How to keep the food and water areas clean, without adding to your list of tasks

It’s possible for a food corner to appear clean while still having crusted food, dried saliva, food crumbs, water splashes, etc. around the bowls. It’s easy to let such messes accumulate because the mess happens so slowly that you don’t realize how big a job it will be to clean the whole thing up all at once. The trick is to link some small clean-ups to every meal or every water change, so that the area is kept in decent shape instead of turning into another huge housecleaning project.

An exercise you might find useful is to inspect the food corner right after your pet finishes a meal or a drink. Look at the food bowl inside and around the rim, at the water bowl, at the floor beneath, and at the mat or tray around the bowls. Remove any food that shouldn’t have been left out, replace any water that looks bad, and wipe away any obvious messes before they dry. You should be able to do this in a matter of minutes, and it will help you get a sense of how much mess your specific pet leaves in their food and water.

Bowls should be washed more often than an occasional rinse. There may be food residue clinging to the edges or corners, or the water bowl may have a slippery film if you’re just topping it off repeatedly. Clean the bowls with a cleaning technique and cleaner that is suitable for the type of bowl and safe for your pet, and rinse well. If you have multiple bowls, it can be helpful to rotate clean ones. Bowls that are cracked or scratched deeply or otherwise have hard-to-clean crevices can make it harder to maintain hygiene.

Don’t forget about the area around the bowls. Water splashes may collect under mats, food crumbs can collect near furniture, and food bowls near a litter box, cage, or cleaning products or household chemicals may be situated in a bad spot. As part of a regular cleaning routine, lift the bowls and look underneath rather than just cleaning the top surfaces. Keep pet-safe cleaning products separated from food storage, and keep other household chemicals out of reach of the animal.

Cleaning can also help you observe your pet. When you empty the bowl or wash the bowl, it’s easier to notice whether there was more or less food in it than usual, or whether the water level is different than normal. A missed meal or an empty water bowl alone doesn’t tell you why something changed, but any consistent or significant differences should be noted. Significant changes in appetite or drinking should be shared with your vet, rather than trying to address them by changing food or offering supplements yourself.

Ideally, a workable cleaning routine for the feeding area should mean that you don’t have much to “catch up” on later. At each meal, make sure to check three things before you move on: Are the bowls fairly clean? Is fresh water available? Is the floor or mat clean of old food and moisture? If these become standard practices, it will be easier to maintain the area, and you will be able to detect changes in your pet’s normal eating or drinking behavior.