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Everyone with a pet cat needs bowls for their food and water. However, some commercial bowls are expensive and might be the wrong size or material for your pet. You can build a more suitable one for your feline with items you have around the house. We’ve compiled a list of seven creative cat bowl plans to help you save money on cat supplies. Each product includes an image and a short description so you can see if it’s right for you.
The 7 DIY Cat Bowl Plans
1. Clay Cat Bowl
The Clay Cat Bowl is the perfect example of an easy-to-build dinner bowl you can customize. It only requires a few clay colors and oven-proof bowls to bake the clay. You can create a dish in less than 30 minutes, and each one is unique.
2. Martha Stewart Travel Pet Bowl
The Martha Stewart Travel Pet Bowl is a perfect example of how you can use supplies around your home to make a special bowl for your cat. The materials are inexpensive, and your imagination is the only limit. You can decorate it with words, images, or drawings. Stickers, markers, or paint will work great. And best of all, this bowl is portable!
3. Pet Bowl Stand
The Pet Bowl Stand is a little more complicated than the earlier examples and requires carpentry skills. You will need a hand saw, tape measure, and power drill. The finished project will leave your cat with an attractive table where they can eat dinner.
4. Modern Pet Bowl Stand
The Modern Pet Bowl Stand is similar to our last model but slightly easier to build. It only requires a few materials, like wood and wood glue, and you won’t need power tools to complete it. It’s a simple design that you can customize with wood stain to create a unique appearance that will match your kitchen.
5. Modern Raised Dog Bowl
The Modern Raised Dog Bowl is another raised-table design we recommend. It’s a bit more complicated than the others and requires several supplies and tools, but it’s highly customizable and will last a lifetime.
6. Cat Water Bowl and Planter
If you hate how classic cat bowls look, we have the perfect project for you! This simple DIY cat bowl is a part planter and part water bowl. You can grow cat-friendly plants on the side and provide your cat with plenty of water. It can even provide fresh grass that cats love to snack on and can help improve their digestion. The grass grows quickly and is non-toxic.
7. Stylish Book Cat Bowl
Our final DIY cat bowl is ideal for a book-lover! It turns a book into a stand with rounded feet. If you have an old textbook or instruction manual you dislike, you can put it to better use as a feeding stand.
Tips
When designing your cat bowl, choose a durable, easy-to-clean material. Don’t use plastic because it can leech harmful chemicals into the food. Plastic also scratches easily and can allow bacteria to grow.
Also, make sure it’s wide enough for your cat to eat without touching their whiskers to the sides of the bowl. A wide, shallow bowl is better than a deep one. When the whiskers hit the side of the dishes, they can overstimulate them, making it harder for them to enjoy their dinner.
While many of the designs on this list feature two bowls, one for food and one for water, we recommend using a fountain to hydrate your cat because it keeps the water fresher. Its sound attracts cats and entices them to drink while they play. A well-hydrated cat will shed less and experience less constipation.
Feeding your cat dry rather than wet food will promote better dental health. The harder kibble will scrape away tartar as it builds up, but it’s okay to feed your cat wet food if you brush their teeth frequently. More than half of cats over 4 years old suffer from dental issues.
Or, if you’re looking to try something a bit different, the Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl puts an innovative, modern spin on the traditional cat dish. It caters to the specific needs of felines, like offering whisker relief and elevated dishes that improve better posture. Its also a gra option for pet owners! It's contemporary in style and the base wraps around both stainless steel bowls to ensure that any food and water stays in the tray and off your floor. Find out here if the Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl is right for you. At PangoVet, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company
Summary
Out of all the plans we presented on this list, the easiest to build are the first ones. The baking clay is easy to find and inexpensive enough that you can make several attempts to create something you like. If you have several cats, you can also make unique bowls for each pet and experiment with shapes. Just remember to make them wide enough for the whiskers. Decorating your existing bowls can be another great way to change their appearance and create something unique that will personalize them for your cat. If you are good with woodworking, the other plans will help you make a fine dining area for your pet, and the raised bowls will make it easier for your cat to eat.
We hope you have enjoyed reading our list and found some ideas you want to try. If we have inspired you to improve your pet’s eating experience, please share these 8 DIY cat bowls on Facebook and Twitter.
Featured Image Credit: AlexanderDubrovsky, Shutterstock
