Red stain on cat's water filter. What could it be?

[TeaMatcha]

Hi all,

Anyone experience the same issues as me for their cat's water filter? There's like red stain on it. The water have no reddish colour tho.

I changed the filter few days ago and when I wanted to clean her water fountain, I realised that it's the same red stain again. It happened around few months back.

I message the seller for the filter and she mentioned that it's isn't the filter problem. It could be that there's some food particle that dropped into the water that causes it.

I googled about it and some people mentioned that it could be a bacteria - Serratia marcescens bacteria.

Now, I'm changing a new filter (the second filter this month) and clean the fountain again. But I'm worried that it is gonna happen again. Should I just toss the water fountain away and buy a new one?

And, I'm worried does it affect my cat if it's really bacteria. Anyone able to advise?

 

[di and bob]

It's just an impurity in the water that develops over time, most likely from a bacteria. I've had that happen too, and I use reverse osmosis water. Just clean it well and perhaps use a few drops of bleach when cleaning the filter, rinse good!

 

[Caspers Human]

Hydrogen peroxide will do the same job as bleach without leaving any residue.

When hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) reacts with other substances, it breaks down into oxygen and water. (H2O2 >> H2O + O2)
Any dirt or byproducts of the disinfection process will just wash away with water.

If you use chlorine, you'll have to rinse the item thoroughly before putting it back into use.

For a water filter like the one shown in the picture, a bottle of the regular stuff that you can buy from the pharmacy or grocery store will be fine. Just put it in a bowl and let it soak for a while then rinse with clear water.

 

[TeaMatcha]

It's just an impurity in the water that develops over time, most likely from a bacteria. I've had that happen too, and I use reverse osmosis water. Just clean it well and perhaps use a few drops of bleach when cleaning the filter, rinse good!

Can I check how often do you change the water or clean the whole water fountain to prevent the bacteria? I cleaned and changed the filter just a few days ago before this stains appeared.

For the filter, usually I'll just rinse it under running water when I'm washing the water fountain as the filter are meant to be change once a month, at least for the brand I'm using.

 

[TeaMatcha]

Hydrogen peroxide will do the same job as bleach without leaving any residue.

When hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) reacts with other substances, it breaks down into oxygen and water. (H2O2 >> H2O + O2)
Any dirt or byproducts of the disinfection process will just wash away with water.

If you use chlorine, you'll have to rinse the item thoroughly before putting it back into use.

For a water filter like the one shown in the picture, a bottle of the regular stuff that you can buy from the pharmacy or grocery store will be fine. Just put it in a bowl and let it soak for a while then rinse with clear water.

Usually I just clean the water fountain with pet friendly soap once a week without changing the filter. The filter I'll change it once a month and before putting it into the water fountain, I'll soak it in clean water for 15 mins. Guess that's not enough

 

[cmshap]

I will just add my anecdotal story to this thread, which is just one anecdote that doesn't apply to all cats and all scenarios.

I get this pink film on all my faucets, and also have gotten it on my cat's water fountain filters before.

I did the same research and also found the most likely explanation is Serratia marcescens.

I just clean the pink film from my faucet fixtures with more "natural" cleaners (I live in a limited-space apartment and won't use bleach anymore, as it caused an acute vomiting issue once with my cat like 5+ years ago). I am not well-versed in what "natural cleaner" means, I just trust marketing for something being labeled pet-friendly. Of course, that is marketing, so I'm not putting all my stock into that. But I do use it.

I've used my tap water for 8+ years of having my cat, including cleaning the filters by simply rinsing them under clean tap water. He has always been healthy, besides for a chronic respiratory condition which my vet and I am sure came from him being sick with an infection before he was one year old.

I'm personally not much of a worrier, so I don't want to give advice about other cats. But I personally don't worry about things like this too much. My cat is almost 10 and has not developed any new health problems besides for the aforementioned respiratory problems that stemmed from his youth.

Edit: from my "armchair microbiologist's" understanding, Serratia marcescens can cause bad infections in humans almost entirely in hospital-acquired infections, where people are immunocompromised. It doesn't normally cause many infections at all from consuming it. I am not too worried about my cat ingesting it from tap water, as stomach acid likely will destroy it.

That's just my non-expert opinion. If anyone else has more knowledge on this subject, I'd welcome the additional info.

 

[louisstools]

I change the water out every two days. When I do that, I’ll rinse everything off with warm water including the filter. once a week, I disassemble everything including the pump, and I scrub it out with warm water and dawn brand dish soap. The filter gets changed about every two months.

I don’t have a problem with the red film but I did for a while and the changes that I made that eliminated the red film were I keep the fountain out of sunlight and when I do the weekly fountain cleaning, I disassemble the pump into all the small parts, and I scrub everything with toothbrushes and other specialty tools to get in all the nooks and crannies

 

[cmshap]

I change the water out every two days. When I do that, I’ll rinse everything off with warm water including the filter. once a week, I disassemble everything including the pump, and I scrub it out with warm water and dawn brand dish soap. The filter gets changed about every two months.

I don’t have a problem with the red film but I did for a while and the changes that I made that eliminated the red film were I keep the fountain out of sunlight and when I do the weekly fountain cleaning, I disassemble the pump into all the small parts, and I scrub everything with toothbrushes and other specialty tools to get in all the nooks and crannies

That's WAYYYY more effort than I put into cleaning fountains, and I feel like I am responsible about it.

I wouldn't worry about this, but I always give the caveat that I am not a vet nor an expert on what this microbe is. But I also have it, and haven't worried about it for 8 years, and my cat is relatively healthy for a 10-year-old.