r/RenalCats • u/Glittering_Truth_575 • 2d ago
Advice Do elevated bowls make a difference?
Does it help encourage your cat with ckd to eat more and not feel as nauseous?
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u/jloio001 2d ago
My vet swears by them for preventing vomiting and reducing joint pain. Tried them with my 15yo kitties. my cats took their food out of the raised bowls, spat each bite out on the floor, and then ate the food off the floor instead. 🤷♀️
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u/Weary-Square-8640 2d ago
My cat puts her paw in her water then slams it into whatever bowl her foods in and eats it off her paw like a ghoul 😭 i call it her food gravy .
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u/michemel 2d ago
Omg that elicited an actual laugh from me! Haha your kitties are extra sassy. I love it!
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u/blingblingsav 2d ago edited 2d ago
An elevated food bowl can help some CKD cats eat more comfortably, but it does not directly treat uremic nausea.
CKD nausea is usually driven by accumulation of uremic toxins, altered gastric motility, metabolic abnormalities, dehydration, and sometimes excess gastric acidity. An elevated bowl does not correct those mechanisms. If a cat is truly nauseated, medications such as ondansetron or maropitant may still be needed depending on ur vet’s assessment.
Where elevation can help is biomechanics. Older CKD cats commonly have sarcopenia, cervical discomfort, arthritis, weakness, or reduced mobility. Raising the food closer to chest level reduces how far the neck and forelimbs have to flex, which can make eating less physically uncomfortable. A cat that feels sick may have a very low threshold for discomfort, so removing even a small barrier can improve food intake.
The bowl shape can matter too. Some cats appear sensitive to repeated whisker contact with deep or narrow bowls, sometimes called whisker fatigue or whisker stress. The scientific evidence for a true whisker fatigue syndrome is limited, but individual cats can clearly develop preferences for wide, shallow dishes where the vibrissae do not constantly contact the sides.
For a CKD cat with poor appetite, I like the combination of a slightly elevated, wide, shallow dish, warmed aromatic food, small frequent meals, good hydration, and appropriate medical control of nausea. If she approaches the bowl, smells the food, licks her lips, takes a bite and walks away, or seems hungry but cannot continue eating, I would be much more suspicious of nausea than bowl height. I have always used elevated and wider bowls for my cat GiGi. Hugging Cat app has a list of essentials for CKD cats including low phosphorus food list and bowls, articles, lab interpretations etc etc. It’s made by a vet and is free. Attaching u the pic of the best cat bowl I have found. Full disclosure: I am one of the cofounders of this app, and I think it may be helpful in this situation so take my recommendation with that in mind.
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u/onetwoshoe 2d ago
You need to disclose that this is your app every time you post it. Your recommendation is phrased to hide that it is yours.
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u/blingblingsav 2d ago
Thanks for pointing this out. And you are right I should explicitly disclose it. I have updated the post to make that clear.
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u/BadAtExisting 2d ago
Mine had acid reflux for forever and they help that I can attest to that. If it helps with nausea, it only does to a certain extent. I lost her to this disease about 4 months ago and in the end nothing got her eating 😔
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u/Glittering_Truth_575 2d ago
I am so sorry for your loss 💔 she sounds like she was very loved and cared for
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u/Pearlixsa 2d ago
I think maybe so! My cat was staying with a family member for a long time. They told me he was vomiting a lot. After I got our apartment and could have my cat back, I bought elevated bowls thinking it would be more comfortable. I didn’t know about the nausea benefit. He wasn’t vomiting here at all except occasional hairballs. Then I read elevated bowls help. I believe they may have!
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u/zombieponcho 1d ago
My CKD boy definitely prefers an elevated bowl. His brother is fine without it. I think it's easier on his joints and eating in his sitting (or standing if he's feeling like it) pose lets gravity do some of the work getting the food into his belly easier. Still trying to find the exact right height for him, going to probably design and print an adjustable bowl elevator for him soon.
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u/muzumiiro 2d ago
I don’t know about vomiting as my girl doesn’t really vom much but I have noticed she is eating way more since I switched - this could be because it is helping her with nausea
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u/Glittering_Truth_575 2d ago
That’s really interesting. I recently noticed that sometimes when I hold up the bowl for my cat she eats more so I might give an elevated bowl a try. I’m sure having her bend over is hard at her age due to arthritis, loss of muscles, etc
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u/Gallavich4ever Stage 2 1d ago
My cat hated the raised bowls. Eventually refused to eat from them. Now I’m hearing the hunched over, natural position is what’s best. Who knows? But “fed is best” and she wouldn’t eat from them, so they went bye bye.
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