For the most part, we've stopped eating out of plastic. We still own some reusable sandwich containers; but, other than that, our kitchen is on its way to being plastic-free. We know that BPA is only supposedly an issue if you're actually heating things in the plastic; still, our thought is better safe than sorry.
Our pets on the other hand, up until about a month ago were drinking out of a plastic water fountain.
Somehow we hadn't made the connection?
Then, a friend came to visit and she mentioned something very odd: catne. Cat-what? We asked.
Yes, we'd heard her right. Catne (or kitty acne) is essentially just what it sounds like it might be ... feline acne that usually starts on a cat's chin.
And then we thought about it -- we had recently noticed weird black specks on Will's chin. Catne it was! And what is the main culprit when it comes to catne causation? Plastic food dishes, because they tend to harbor bacteria, which infects the cat's chin.
We put the water fountain in the basement, filled up a few metal bowls (we found on sale at Target) with water, and Will's chin has never looked better.
We guessing that, for all animals, eating and drinking out of something other than plastic is probably best.
image via formatc1; sxc.hu
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Oh my god. One of my cats totally has this problem and I couldn't figure out what it was! I AM using a plastic dish for their water. Thanks so much for sharing this! I am going to change it up right now.
view jamjaree's profile
Ah, but do they make metal water fountains? If your cat loves his fountain, it's hard to make the switch to a bowl, regardless of material.
view hmr's profile
Oddly, I had to give up plastic bowls for my last cat, because it caused this weird reaction in her. Her lips became swollen, I mean huge. I took her in to the vet, and he said it was probably bacteria that grows in the plastic bowls. Once I switched to glass/metal, I didn't have that problem again.
Apparently, it is more common in dogs. Odd.
view jillian1977's profile
If you're looking to switch and want to avoid the dreaded catcne, avoid porcelain or stoneware dishes - they can also cause this problem. Stainless is the way to go.
view marisab's profile
What if you clean your porcelain or stoneware dishes often -- won't that help? But I can believe stainless would be less hospitable to bacteria.
view digger61's profile
Can you tell me where you got your placemat? I had a hard time finding a large dog placemat. I bought the only one large enough for my dog's bowls, which look like your bowls, but it's a plastic one and holds pools of water. It looks like maybe the placemat pictured here allows the water to drain through and dry.
view ERTrue's profile