I feel guilty about not cleaning my pets fountain as often. Biofilm.

[Dave8014]

Warning long post. Please read all. Thanks!


So first things first. I love my cat above all. I love him so much. Ever since i have gotten him he has had food allergies, asthma, and a problem with no eating. I have had him for a year and I did almost everything in my power to make him healthy. I have gotten him the best food possible. He now eats Ziwi Peak Wet deer 3 times a day and it took me almost 8 month to finally find a food that he enjoys. I give him a inhaler during spring and summer. No pills just the inhaler because its the best for him with least side affects. I'm always terrified about his asthma and allergies and i think about it everyday. Im telling you this so you dont think im terrible about not cleaning his water fountain all the time.

I guess its how much my mind was focused on his allergies and asthma that i'm forgetful of it. I always clean his food bowl every singe time he uses it. I always make sure he doesn't eat anything foreign. I remember once i ran him to the hospital because I THOUGHT he ate a broken piece of ceramic. The water fountain was something that I thought didn't need cleaning often since it had a filter. Maybe it was me being lazy. I don't know. I went through like 4 of them in one year. I would fill them but not wash it always.
l would remember to clean once every 3 weeks. I know terrible. I'm crying right now. I started reading today about BIOFILM and i couldn't stop thinking about how i didn't clean it. Whats wrong with me? I read how it causes kidney diseases and other diseases. Now im terrified I may have caused something to happen in the future. I bought a ceramic bowl from Thirsty Cat Fountain today. It has antibacterial film and it high fired ceramic quality. Was very expensive. I will clean it everyday. I just cant help but feel guilty now. Can one year of this caused him issues? Can i fix it by doing right by him and cleaning his fountain every single day forever?

 

[kittyluv387]

Hey there. We all make mistakes as cat parents. I know you're feeling horrible but realize no one is perfect. Personally I don't trust water fountains for this reason. Instead I leave a regular bowl out. I also don't feed dry at all and put extra water into their wet or raw foods.

 

[kittenmittens84]

There’s really no need to cry or make yourself feel horrible over it, it’s ok! There are a lot of things in this world we can make ourselves feel guilty over but it’s really really not worth the time. If your cat is healthy and feeling good, just remember to clean his water bowl/fountain at reasonable intervals (not sure if the manufacturer has a recommended schedule? I’ve never used a fountain) going forward. You definitely don’t need to clean the fountain excessively out of penance or something, that’s entirely unproductive.

Of all of the “mistakes” a pet owner could make this seems relatively minor, especially if your cat seems fine

 

[Dave8014]

thanks for the nice comments!

 

[MissClouseau]

I learned about Biofilm just now from you and I've been reading things about cats' health daily for well over a year, and I recently bought a plastic fountain myself. Bummer for me too! I have read about slimey texture but not that it could pose serious dangers or it could get unwashable after a while. So thank you for letting us know here too.

There are really so many potential risks for any living creature out there, it's nearly impossible to not miss a thing or two or failing to do the right thing. We all get distracted sometimes, or just don't get to learn something until later.

As for the fountain question, personally I recommend always having 1-2 bowls in different places, from different materials with fresh water as an alternative to the fountain. I have one glass bowl, one ceramic. I change the water just once in the morning though as my cat usually doesn't drink any water from any of these. (I give her mostly wet food and add extra water to each portion.)

Just last week I read this on Reddit

... The problem mainly lies in that it's an all white bowl (bounces lots of light) in a position where it receives a lot of light, and hence slime/algae will grow. Also, the flow rate will have an effect, with a faster flow rate contributing to a slower slime/algae build up.

We had a similar fountain that has filters and was building up slime/algae. Moved it to a dark corner of the kitchen and slime/algae disappeared. We do wash it every fortnight (including rinsing the filter) just to keep it as clean as possible.

For spots that receives light, we use a covered fountain like the Catit Flower Fountain. Hardly any slime/algae growth.