The 8 Best Cat Bowls, Tested With Real Cats In Their Own Homes

Best Overall

Our Pets Pet Dish

$15

$13 at Amazon $12 at Chewy View on Walmart

The Our Pets DuraPet Stainless Steel Bowl is a simple yet durable option for both food and water for a cat. While testing in a real home with a real cat, we were impressed with the high quality stainless steel construction. The bowl is sturdy without being too heavy, and the wide basin is whisker-friendly. The bowl is easy to clean by hand, but it's also dishwasher safe. We strongly recommend daily cleaning of any pet food and water bowls with soap and water to keep bacteria from building.

The DuraPet Stainless Steel Bowls come in three sizes: small holds .75 cups, medium holds 1 cup, and large holds 1.75 cups. All sizes have a shallow height of approximately 1 inch, but the smallest size might be too narrow for many adult cats.

The stainless steel basin is suitable for water, wet food, or dry food, and a non-slip rubber ring at the bottom firmly positions the bowl in place while in use.

_{Dimensions: 4.45 x 0.94 inches (small); 5.25 x 1.0 inches (medium); 6.40 x 1.18 inches (large) | Volume: 6, 8, or 14 ounces | Material: Stainless steel}

Best Whisker-Friendly Bowl

Americat Company Stainless Steel Bowl

$30 at Amazon View on Etsy View on Americatcompany.com

Cats prone to whisker fatigue (or that just prefer a wider brim) will benefit from the sloped sides and wide 5.75-inch brim of this Americat Stainless Steel bowl. Each bowl is made in the United States from 100 percent stainless steel that has been lab-tested and certified to be lead-free.

The bowl does not have a rubber grip on the bottom to prevent slipping like our top choice, however the sturdy build is tip-resistant and it stayed firmly in place as our cat tester consumed their wet food. Americat also offers a minimalist stainless steel wire stand that can be purchased separately for cats who need additional stability or prefer a raised bowl.

The Americat Stainless Steel Cat Bowls only come in one size, a 5.75 inch diameter at the bottom and a height of 1.5 inches, giving it a 16 ounce capacity. One of our human testers felt the bowl was slightly too large for wet food and a little small for dry food, but cats are all different so you and the cat your are aiming to please might not have the same perception of the bowl. The dishwasher-friendly bowls are made with 18 percent chromium and 8 percent nickel, to keep corrosion and rust at bay for an extended period of time. They are more expensive than other stainless steel bowls on our list, but each Americat Stainless Steel bowl is likely to last longer.

_{Dimensions: 5.75 x 1.5 inches | Volume: 16 ounces | Materials: Stainless steel}

A Whisker-Friendly Set

CatGuru Fancy Beast Cat Food Dish

$10 at Amazon View on Chewy

It’s easy for a plastic feeding bowl to look cheap, so we really appreciate that the CatGuru Fancy Beast Cat Food Dish has an elevated look similar to ceramic. The bowl’s wide diameter and shallow concave shape are specifically designed to relieve whisker fatigue and food waste by allowing your cat to access the whole serving of food without worrying about its whiskers hitting an edge.

Each bowl is made from BPA-free melamine, a shatterproof and break-resistant type of plastic. Melamine is easy to clean and dishwasher safe but should never be used in the microwave. It also doesn't absorb odors like traditional plastic bowls. 

Each bowl has a smooth ribbed interior surface that works to add a bit of traction between your cat’s food and the bowl, helping to lessen sliding and spills. We also like the thoughtful U-shaped cutout on the side of the bowl that makes it a cinch to pick up and put down without fumbling and the selection of colors. Bowls are sold as singles or in pairs. 

_{Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.2 inches | Volume: 5 ounces | Materials: Melamine}

Best Slow Feeder

Biubiucat Elevated Slow Feeder Bowl

$18

$17 at Amazon

If your cat has a habit of eating too quickly, the Biubiucat Elevated Slow Feeder Bowls Set may help them slow down. The set is made up of four components: two bowls, a tray to collect food and water that spills, and an elevated stand that positions the bowls 2.75 inches from the ground. The pieces all fit together seamlessly, but their ability to be separated makes it much easier to keep clean for daily feedings.

