Cat’s water bowl has bubbles in it?

[raiinexii]

I have 3 male cats, and they all share the same water bowl in a room where the AC or fan are constantly on.
Yesterday, I noticed that their water has some bubbles forming at the bottom of the bowl. I clean their bowl every single day, but I recently went out to visit a guesthouse for 2 days and I left their things to the care of a friend. On the day we went to the guesthouse (first day) I cleaned their water bowl with soap before I left and the day I came back (the day right after) I did the same.
Sorry if this is confusing. Anyway, their bowl is metal and we’ve had it that way for about a year. I’m wondering, should I change the bowl to another metal bowl, or is it temperature-related? I will buy another metal bowl to see if anything changes as-well.

 

[di and bob]

Water bubbles are normal. You could also get a ceramic bowl and see how that works if you are concerned. I clean my cat's bowls about every other day and it forms bubbles too, they don't last forever. The bubbles are because the water from the tap is usually cooler than the air temp., and as the water warms up a bit it releases gas present in all water. It is harmless. I'm guessing that when you left you may have left the house temperature a little higher? I use reverse osmosis water for my cats and it forms bubbles too.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
A couple comments, you might want to utilize something like hydrogen peroxide rather than soap, with a good rinse and an air dry. It's difficult to completely remove the soap residue.

I use filtered tap water. A lot of the contaminants are removed but the beneficial minerals are still present.

 

[di and bob]

The new RO systems put the minerals back in, and also are one gallon of tap water ratio to one gallon RO water. Great improvements! Mine is the HomeMaster series.

 

[Caspers Human]

Use tap water. Just let it sit in an open container for about 24 hrs. before drinking or giving to your cat.

Believe it or not, you actually WANT a small amount of chlorine in the water. Without it, bacteria will grow.
Leaving water out allows the excess chlorine to evaporate, leaving clean water.

Don't forget to change the water often! (I know that you said you did... Just a reminder.)
When pets drink from a stagnant bowl, their saliva gets into the water and leaves a film on the water and inside the bowl.
It's my guess that, a lot of the time, when people see bubbles and stuff in their pets' water dish, it's because of that layer of "schmoo" floating on the surface.

The best way to clean a pet's food and water dishes is in the dishwasher.
Not only does the machine do a better job of cleaning and rinsing away dirt and excess soap, the heat helps sterilize the dishes.

If you don't have (or don't want) a dishwasher, use a boiling water rinse after cleaning dishes with soap and water.
The hot water will heat the dishes, helping to sterilize them. They will dry better, without spots, too.

I also recommend washing your pet's dishes separately from your human dishes.
That way, you'll prevent cross-contamination, just in case you don't get things completely sterilized.

We don't want pets getting sick from human diseases like COVID, nor do we want the other way around!

 

[Furballsmom]

Great improvements!

good to know, thank you

 

[raiinexii]

Use tap water. Just let it sit in an open container for about 24 hrs. before drinking or giving to your cat.

Believe it or not, you actually WANT a small amount of chlorine in the water. Without it, bacteria will grow.
Leaving water out allows the excess chlorine to evaporate, leaving clean water.

Don't forget to change the water often! (I know that you said you did... Just a reminder.)
When pets drink from a stagnant bowl, their saliva gets into the water and leaves a film on the water and inside the bowl.
It's my guess that, a lot of the time, when people see bubbles and stuff in their pets' water dish, it's because of that layer of "schmoo" floating on the surface.

The best way to clean a pet's food and water dishes is in the dishwasher.
Not only does the machine do a better job of cleaning and rinsing away dirt and excess soap, the heat helps sterilize the dishes.

If you don't have (or don't want) a dishwasher, use a boiling water rinse after cleaning dishes with soap and water.
The hot water will heat the dishes, helping to sterilize them. They will dry better, without spots, too.

I also recommend washing your pet's dishes separately from your human dishes.
That way, you'll prevent cross-contamination, just in case you don't get things completely sterilized.

We don't want pets getting sick from human diseases like COVID, nor do we want the other way around!

