Who could make a custom size ceramic bowl
November 20, 2017 10:13 AM Subscribe
I am interested in having a bowl with specific dimensions made for my cat. He has food allergy so he has prescription food, and I have just gotten this feeder that keeps his food separate from our other 2 cats. The problem is he is also allergic to plastic and the plastic bowl that it comes with causes sores on his face. I would like a bowl made that fits into the recessed area in the feeder.
It has to be made the right size to fit into it, and be the right height to allow the door to rest on top of it.
I have asked someone on Etsy who said that they couldn’t do this because there bowl would shrink a few times while making it so they wouldn’t be able to control the size. Who could I talk to?
And of course here is Strider.
It has to be made the right size to fit into it, and be the right height to allow the door to rest on top of it.
I have asked someone on Etsy who said that they couldn’t do this because there bowl would shrink a few times while making it so they wouldn’t be able to control the size. Who could I talk to?
And of course here is Strider.
Best answer: Hello, I make pottery and I do math to figure out the finished size based on shrinkage. I could give this a shot for you! I'd need some detailed measurements--maybe a tracing of the dish it came with? It would also take me maybe six weeks to do, because of firing times at the studio I use. Feel free to memail me.
posted by purple_bird at 10:18 AM on November 20, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by purple_bird at 10:18 AM on November 20, 2017 [9 favorites]
We had the same problem, and SureFeed just released a stainless bowl. We emailed with their support team about this a year ago and they let us know right when it came out. Karl's head is now way less gross. She's the brown tabby here.
https://www.surepetcare.com/en-us/pet-feeder/microchip-pet-feeder scroll down a bunch.
posted by advicepig at 10:30 AM on November 20, 2017
https://www.surepetcare.com/en-us/pet-feeder/microchip-pet-feeder scroll down a bunch.
posted by advicepig at 10:30 AM on November 20, 2017
LOL, same link as the one you posted. In any case, it has a way to order the stainless bowls and that worked for Karl.
I studied ceramics and calculating shrinkage is a royal pain and I can't imagine getting that right on a small scale.
posted by advicepig at 10:33 AM on November 20, 2017
I studied ceramics and calculating shrinkage is a royal pain and I can't imagine getting that right on a small scale.
posted by advicepig at 10:33 AM on November 20, 2017
I'm deleting what I wrote as an answer, because if they make a stainless steel bowl that fits, that sounds like the perfect solution! That should work fine for a pet who reacts to plastic bowls.
posted by Secretariat at 10:33 AM on November 20, 2017
posted by Secretariat at 10:33 AM on November 20, 2017
Response by poster: He also has the reaction to stainless steel, so that is not a solution for him.
posted by ridogi at 10:41 AM on November 20, 2017
posted by ridogi at 10:41 AM on November 20, 2017
I also make pottery, and have made small things to pre-determined sizes for various reasons (e.g., to fit a small wooden lid, to replace a broken bowl from a fountain, to fit a coffee maker)--and in my case, through trial and error, not through math.
I am not so good at making things that aren't perfectly round, and I see purple_bird is on the case already, so I won't offer to make this for you myself, but I wanted to add the note that while challenging, this is a possible thing for a potter to do. Even without math! However, you need to either find someone with extra interest/goodwill, or offer more money than you'd usually pay for a bowl of this size/type, because of that extra level of challenge.
You may also want to discuss the contents of the glaze with whoever you find to do this for you; glazes contain minerals and it sounds like your cat has quite a lot of allergies.
posted by snorkmaiden at 11:17 AM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am not so good at making things that aren't perfectly round, and I see purple_bird is on the case already, so I won't offer to make this for you myself, but I wanted to add the note that while challenging, this is a possible thing for a potter to do. Even without math! However, you need to either find someone with extra interest/goodwill, or offer more money than you'd usually pay for a bowl of this size/type, because of that extra level of challenge.
You may also want to discuss the contents of the glaze with whoever you find to do this for you; glazes contain minerals and it sounds like your cat has quite a lot of allergies.
posted by snorkmaiden at 11:17 AM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is it a reaction, or acne? Some pets get zits that can turn into sores, from their chins rubbing against the sides of bowls, where food builds up and gets crusty. I wonder if washing it (or his face) after every feed would help? Maybe it would buy you some time until you find a ceramic bowl?
posted by jhope71 at 1:25 PM on November 20, 2017
posted by jhope71 at 1:25 PM on November 20, 2017
Response by poster: Is it a reaction, or acne? Some pets get zits that can turn into sores, from their chins rubbing against the sides of bowls, where food builds up and gets crusty. I wonder if washing it (or his face) after every feed would help? Maybe it would buy you some time until you find a ceramic bowl?
It is hard to say, because his food allergy leads to scratching and sores, and the plastic / metal bowl causes that as well. Talking to vet washing his face isn't a fix—it is a matter of getting him on the right food and right bowl.
posted by ridogi at 2:30 PM on November 20, 2017
It is hard to say, because his food allergy leads to scratching and sores, and the plastic / metal bowl causes that as well. Talking to vet washing his face isn't a fix—it is a matter of getting him on the right food and right bowl.
posted by ridogi at 2:30 PM on November 20, 2017
Is you cat allergic to wood? It wouldn't be hard to carve out a bowl to fit out of a solid block of wood. Use something like maple.
posted by Mitheral at 2:56 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 2:56 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Would a Corelle bowl fit? It might be worth a trip to a big box stores that carries open stock. Or glass. I know Corelle has a number of different sized bowls
The other option might be Tupperware which isn't plastic so might not cause the same issues.
posted by Ftsqg at 3:39 PM on November 20, 2017
The other option might be Tupperware which isn't plastic so might not cause the same issues.
posted by Ftsqg at 3:39 PM on November 20, 2017
Every Salvation Army store I've ever been to has been chock full of random ceramic bowls in various sizes. If you take the feeder with you, you could experiment onsite.
posted by rada at 6:29 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rada at 6:29 PM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Could you line the current plastic bowl with something that doesn't trigger the allergy? I'm thinking aluminum foil, something like silicone, or other types of plastic that might not cause the same reaction.
posted by duoshao at 6:44 PM on November 20, 2017
posted by duoshao at 6:44 PM on November 20, 2017
Cats hate aluminum foil so that would be a bad liner.
posted by agregoli at 7:27 AM on November 21, 2017
posted by agregoli at 7:27 AM on November 21, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by janell at 10:16 AM on November 20, 2017