Curiosity Killed the…

I remember being a little kid and reading the top of a box of Cheerios; it said to fold plastic lining to preserve freshness. So help me I took those words to heart.
My whole life I have annoyed my mother, boyfriends, roommates, and my husband with my insistence of preserving freshness. Baggie clips are on everything in the pantry and a good amount of food in the crisper.

When kittens became a part of my life I continued this preserving trend of mine. Back before I knew what I know now I used to give Annie and Oliver dry food.
At first I would push all the air from the bag and roll the top down as much as I could. But I figured that wasn’t good enough.
I then added a trusty baggie clip.

But I felt that wasn’t good enough either. So I invested in some Snapware. At first I was drawn to the adorable design. I do love paw prints.

With their dry food in an air tight canister I felt much better.
Even though my 4 kiddos do not eat dry food, my Snapware containers are still mighty handy. I keep one in the pantry filled with bonito flakes and another in the bedroom filled with treats for Oliver and Annie.

Dry food only maintains its freshness in a bag for 3 weeks so I truly encourage anyone who feeds dry food to their animals to not buy the 700 pound bag.
Or, if you must, pour the food into air tight jars. Nothing bugs me more than when I see on open bag of food. Besides being wholly unsanitary, it’s not very nice. Food goes stale. It’s that simple.

I have given away so many bag clips over the past couple of years that yesterday I bought 4 more for my own kitchen because I ran out.

With my own eyes I see food in pantries with rolled down plastic bags and boxes of crackers closed up to maintain freshness yet that same principle doesn’t travel down to the pets. Why?!
How hard it is to get clips or jars or lids for cans? It’s not that hard. I know because I do it all the time.

I am often sorely tempted to open bags and boxes in cupboard and pantries when I see open pet food. “There, now your food is stale too. Watch out for spiders!”

Be good to yourself, be good to the animals in your care. Simple.

Bamboo Pet Products, makers of barely-memorable items (I remember the red and white, little else) have just designed the stupidest thing out there: Feed and Toss Cat Bowls.

The idea behind this is to give your cat a clean and sterile dish each time he eats. I don’t know about you, but I’m quite confident in my ability to wash dishes. When all else fails I can even use my dishwasher.

What’s even more surprising than this gratuitous invention is that it was the 2007 AMPPA Award Winner. I’ve never heard of the AMPPA but it stands for the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
I tend to frown upon such organizations. The AAFCO is on my List as well. The Association of American Feed Control Officials are the idiots who think by-products and mystery meats are acceptable forms of nutrition.

But back to Bamboo: how wasteful! Is this designed for really, really lazy people or people who would rather buy plastic dish after plastic dish than spend a few honest dollars on ceramic, stoneware, or stainless steel dishes?

Plastic ends up on landfills; plastic is one of the worst materials out there and Bamboo thought it would brilliant to add more of it to the world?
What the hell were they thinking?!

Sadly, there’s a majority of cats with a drinking problem. The problem is, they simply don’t drink enough.

The weakest part of a cat is the kidneys. To help keep kidneys nice and healthy, a cat needs to keep hydrated.

Wet food really helps out in this area. Most wet foods are made up of over 70% water. A cat who switches from dry to wet will drink less because he’s getting more.

But wet food alone is not enough. It’s very important to keep fresh, clean water available at all times.

In my own home, we have 4 dishes and 4 fountains. Upstairs I keep a CatIt and a Drinkwell and downstairs is another Drinkwell and a Bubbler. The only fountains we don’t have is the Fresh Flow, Cat Fountain, and a Le Bistro (which is dumb).

To be fair, the PetMate Bubbler isn’t really used as a fountain. None of my 4 cats have ever taken a drink from it, but Oliver is fascinated by it. My husband and I call it Bubble TV because Oliver can watch it for a long time without looking away. Thankfully it was only $20 so I consider it a pricey toy.

PetMate Bubbler = Bubble TV

I actually bought a Drinkwell back when we just had Annie and Oliver but I got rid of it when we moved from Los Angeles to Seattle because I thought it was a pain. Dust and hair was constantly dirtying it. I’ve learned this is just a part of fountain life.

Now I have one on both levels but have only ever seen Penny drink from the one downstairs. I like that it has a filter and is only sort of a pain to clean.

Drinkwell Fountain

I used to have the FreshFlow as well but got rid of that one during an even earlier move. Pixel used it (may she rest in peace). This was years ago when I kept her food near her water. I know better now. I’ve actually thought of purchasing another one of these for the current kitties. I do like that it also has a filter.

PetMate FreshFlow

The CatIt lives in the master bathroom for Stella to use as Stella lives in the master bedroom. (Her and Oliver are not compatible.) She really enjoys drinking from the dome and it’s adorable to watch. This one also has a filter plus an unusual design. It’s also quieter than the Bubbler and the Drinkwells.The mat it came with was useless though. I keep it outside Stella’s litter box. The little dish for food was lame too and I’ll get to why in a moment.

CatIt Fountain

The one fountain I have never purchased (and never will) is the PetMate LeBistro. It’s just laziness. It doesn’t have a filter or even circulate water. It’s just stale water in a plastic tub. It encourages sloth, in my humble opinion. Boo and hiss to LeBistro and its dumb name.

PetMate LeBistro

My chief complaint with all of these designs is plastic. Plastic dishes can cause acne in cats. Cats should be eating and drinking from stainless steel, stoneware, or ceramic. Besides the health factor, non-plastic dishes look nicer.

The only waterer that isn’t entirely plastic is the Cat Fountain. I don’t have one because I don’t buy bottled water but I think it’s a clever idea.

CatFountain

Coming it at $7 it’s also the cheapest. Maybe I should order one. My suggestion here would be to place a new plastic bottle in it every other day. All plastic can harbor bacteria and no one wants to ingest bacteria.

Another way to encourage cats to drink their water is to keep it far from their food. Water absorbs smell and if a cat sniffs her water and it smells like food, she may just walk on.

The 4 water dishes around the house are far from the kitchen where the kitties eat. It can be annoying sometimes to gather all the dishes, rinse them with hot water, and refill them again with filtered water from a Brita pitcher we keep in the kitchen, but my cats (and all cats) deserve the best. And in this case the best means water that doesn’t have carpet fibers, fur, dust, and the occasional toy in it.

Curiosity Killed the…

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