Over the past few years, having moved quite a large number of times from house to house, and even country to country with my cat Avery (he’s been from Canada to the UK to Portugal), I’ve tested a lot of bowls considering I rarely took anything along with me. I have actually noticed, while it wouldn’t have been obvious to me at first, Avery does genuinely have preferences with regards to what he’s happier to eat and drink out of.
The vast majority of the bowls I slotted in and out have been water bowls. I’ve tried a lot over the years – from “human” mugs and cups, to standard cat & dog drinking bowls, to little plastic Tupperware and jars, as well as a few varieties of human bowls and plates, oddly enough.
With regards to Avery’s taste water bowls, I have noticed the rule of thumb has typically been in part – the higher the better. That being said, Avery 100% prefers deeper dishes, in my opinion even going so far as to prefer human cups and mugs over those shallow water dishes you typically get for pets. Though maybe that’s also down to the fact that deeper bowls are typically higher as well. Avery does slightly prefer not having to cram his face into what he’s drinking out of, though he’d choose a human cup over a flat, un-elevated bowl – so in the end, I feel he prefers deep and wide containers for drinking out of if I had to guess what makes him happiest.
In terms of materials, I have a feeling he prefers ceramic bowls or glass bowls over metals or other types, but I haven’t tested this enough to really know for sure. He certainly doesn’t refuse to drink out of anything, even if it’s a plastic tupperware (like we used for a while when we first got him). He’s a big drinker in the first place, but really enjoys drinking all the more if I give him water fresh from the tap in warmer months, as it’s much cooler than water left sitting out.
I’m currently using a couple super large and deep “human” bowls – the Corelle 28 ounce ones – as water dishes for Avery and his new brother, in case anybody’s curious. These bowls have been the only thing thus far that have made Avery’s blackheads go away, I think as a result of being wide and technically elevated, by nature of being so deep.
Now onto the topic of different food bowls. Truth be told, while I have fed Avery in regular feeding dishes and bowls before, for an extremely large portion of the time he’s been with me, I’ve fed him his kibble with a feeder toy – the Catit Design Food Tree. If he’s not eating his food from a feeder toy or a slow feed bowl, I notice he really speeds through his meal, and it takes him under a minute to guzzle down all his grub. Maybe because he was a stray/feral cat before we took him in? I’m not sure. Either way, this kind of speed eating is no good, as while he isn’t the type to throw up directly after chomping down his entire meal at full force, I know cats – just like humans – shouldn’t be eating too fast, lest they have issues with indigestion, gas, or other not-too-serious, but still very easily preventable, issues.
I’ve recently adopted Bjorn, a second stray/feral cat from the neighbourhood, and he too guzzles down grub at a speed I’m not altogether happy with. So, after having him jump for some kibble, then giving him a few pieces in a little bowl with some of water to drink up like a soup, I feed him the remainder of his meal in the Mogoko Cat Catch Interactive Feeder Bowl I originally bought to test on Avery. The Cat Catch feeder has worked out quite well, though it took him a little time to get used to the fact that he couldn’t bite his way to his food.
For me, slow feeder bowls being a necessity, I would opt for a stand rather than a combined feeding station that included plates. Then I’d get an elevated water bowl for the cats on the side (though for now the Corelle bowls are doing quite nicely). What about you? Let me know if you swung by looking for something in particular, and what you ended up figuring out was the most ideal solution for you. Lots of varieties you can go with, which I’ll get into now!
Elevated & Raised Cat Bowls: For Food & Water, From Stands to Dishes
1. Necoichi Raised Cat Food Bowl
The elevated cat bowls by Necoichi are come in three different sizes – mini, regular, and large. I think the smallest is intended for treats, for kittens, and cats who need some height, but not too much, such as some elderly or arthritic cats. The medium and large, I believe are both intended for eating and drinking, depending on the height of your particular adult cat.
These raised food and water bowls get a ridiculous amount of positive reviews amonst cat owners, some saying they were so pleased with their initial purchase, they bought the whole set. Makes me want to jump on the bandwagon by giving these bowls a shot.
2. ViviPet Q Bowls and Big Head Water Bowl for Cat
In my opinion, these ViviPet raised drinking bowls are absolutely the cutest elevated water bowls in existence. Shaped as a cat head with some feet and a stubby little tail, when your cat drinks out of one, it’s like your cat’s drinking out of a cat head.
They’re also quite large, and thus I think make really great multi-cat water bowls. This is really important to me now that I have two cats, but would’ve been valuable to have even if I only had Avery, as he often flicks water out of his bowl before drinking, and if I forget to refill for a couple days, it’s nice to know the water level would still be quite high with a bigger bowl.
Though I think the Necoichi bowls are way more practical and affordable, I actually think I’d opt to try this one first initially, because I can’t get over how stupidly cute it really is, and I do like the fact that it can hold quite a lot of water.
