All cat lovers know cats are strict carnivores. Proper nutrition is so important that you are eager to learn how to feed cats properly. So you understand your furry friends need high amounts of protein, moderate amounts of fat. However, do you know to feed them with some traditional cat bowls could be harmful to them? As it may lead them to vomit, have whisker fatigue, or suffer indigestion.
A perfect elevated cat bowl can make feeding time fabulous and keep the style on point with your home. To find the best elevated cat bowls, you could find out what benefits you and your furry balls can get.
Here's what you’re going to discover.
Table of content
Why cats are more prone to stress?
As a cat lover, you know that cats have strong personalities, and they are independent by nature. Therefore, cats need to be treated with utmost care, love, and understanding.
You may have wondered how to make your cat happy and comfortable. Shouldn’t they already be?
The truth is cats are more prone to stress. Plus, they do not display their emotions as overtly as other animals like dogs so you may not always know what’s going on with them.
A lot of things in the environment can cause stress for them. And one of the most common factors contributing to their stress is mealtime. Most people don’t know but eating or drinking from a small or deep bowl can lead to aggressive behavior towards other animals or the food station. Simply because, her whiskers are overstressed with overstimulation.
Then the height of the food station can also impact their joints and eating habits resulting in indigestion and vomiting.
Taking care of small things during the meal can mean your pets enjoying their food, improving their health, and loving you back even more.
Our mission at Lepeto, is to make our pets as happy as they make us. And one way we do it is by helping you improve the lifestyle of the cat. This is something any cat owner can do today.
Why elevated cat bowls are better?
If you are still feeding your cat from bowls kept on the floor, then here are a few reasons why you should elevate the cat bowl today.
1) The raised food bowl helps them to eat comfortably.
As per the anatomy, an inclined feeding position helps in the ingestion of the food. As gravity helps the food slip to the stomach. The cat can then eat adequately, which increases their nutrient intake. The elevated food bowls also maintain a healthier gut and improve her lifestyle and health significantly.
2) Make them eat slowly
Modern raised food bowls also help to change the eating habits of your cat. Elevated bowls ensure that they eat slowly and don’t gulp the food down fast. When cats eat the food fast it causes them to swallow air along with the food.
It may seem harmless, but this air can cause the cat to throw out or vomit the food, and hence miss the nutrition and grow weak. Whereas the raised bowls effectively solve this problem once and for all.
3) A good eating posture
An elevated food bowl maintains a comfortable and proper posture while the cat enjoys her meals. Imagine having to crouch way below your stomach level to eat and drink. It’s so awkward. Right?
This significantly reduces the strain on the joints and muscles of the cats and helps in avoiding future injuries.
4) Promote food hygiene
The elevated food bowl also helps promote hygienic eating. If the cat eats the food which is closer to the ground, it can get contaminated no matter how clean your house is. This can make them sick.
Additionally, raised food bowl also reduces spilling and tipping, which also means that you spend less time cleaning and spend more time having fun with your cat.
5) Less joint stress for older cats
An elevated food bowl is a must for older cats as the traditional bowls put more stress on their joints and muscles. Additionally, when they are relaxed, they eat healthy amounts of food and stay in shape.
6) Relief during medical conditions
Some medical conditions make it difficult for cats to swallow food. And under such circumstances elevated cat bowls can provide relief and this position helps them in swallowing the food.
However, having an elevated cat bowl isn’t enough. The shape and size of the bowls can also impact cat’s behavior.
How to choose an elevated cat bowl?
At this point, it’s important to understand the specific needs of your cat and choose a perfect elevated cat bowl or elevated cat feeder for your feline friend.
Consider the following before buying or building an elevated cat feeder:
- It is important to build or choose the right feeder otherwise the cat may face problems again. It should be as high as the knee of the cat (more in a moment).
- The bowls in the raised cat feeder should be shallow.
