Question for the hivemind pet people. How often do you wash your cat/dog bowls?

Because their main source of water intake is actually canned food with water added, I worry less about the cats' water dish than I might otherwise. I aim to rinse it out and put in fresh water at least once every other day. If it goes a third day, I don't feel too bad. If it somehow gets lots of cruddy crumbs in it and looks gross, I do feel bad. Proper wash at least once a week. Vinegar rinse to get lime deposits out, whenever.

I'm glad you are getting a chance to grieve Gordon, bonny. It's never easy, no matter what we distract ourselves with.

and some of it is I don't *like* managing people.

I don't like doing it, but have found myself to be better at it than I expected, at least on the small scale. I have a couple of stock phrases for certain circumstances that could be unpleasantly confrontational with the wrong turn of phrase. Some of them might be useful in handling that intern. Let me know if you think they would help.

Proper wash at least once a week. Vinegar rinse to get lime deposits out, whenever.

Check.

Also, Andi, what type bowls do you use? (plastic, metal, ceramic, etc.)

How often do you wash your cat/dog bowls?

Honestly? Hardly ever, only when they look like they need it or ants get into them or something. Certainly not as often as once a month, but maybe a few times a year. They have two filtered fountains that are their main water sources, though. Not that I wash them very often, either, but, filters, so that's something?

Eta: dog gets dry food out of a foldable camping dish made of, I think, nylon? Water dish is plastic. Cats eat dry food with a teaspoon of wet on top out of one stainless steel dish and one ceramic. Fountains are plastic.

Metal bowls and I am horribly slack about washing. Oops.

bonny (and anyone else not on fb), can you see these pics? if not will email. [link]

What's a good cost of living comparison site?

Okay, I swear I'm going.

Water bowl when it looks like it needs it, that varies with the time of year. Food bowls, hardly ever, but they have dry food in stainless steel bowls so they never get messy.

Question for the hivemind pet people. How often do you wash your cat/dog bowls?

The cats get clean (ceramic) plates for their gooshyfood probably every 3-4 days. Their water bowl (plastic) gets cleaned and refilled every 2-4 days (it just varies based on the temperature outside and how much fur is in the bowl [I suspect they swim laps in the bowl some days]).

The dogs' food bowls (ceramic) don't get cleaned often enough, I shamefacedly admit. The cat plates get swapped for clean because they leave bits of food on them, and so we notice it. The dogs lick their bowls clean, and so "dirty!" doesn't register as often as it should.

I should probably wash the dog bowls at least as often as I wash the dishes, huh? (Which is certainly not every day. t edit I'd guess I wash the dog food bowls every 3-4 weeks.

The dog water dish (a big metal dealie) gets rinsed and wiped out pretty often, because they manage to get crud (and sometimes kibble) in there all the time.

Water bowls (and, okay, cups and glasses) get washed daily. Bowls with any wet food get washed every couple of days. Bowls with only dry food ... slightly more randomly.

smonster, I see the photos and, god help me, I'm in love with that Frankie-boy. He's a looka!

And, might I add, you've got great walking technique in that one photo. A perfect J on the leash, and nice position. I'm offering my third annual walk workshop in two weeks and only wish people who have been walking their dogs for years were that good.

I have found that a little chicken broth will encourage an animal to drink. Is the water supposed to be okay to drink boiled?

Yes. This. VW, have you tried taking some boiled water, put it in a shallow dish in the freezer, and letting it cool down to almost freezing, and giving it?

I think the broth might help, but boiled and cooled might not be so repugnant as plastic water.

Also, Andi, what type bowls do you use? (plastic, metal, ceramic, etc.)

For some reason I had been thinking the question only applied to water dishes. For a long time I had a nice big stainless steel water dish, but that got a rust spot ?!? so it has been replaced by a nice stout glass casserole dish. Their food dishes are small stainless steel dishes. Those I rinse in hot water before every meal, and wash with actual soap every few days, whenever I realize I can't remember the last time it happened.