Raise Your Cat’s Food Bowl (2 Ways); Skip Feeding Time Bend Overs! & Cat Gets Some Exercise

IVI on 09/06/2018 - 11:57
Last edited 09/06/2018 - 12:11 by 1 other user

So, bending over is problematic for some seniors & others.

Feeding cats and other small pets can be painful / fall-risks.

To eliminate the need for bending and - at the same time - give your cat a bit more exercise (indoors), try:

1. Feed your (suitably small) pet on a (homemade) “shelf” that’s at least knee high.

Heathy Cats like to jump eg, up onto the shelf for food, and (especially for indoor pets) this jumping provides a bit more execise. (Ours studies the “food shelf” for ~30 Sec, before hopping up. (She only collided with one of the 2 bowls up there once.)

Warm cardboard landing pads work well (in Winter), and let you keep the eating shelf clean, eg, just after the cat’s come in from rain / mud or even slushy snow.

But why stop at a knee-high shelf? Help her to hold her head high while eating or drinking water there:

2. Turn a cardboard can packing-tray up-side-down, and serve your pet by placing food bowls on the inverted tray. (Mine came from a low canned product, eg tuna, and it lifts the food bowl about an inch above shelf-top.)

Practical construction:

In a storage shed, we placed a packed IKEA side-table top on top of 2 movers’ Tea Chest size moving boxes. The hard, dense cardboard of the packaging doesn’t absorb liquids (eg, water on bottom of the water bowl). And it’s not as slippery as the smooth table top (in the box) would be. Cost of both: $5.00

• 

  firedragon on 09/06/2018 - 12:57

  +4

  I like this idea. Thanks OP.

  • 

    fantombloo on 09/06/2018 - 15:10

    Except a mess on the floor is probably easier to clean than a mess on a shelf. (my felines are messy eaters - not true for all cats)

    • 

      IVI on 28/03/2019 - 11:27

      Why?

      I save bending-over to clean the
      shelf (mostly cat hair & a bit of
      dust)

      I serve some food in a tall bowl…
      she lets her whiskers touch the side
      of the bowl, eats & can't shake her
      head (if she otherwise would) to
      "toss" bits of food around the shelf

      Shorter bowl (of a contrasting color)
      for other foods works better than a
      plate (used by her previous owner)
      also works for us

• 

  werdnanostaw on 10/06/2018 - 10:03

  We got 2 cat bowls with a handle and a set of plastic steps so my 92 year old mother can feed her cat without having to bend over.

  https://i.pinimg.com/originals/07/be/85/07be85aada80cbec312e…

  https://images.officeworks.com.au/api/2/img/https://s3-ap-so…

  She lifts the bowls onto the steps while she fills them with food and water.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 17:45

  Not all heroes wear a Cape 👏 Now to tackle world peace… ;)