- The bowl size must be wide and low-sided because cats prefer a clear view. Additionally, this shape avoids whisker fatigue which often leads to aggressive behavior.
- Prefer bowls made with stainless steel or high-quality food-grade ABS material as they are dishwasher safe, and you spend less time maintaining hygiene and cleanliness.
- The ordinary plastic bowls should be avoided as they end up with teeth marks, scratches, and worse, they add chemicals to the food.
- Generally, kittens are too small for the raised bowl so it’s a good idea to stick with traditional feeding until they grow up.
- Lastly, before you buy a raised cat feeder determine the style to match your home or personality.
The Best elevated cat bowls of 2021
We have created this list to help you decide the best cat bowl. And your cat is going to love them. Let’s get started:
1) Neon-Colored Elevated Double Cat Bowl
| PROS | CONS |
|
|
 Might not be suitable for kittens.
|
2) Petkit Detachable Cat Feeding Bowl
| PROS | CONS |
|
|
|
3) Petkit Cybertail Elevated Cat Bowls
| PROS | CONS |
|
|
Might not be suitable for kittens.
|
4) Extra-Wide Ceramic Elevated Cat Food Bowl From Chewy
| PROS | CONS |
|
|
Might not be suitable for kittens.
|
Now there are hundreds of cat-feeding stations available in the market. And all of them are created with different materials, heights, colors, and designs. But we also have a choice to make our own elevated feeding station for our feline friends.
DIY elevated cat feeding stations
If you have a cat bowl that you do not want to throw away, then you can elevate it using simple materials. And voila they can work as good as the ones available in the market or maybe even better in some cases, as you can adjust it entirely as per your cats' needs.
DIY elevated cat feeding stations are best as they are tailor-made specifically for your cat.
How to elevate the cat bowl?
Things you would need:
- A piece of flat wood big enough for one or two large bowls.
- One or two wide and low-sided bowls with lips at the top. Ideally, the base should be smaller than the top otherwise the bowls might slip through the surface.
- A wooden dowel rod to create an ideal height (the sweet spot is the knee height of the cat).
- A hole saw.
- A nail gun or a hammer and nails.
- Sandpaper or orbital sander for smooth sanding.
- A tape to measure.
- And a pencil to mark.
Let's create the purr-fect elevated cat bowl.
- First, prepare the piece of wood. Cut it down to the required size. It shouldn’t be too wide otherwise the cat would need to extend her neck to eat.
- Sand the wood so there're no splinters or sharp edges.
- Use the tape and the pencil to mark the required diameter of the bowl. It should be wide enough to snug the bowl in.
- Remember to leave enough spaces between the bowls.
- Create proper holes with the saw and buff out any rough edges.
- Snug the bowl in.
- Next, work out the height of the feeder. Let’s say you want your bowls at 4” and the bowls are 0.5” deep below the wooden surface, then you want your legs to be at 4.5”.
- Create four equal legs from the dowel.
- Nail the legs in place. And ensure the cat bowl stand is stable.
- Lastly, use 220-grit sandpaper for a smoother finish.
Voila! You have it. Introduce your cat to her new feeding station. You can put this in a corner or use gripping pads to ensure it is tip-resistant.
The final verdict – the best elevated cat bowl.
Elevated cat feeding stations are loved by cats and recommended by vets because it makes meals so natural and comfortable.
It also helps us spend less time cleaning the mess and refueling the bowl again and again.
Modern cat bowls come in all shapes and sizes. The best feeding station has wide shallow bowls and it’s placed at an appropriate height and angle for the right posture. You can never go wrong with the following choices.
The best elevated cat bowls are:
- Neon Colored Elevated Double Cat Bowl
- Petkit Detachable Cat Feeding Bowl
- Petkit Cybertail Elevated Cat Bowls
- Necoichi Extra Wide Ceramic Elevated Cat Food Bowl
Finally, we have achieved our mission. We have improved the lifestyle of one of the coolest members of our family - our cat.
Product Recommendations
