Do you elevate your feeding dishes for your pets?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have been noticing over the past couple years…they cats make a terrible mess out of their little food area. The take a mouthful of dry food from the dish on the floor, then sit up, crunch and munch it [where the little flecks get all over the floor] then dip and repeat. So I decided they shouldn’t have to bow down to get their food, or at least I don’t want them to bend over too much [a little transference isn’t bad with your pets]…So I bought a food dish elevated plateform. I was going to make one but opted to buy one instead.

Now, wouldn’t you know it, they do not make as much of a mess, and they seem to love their dishes being at chest level… no more bending.

Anyone else do this?

2

I do too! I saw on TV years ago some pet expert recommend elevating dog dishes, especially for large dogs, because it’s uncomfortable for them to have to keep bending down. Made sense, so I started doing it for my cats.

It didn’t do anything about the mess, though. Raven eats like a lady, but Rasputin takes a mouthful of food and then runs to another location to chew and swallow. Must be a hunting thing.

3

Yes. Our dogs and cats have elevated feeding dishes. I heard something a long time ago, that it was good for them to have their food dishes elevated. Something regarding digestion, or their bones/muscles or whatnot. I have no cite, though. Sorry.

4

Yup! Both our indoor kitty and barn kitties have elevated dishes. Seems to be better for their digestion according to our vet.

5

I don’t, but I’m going to try it today. If even just one person has experienced less crunchy bits sticking to their bare feet as a result of an elevated feeding dish, then I’m willing to give it a shot. Their Royal Furinesses will be dining in style!

6

I’ve had my golden retriever’s dishes elevated since she was a baby.

Just recently, though (like, within the past year) she has become a horrible messy eater.

7

I have greyhounds, and as tall dogs, they have always had their dishes elevated. It’s a looong way to the floor for them.

8

Yes I had them elevated due to old age, it was hard for him to bend so far down because of arthritis and neck problems.

9

The dogs’ is, but not the cats. Maybe I should try it for them, too…

10

I need to do that for our old dog. For the cats, no.

I’ve watched my cat put his front feet up on the edge of the bowl so that he has to bend down farther when drinking. I set a flat of Pepsi cans on the counter next to the cat dishes once, and he sat on the cans to eat rather than sitting on the counter. He likes bending down.

11

I built my cats a nice one from ash . Three holes 1 each for dry and wet and one for water. They don’t have to stoop but still make a mess.

12

We have a standard poodle, and his dish is elevated. Big dogs, who have to bend over in order to eat, seem to be more prone to bloat and having an elevated dish helps avoid that.

13

Having my cat’s dish elevated seems to keep ants away from the dish as well.

14

This is the one that we got for our cats and it works great.

15

We have one that is similar to this.

The booger seems to really like it - he’s pretty big - back in the big house, his food and water bowls were on the ground - and he only got food once a day. Now, his food bowl is always filled as is his water. The big goof gets antsy if we let them get low.

16

So, for cats, how high should the rim of the bowl be? Maybe 4" to 6"?

I want to try this!

Also, I see our cats grab some dry food, and then shake it, like they’re trying to kill it or something. Sometimes pellets go flying during the shaking. Anybody else?

17

Yes, 4 or 6 inches is fine. And yes, our cat’s do the shake as well. But they seemed to have quelled it since elevating the food bowls.

18

We stopped using raised feeders when I saw this article on bloat:

Canine Gastric Dilation-Volvulus

Bloat is scary. Here is a chart of the warning signs:

19

I just put a plastic tray under the dishes. Presto - no more crumbs everywhere and the tray was real easy to rinse off.

20

Gak.

After some Googling I think cats don’t get the bloat, only dogs. Anybody know?