3. IRIS Elevated Feeder with Airtight Storage
If you’re looking for a storage solution and an elevated/raised food and water combination feeding station, I think this is an excellent option. One pet parent bought this for her four month old kitten: “He likes knocking his food and water dish over when he feels it is too low, aka he took one drink and one bite of food. With the food in this it is too heavy and large for him to knock over so one win for team human!”
She bought the smallest size and also mentioned “it holds a 5lb bag of cat food but has a touch of room to spare.” I feel like if you ever need a compact food storage, water bowl, and food bowl solution, you’re not going to find much better than this.
4. Lepet Elevated Cat Bowls Raised Pet Feeder Solid Bamboo Stand with two Ceramic, Two Metal Bowls
For the best all-round solution to a feeding station, I think this is likely the best option. It’s a solid bamboo stand that features two ceramic and two metal bowls – so you can try using either to see if your cat has a preference. Not only is it raised, but it’s also slanted as well, which may prove to be something your cat quite likes. You can buy extra stainless steel and ceramic bowls if you noticed your cat prefers one over the other and you want a couple extra to rotate through, and the design of the all-wood stand is pretty darn gorgeous, and can be used to store extra dishes or even tins of food beneath it.
I really can’t think of a more thought out design, honestly. But in case you’re looking for some more options in terms of wood stand elevated feeders, a couple alternatives include: the Pawfect Pets Elevated Dog & Cat Pet Feeder Raised Stand with Four Stainless Steel Bowls & the FOREYY Raised Pet Bowls for Cats & Dogs with Anti Slip Feet.
5. 4CLAWS Raised 15 Degree Tilted Cat Feeder
Yet another raised and tilted cat food bowl option, this one having glass bowls inside a more modern and sleek looking raised stand. I would strongly recommend grabbing a non-slip cat food mat or pet tray to go beneath this one, particularly one that’s non-slip, as that would likely help in cases where cats do end up moving their bowls around a lot as they eat or drink. I noticed one pet parent matched this raised feeder station with what looks like a grey PetFusion Silicone Pet Food Mat and the combination looks amazing.
Really like the idea of a slanted/tilted elevated food bowl and want to look through a few more options before committing? Try these:
6. Catit Flower Elevated Cat Water Fountain
Just looking for an elevated bowl for water in particular? Struggling to get your cat to drink and looking for an option that’s the most likely to get your cat to guzzle down some H2O? You may want to try a raised or elevated cat water fountain instead of merely a bowl.
Luckily, most pet fountains are pretty raised, so it shouldn’t be an issue finding one that’ll work well for you. There are a slew of excellent multi-level options on the market even, in case you’d like your cat to have different heights to try out drinking from in one fountain – like the PetSafe Drinkwell Multi-Tier Dog and Cat Water Fountain & Cat Mate Multi-Level Pet Fountain.
7. ViviPet Cat Dining Table 15° Tilted Platform Pet Feeder Ceramic Bowls & Cat Grass Feeder
If you’ve ever entertained giving cat grass a go, and you also happen to be looking for an elevated feeder, this all-in-one food, water, and snack raised feeding station should be the perfect single solution. Cat grass can be an amazing stimulant for cats who are bored frequently, and for pet parents living in small apartments looking for solutions to keeping their cats as passively entertained as possible. That being said, you may need to keep an eye on your cat, especially initially, to make sure your cat doesn’t overdo the eating. If he/she does, you may want to slot in and out the cat grass, only letting your kitty snack on it during specific parts of the day, like a little early in the morning or after a meal.
8. Platinum Pets Modern Double Diner Feeder with Stainless Steel Cat Bowls
There are quite a lot of cat bowls with stand combination elevated pet food feeders out there, with stainless steel, glass, or ceramic bowls that slot in to them. If this is the kind of thing you’re looking for, you have a large number of elevated feeders to choose from. Some popular options include:
- Signature Housewares Fish Cat Set of 2 Bowls
- Platinum Pets Modern Triple Diner Feeder
- SPOT Ethical Mediterranean Double Diner
- MushroomCat Pet Feeder Double Ceramic Bowls Dog Bowl and Cat Bowl
9. PetRageous Set The Table Elevated Pet Dining Table Stand
Have the perfect bowls already, and just want an elevated cat stand to keep your pet’s food and/or water bowls on? Or want to combine a slow feeder cat bowl with an elevated stand to keep kitty from eating too quickly?
There are a small number of raised cat bowl stands out there, this PetRageous Set the Table Stand being one of the most popular currently. More than any other raised feeding station on this list, if you opt for this stand or in general any stand on it’s own, I’d say it’s important to grab a non-slip pet food mat along with it if your cat typically has issues keeping his or her bowl in one place.
10. Catit Style 2-Bowl Non-Slip Glass Diner Set Raised Feeding Station for Pets
Speaking of slipping pet food bowls – if you’re really looking for something that will reduce feeder station slippage as much as possible, but don’t want to opt for a non-slip food mat to have beneath it, say because your cat eats fairly neatly and just has issues with shifting the entire bowl no matter how heavy it happens to be, you may want to give the Catit Style 2-Bowl Glass Diner Set a try. It may look at first glance like it wouldn’t quite do the trick, but it’s a lot better than you might think. The base is lined with a non-slip rubber, and those bowls are not just placed on top, they have physical “stems” that hold them into place while your cat eats – check out how that looks here.