Hi! I'm so so so sorry for replying so late to this but the problem got fixed and I've never seen any air bubbles pop up since then, so I completely forgot to check the replies to this. I'd use tap water, but I'm honestly not sure if our tap water is okay to drink, so I've been giving them bottled water all their lives. I have no way of finding out either, because of reasons I don't want to talk about but.. I'll try my best to find out. I don't know if I should still worry or not because everything's fine now?

 

[Furballsmom]

Just keep cleaning the unit regularly

 

[Caspers Human]

...I'm honestly not sure if our tap water is okay to drink,...

Every municipality in the US that supplies water for public consumption is required by federal law to send a report to every customer at least once per year. That report has to give a detailed analysis of the water. It has to show what, if any, contaminants were found in the water, what the levels were and what is being done to prevent them. If they use chlorine, bromine, fluorine or any other chemicals to treat water, they have to tell you what they are and how much is used. If anything goes outside federally mandated limits, they have to tell you what happened and they have to tell you what they did to fix it.

They have to send this report to EVERY customer. They can't just give you a link to a web page. They have to put a PHYSICAL COPY into the customer's hands. They usually include it in your water bill at the beginning of the year. Most places also put on on a public website, some place, so that people can look it up any time they want.

If there is ever an incident where something goes wrong and the water supply gets contaminated, they MUST warn customers by mail (again, with a physical copy) and, if there is something immediately dangerous or harmful in the water they must issue public announcements by TV, radio, newspaper or by Reverse-911.

For most people in the US, their tap water is perfectly safe to drink. Sometimes, the water where we live gets a little sulfur smell in it because of underground sulfur deposits. Sometimes, in the summer, there's a little algae taste or smell in the water. Once or twice every spring, the water gets cloudy when they flush all the water hydrants. Beyond that our water is good. I read the reports every year when they are sent.

For 90% of the people in the US, their municipal water supply is just fine. If you don't like the chlorine taste, you can get that out with a charcoal water filter. You can buy a built-in water system if you want but those can be expensive to install and maintain. For most people, the best solution is to get one of those pitcher style doodads like the "Brita" brand. You just pour water in the top and put the pitcher into the fridge to percolate. A little while later, you've got nice, filtered water!

Like I said before, if I don't like the chlorine taste in water, I just let it sit out for a day or so and it evaporates. We always do that for Casper's water. Then, when we clean Casper's water containers, we use it to water plants.

 

[Furballsmom]

We did recently get a notice that our water management company had a violation about a hydro gate malfunctioning or something like that. I honestly didn't pay too much mind since we have a faucet end filter.

 

[artiemom]

I drink Brita filtered water and Geoffrey does also. I give him spring water for his pill "chaser".

I may be one of the few, but I wash Geoffrey dishes and my dishes together, including stainless water bowl, every morning. I may even wash it a second time during the day, if I see remnants of food floating in it.

I wash with the hottest water I can get, Dawn soap, rinse really well. I let his food dishes air dry. The water dish is wiped dry with a paper towel.

When I first adopted Artie, I was a fanatic about keeping his dishes, separate from mine. I even went so far, as to use a different sponge for his dishes.. and placing them to air dry in a different area of the counter.
I ended up forgetting so many times to wash his things separate, and use a different sponge; that I gave up the entire process.

Because of eczema, I wear gloves when washing dishes. They also provide a bit of insulation from the hot water. So the hottest I can get, is what I use for all dish washing.. replacing my sponge, quite often.

 

[Caspers Human]

We did recently get a notice that our water management company had a violation about a hydro gate malfunctioning or something like that. I honestly didn't pay too much mind since we have a faucet end filter.

If a valve, gate or something that's part of the system that controls the water malfunctions, it might release rust or sediment into the water. If that happens, you might notice your water turning brown or yellow from the rust. It's mostly harmless. It might look or taste icky for a while but, unless you have some special health concern, it's harmless.

Even though it is harmless, federal law still says it has to be reported.

It happens here when they flush the pipes. I always tell people that they should probably get a little more iron in their diet, anyhow.

 

[Furballsmom]

Lol

. I don't know if I should still worry or not because everything's fine now?

If your cat(s) litterbox habits remain as they have always been and their wellness checkups are good, I think you're totally in the clear !