# Best place to put water and food bowls



## Melo (Jul 13, 2012)

Where is the best place to put a cat's water and food bowls? I live in a flat and don't have a great deal of space. I'd read not to put them near the litter box, which I currently have in my kitchen. My kitchen is quite small, so wherever I put the bowls in there, they are going to be near the litter box!

Would the hallway be a good place?

Any advice would be great!

Thanks. :001_smile:


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## sequeena (Apr 30, 2009)

Seems the best place to me. In my house the food goes on the kitchen windowsill and they share the dogs water bowls


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

I don't leave food bowls down they get their food eat it and then they are taken up (Monty eats in the kitchen or the hall way and Maudey eats on her shelf in the bedroom or the bookcase :crazy and their water bowl which is a mug as they prefer to drink from a mug than a bowl, is sat on the storage heater in the bedroom (the storage heater never gets turned on)


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## Melo (Jul 13, 2012)

Thanks, I'll try the hallway. Should they be high up on a table or a shelf or is having them on the floor ok? I'd also read that cat's don't like to have their food and water bowls moved around and like them in the same place all the time. Is this true?

If you haven't already guessed, I'm a new cat owner!


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## ace85 (Aug 16, 2011)

I would say the whole 'cats won't eat near the litter tray' thing is a bit of a myth - any of my boys will eat anywhere in the house. A couple of times I have had to feed one of the cats away from the others, mostly to make sure everyone is getting a fair portion at mealtimes, and this has meant feeding maybe five feet away from the litter tray. Obviously you don't want it to be so close that one potentially contaminates the other, but it's not like a cat will turn its nose up at food just because it's been served within a certain radius of the toilet


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## Melo (Jul 13, 2012)

ace85 said:


> I would say the whole 'cats won't eat near the litter tray' thing is a bit of a myth - any of my boys will eat anywhere in the house. A couple of times I have had to feed one of the cats away from the others, mostly to make sure everyone is getting a fair portion at mealtimes, and this has meant feeding maybe five feet away from the litter tray. Obviously you don't want it to be so close that one potentially contaminates the other, but it's not like a cat will turn its nose up at food just because it's been served within a certain radius of the toilet


Thanks. I've read so many different things about what is best to do for your cat it all gets a bit confusing after a while!

The best place I've found for advice and information is on here, so I think I'll just stick to that from now on! Getting advice from other cat owners is the best way to go I think.


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## ilovemykitties (Jul 20, 2012)

I have my water bowls in the kitchen by the fridge. They seem fine with it. And I actually put the food in my bedroom with a small water bowl by it. I can't leave the food out in the opening because the dog tends to eat it, and the dog isn't a fan of my kitties, so she doesn't go in my room. lol
Let's just say I have about four water bowls around the house just to make sure they always have water where ever they are. haha


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## welshjet (Mar 31, 2011)

Clinton Mask said:


> Nice job!


Nice job!


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## welshjet (Mar 31, 2011)

Melo, i think its each to their own, some people say not to put food & water next to each other, but ours are, and they are both in the kitchen. With our old cat, she had bith bowls together over 20 years and she was ok with the positioning. 

We do have a water fountain as well in the dining room and like Montymaude, if we leave a glass out its fair game with lilly as are the taps :sneaky2:

Their litter trays tho are both in the bathroom and are pretty discret with the hoods, as is the emergency one upstairs.


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

MontyMaude said:


> I don't leave food bowls down they get their food eat it and then they are taken up (Monty eats in the kitchen or the hall way and Maudey eats on her shelf in the bedroom or the bookcase :crazy and their water bowl which is a mug as they prefer to drink from a mug than a bowl, is sat on the storage heater in the bedroom (the storage heater never gets turned on)


A mug on top of the storage heater in the bedroom??
Love it ha ha!!


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## smiler84 (Feb 4, 2012)

space is an issue in my flat too, but he's never had an issue with having his food bowl in the kitchen with his litter tray. Obviously not next to each other, but they're not a million miles away!

kitchen is the best place for me because it's got a tiled floor, so it doesn't matter when he makes a mess. also it's the coolest room in the house so both his food and water stay naturally cooler during the day!


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

jo-pop said:


> A mug on top of the storage heater in the bedroom??
> Love it ha ha!!


It's next to a platform on their cat tree, but it was discovered because I put mugs of water on the storage heaters in the winter as the heat is so dry and they both would drink from the manky dusty cups rather than their water bowl, so they have their own mug with a cat on it on the heater just for them


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

My girl eats in the kitchen and to prove the point, she was outside so I put a piece of quail on a plate and took it out to her - I thought it would save me mopping the floor - next minute she is carrying it back into the kitchen and tucking in near her food mat 

Food here is put down, eaten and plate taken away. 

Her water used to be right next to her food plate, but when she started with gingivitis and was off her food, the vet recommended moving the water away from the food, in case she associated the same place with pain. 

She now has a fountain on the floor on the same wall as her food but not next to it - if that makes sense. Litter tray is on a different wall but still in the kitchen.


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## witchyone (Dec 16, 2011)

This is Dora's prefered drinking


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## tashax (Jun 25, 2011)

I used to keep their food on the side when i had the 6 dogs as they were only fed dry food and it used to get stolen. Now i have only freya it goes on the dining room floor as she doesnt eat the food.

Now i cant keep them off the sides though so it depends wether you want little cat feet on the sides


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## JoeyTheCat (Jun 26, 2012)

I live in a flat too, and my cat's food bowl is on a table in the living room so my dog can't reach it, and they share the water bowl, which is in the kitchen along with my dog's food bowl (which my cat tries to raid when my dog is eating   )


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## anotheruser (Aug 17, 2011)

When I lived in my flat, I had the food stuffs on one side of the fridge, then a kitchen bin and the litter tray on the other side.


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## bordie (Jan 9, 2012)

next to each other.................


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## LyraBella (Jul 18, 2012)

I was going to ask a similar question!

Am another soon-to-be new kitten owner.

C


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## Melo (Jul 13, 2012)

witchyone said:


> This is Dora's prefered drinking


Haha! Love it! :thumbup:


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## Melo (Jul 13, 2012)

LyraBella said:


> I was going to ask a similar question!
> 
> Am another soon-to-be new kitten owner.
> 
> C


Glad you have also found this useful. :001_smile:

Thanks to all who posted a reply. I'd rather have them in the kitchen as then if anything is splashed/spilled/knocked over it is easier to clean up in there as it won't be landing on my hall carpet! Maybe I'll get a table to put them on so that they are at a higher level than the litter box, which is on the floor. I suppose he'll soon tell me where he likes to eat! :biggrin5:


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