups. Most cats like the small one for wet food and the larger ones for kibble.
Shop on Chewy Find on AmazonAmericat Company Stainless Steel Cat Bowl
These stainless steel cat bowls, made in the U.S., have a shallow design that prevents “whisker fatigue” (a strain caused by grimacing to keep whiskers from contacting the sides of a deep bowl). The shallow bowls are dishwasher safe and have a one-cup capacity, so they’ll work well for either wet food or kibble.
Shop on AmazonPetRageous Designs City Pets Oval Ceramic Cat Dish
This handcrafted ceramic dish with a one-cup capacity is FDA-approved for human foods. You can put it in the microwave or dishwasher. We like the oval shape and the handsome fish design—an elegant touch for your cat’s everyday food bowl.
Shop on Chewy Shop on AmazonPawfect Pets Premium Elevated Set
This elevated bamboo bowl set is perfect for cats with digestive issues or arthritis. It comes with four stainless steel bowls (two deep ones and two shallow ones) that you can swap in and out and use for wet food, dry food, or water. While your cat is using one set, you can have the other set in the dishwasher. This comes in three sizes; the small, at 4 inches high, is designed for cats.
Shop on ChewyFrisco Cat Design Glass Bowl with Silicone Sleeve
This glass cat bowl with a non-skid silicone sleeve holds up to one and a half cups of cat food—making it a great size for your kitty’s kibble. Both the bowl and cute sleeve are designed to be cleaned on the top rack of your dishwasher.
Shop on ChewyFiesta Fruit Bowl
You won’t find ceramic cat bowls more durable or more attractive than this single-serving fruit dish that’s part of the contemporary Fiestaware line. The 6-1/4-ounce human-food-grade bowl is ideal for serving wet cat food. It comes in 14 colors, from turquoise to flame-red. It’s both dishwasher and microwave safe.
Find on AmazonSignature Housewares Non-Skid Ceramic Bowl
This popular glazed stoneware dish (one-cup capacity) is wide and shallow, making it easy for your cat to dine without straining to keep their whiskers away from the edge of the bowl. It’s also dishwasher safe and heavy enough to stay put where you set it.
Shop on Chewy Shop on AmazonFrisco Cat Face Non-Skid Ceramic Cat Dish
This little bowl (half-cup capacity) with non-skid feet is a tidy and attractive way to serve cat food. It’s adorable empty (though your cat may disagree). It cleans up well, too—just wash on the top rack of your dishwasher.
Shop on ChewyFrisco Taper Cat Bowl
The tapered shape of this bowl makes it easy for your cat to get at all their food. The rubber non-slip base will keep the bowl firmly in place even if your kitty likes to paw at the kibble. Made of stainless steel, the bowl is easy to clean by hand or in the dishwasher. The 3/4-cup capacity is a bit on the small side but works if your cat gets small portions.
Shop on ChewyNecoichi Extra-Wide Elevated Bowl
If the Necoichi raised bowl isn’t cutting it for your cat, consider their extra-wide version—which is also extra tall. At six inches high, it’s one of the tallest elevated bowls on the market. The deeper, wider bowl gives even big cats comfortable access to wet food or kibble, while the interior ridge reduces the chance of food getting pushed out of the bowl (though a determined cat can always claw out some kibble). This large ceramic bowl holds up to two cups of dry food.
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