11. ProsperDog Pet Products The Dog Feeder & Cat Raised Pet Bowls
Legitimately a stunning option, in my opinion. If you’re looking for something gorgeous, that’s black and white, that’s unique and angular, and where the dishes are quite shallow, I think this is the perfect fit.
12. PetFusion Innovative SinglePod Magnetic Pet Feeder
If you’ve got multiple cats at home you’re trying to buy pet feeders for, you want them all to eat at the same feeding station, and you want to make sure that feeding station is going to stay put together, rather than having one bowl here and there and everywhere, the PetFusion SinglePod Magnetic Feeder is a great option. Buy one for every cat you have, then use the magnets on the side to connect them together.
Take a peek at how gorgeous and modern three of these feeders look when connected together! That review also mentions: “The magnets hold fast, but if for any reason you wanted to separate the bowls just spin one around and the magnets will keep the stands apart. These bowls have greatly reduced ‘scarf and barf’ in my household due to the better angle for their esophagus, and no whisker fatigue! Note the picture shows 1 3-oz can split between 2 bowls for scale purposes. Plenty of room to add water… Highly recommended!”
13. Neater Feeder Deluxe Cat Mess Proof Elevated Bowls, No Tip Non Slip
The Neater Feeder is one of the most popular elevated food bowls on the market, probably because it’s so good at reducing the absolute disaster of a mess some cats (and some dogs!) make while eating and/or drinking.
One reviewer mentioned he/she has exceptionally messy eaters, and this elevated dining station fixed the problem completely: “Best Design! My kitten and 1 year old cat both love this. First, my cats are messy eaters. The kitten manages to fling her food about and the other one just drops bits and pieces everywhere. This awesome design, catches everything!” The photo she posted of one of her cats literally standing on the feeder to eat the last remaining bit of food is too much!
14. Pet Zone Designer Diner Adjustable Elevated Pet Feeder
If your biggest concern over buying a pet feeder is which height to get because you genuinely don’t know which size will be best liked by your cat, you may want to try an adjustable raised cat feeder station, like this one by Pet Zone. It’s not the only adjustable height bowl set out there; one great alternative is the PandPal Adjustable Raised Dog Bowl.
Your Thoughts on Raised Cat Bowls
Have you ever bought or thought of grabbing an elevated cat bowl before? What type did you try? Did it work out or do you wish you had bought a different type?
Which features do you think are best for your cats? Tilted types, food-and-water feeding station combos, single feeders, water bowls that are elevated with some other type of cat bowl?
Would love to hear any and all thoughts you have on the topic down below!
Would really like your advice.
2 weeks ago I took my cat to the vet for his annual shots. He has been to the vet a couple of times before in the last year when sick and of course does not really like it but this time he had a real meltdown. He just absolutely freaked out and had to be sedated just to get a shot and have some blood drawn.
Ever since he is a totally different cat…He ABSOLUTELY hates me and wants nothing to do with me. He spent 6 days hardly moving or eating and now he is up and about but will have nothing to do with me. He used to be sweet and snuggling and ran to greet me at the door every day….now he hisses and bites if I even come near him.
I am completely heart broken, I have had him for just over a year and we really worked hard to get to a good place. He has a lot of anxiety issues and the vet started him on Prozac. She says the dosage is so low that it will take 4-6 weeks to notice any change but in the last 10 days he has become a completely different animal. Everyone tells me to be patient and spend time with him giving him treats but nothing is changing. Have you ever heard of a cat holding a grudge for this long?
Any advice you have I would love to hear. I’m so sad and feel like all the work we have put in has just gone down the drain!
Please double check that nothing is wrong with him. His lethargy and his lack of eating may be something more than stress.
But if he is fine and the vets say it’s just anxiety, yes, absolutely 10 days is normal for a cat to still be stressed and recovering. In cases where it feels like the anxiety is really not subsiding, quite frankly I would do a “reset” for him. Give him just one single room, decked with everything he could ever want and need (a great view from the window, lots of nap spots, food, water, toys, scratching post, etc.). Use that as a recovery room, essentially. Spoil him with anything you know he loves, and try getting him anything you think he may like (catnip as a snack, try out different yummy foods or treats that may tempt him to be excited and happy).
But yes this absolutely does happen. I’ve even written an article about it prior to this actually, it’s here: My Cat Got Sick; He’s Better, but His Behaviour & Personality Changed: Help?, so please check that out for more advice!
I feel quite embarrassed that I don’t know the differences in feeding before.. Thank you for the article!
Definitely don’t feel embarrassed! I didn’t know about any of this stuff until I really started looking into this type of thing for this blog. There’s a lot out there these days we just don’t know about because not many people know about or talk about them still – so I try to help by writing articles about topics that might help!
Thanks for stopping by with your comments, Rachel! 🙂