The slow feeder bowl for food has raised grooves inside to impede a cat from accessing and consuming all of their food too quickly, and our home tester found it to be effective in coercing their cat to slow down. Many cats prefer the elevation which alleviates pressure from the head and neck.

The Biubiucat Elevated Slow Feeder set is affordable and made from BPA-free plastic, but the material it's not as resilient and durable as stainless steel. It's also not dishwasher safe.

_{Dimensions: 14.13 x 8.34 x 2.75 inches (bowls with stand) | Volume: 8 ounces (slow feeder); 8.4 ounces (water) | Material: Plastic}

Best Elevated

Pets So Good Oreo Table Bowls

$59 at Chewy View on Bloomingdales View on Petssogood.com

The Pets So Good Oreo Table Bowl is the ideal choice for anyone in search of a single bowl with a stand that is easy to clean. For many cats, elevated bowls are beneficial for digestion and help alleviate pressure on the neck.

We also think the ceramic bowls and steel stands are aesthetically pleasing. Oreo offers two sizes for their porcelain bowls and two heights for the steel stands, all of which come in six colors (pink, white, black, yellow, jade green, and gray). The sturdy bowls are dishwasher safe and small size has a capacity for four ounces while the medium can hold 12 ounces. The short stand will position a bowl slightly over two inches and the medium stand adds a height approaching four inches.

While we love the look of the porcelain bowls we do want to acknowledge that this material will not be as durable as metal or plastic, so if your cat tends to send bowls flying, maybe consider another option.

_{Dimensions: 5.25 x 3.35 inches (small bowl); 5.6 x 4.13 inches (medium bowl); 2.16 inches (small stand); 3.93 inches (medium stand) | Volume: 4 ounces (small); 12 ounces (medium) | Material: Porcelain (bowl), steel (stand)}

Best Budget

Van Ness Pets EcoWare Cat Dish

$9

$7 at Amazon View on Chewy $22 at Target

The Van Ness Ecoware Non-Skid Cat Dish is the most affordable bowl on our list. It's easy to clean, wide and shallow to prevent whisker fatigue, and resistant to chips and breakage.

Each cat dish is made from silicone and bamboo, which according to the brand, makes them more environmentally friendly. But the natural material will start to breakdown more quickly than stainless steel, and while the bowls are dishwasher safe (top rack only), washing by hand is strongly recommended to extend the lifetime of the bowl.

We found this bowl to be optimal for dry cat food, but can also contain water or wet food.

_{Dimensions: 5.25 x 1.25 inches | Volume: 8 ounces | Material: Bamboo, silicone}

Best Automatic Feeder

PETLIBRO Air Automatic Pet Feeder

$70 at Amazon $50 at Chewy $70 at Target

If your cat primarily eats dry food, you'll both likely find PETLIBRO’s AIR Automatic Feeder to be highly convenient. This feeder allows you to program up to six daily feedings, each with a custom portion size, and at the time of your choosing, to give your cat a snack or a full meal.

The controls are behind a panel so even the most clever cat cannot access them, and the tank seals shut to keep pests out and food fresh. The bowl is removable from the feeder for easy cleaning.

Our testers found this feeder to be reliable, easy to use, and affordable. It’s powered through a USB-C cable but also has space for batteries as a back up in case of power outage. It doesn’t have fancier features some feeders have such as voice recordings or noises, but we've found those features often go unused for most daily feedings.

_{Dimensions:  12.2 x 0.4 x 7.1 inches | Volume: 68 ounces (two liters) | Material: Acrylic, stainless steel}

Best Fountain

PetLibro Dockstream App Monitoring Water Fountain

$59

$53 at Amazon $75 at Chewy $80 at Wayfair

Another great product from PetLibro, this time in the form of a water fountain. This fountain has a small footprint, is easy to clean and very easy to setup. It also runs very quiet, no loud distracting pump noise. Our testers found it to be well built, and found that their cats engaged with it easily. 

It easily connects to an app to monitor the water level, alter you when it's time to change the filter, and even keep track of your cat’s water consumption. This data can be a useful early warning if your cat is sick and not drinking enough. The tank lifts off the base for cleaning so you don’t need to deal with wires, and it holds 2.5 liters of fresh water.

_{Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 6.3 inches | Volume: 85 ounces (2.5 liters) | Material: BPA-free plastic, stainless steel}