So I’ve got a new cat. He likes to drink out of people glasses instead of his bowl. After giving up on keeping him away from my glassware I went through the pantry and found an old YETI cup with a good lid to keep him out of my water. I think its either aluminum or stainless steel but there are no markings to indicate. Is this safe or am I slowly giving myself heavy metal poisoning?
is it an actual YETI brand? If so, no problem. Stainless steel is an excellent drinking vessel. It’s either 18-8/304 or 316 but doubtful 316. As long as you aren’t storing acidic foods in it like your grandmas marinara sauce, it should be fine. Stainless can potentially leach nickel and chromium but it requires either poor quality stainless steel or something acidic. Same concept as not storing acidic stuff in the can it was sold in, once opened.
The Yeti cups I have are stainless steel which I consider safe. Food processing facilities I’m familiar with (liquids like dairy, breweries, etc) use stainless steel plumbing everywhere. It’s relatively inert and can be sanitized.
Aluminum, like pop cans actually has a plastic liner inside which probably isn’t great. Seems like opinions on aluminum cookware shift from time to time. I just stick with stainless or cast iron so I’m not sure what the current thought on aluminum is.
Our cat also loved drinking out of people glasses and wouldn’t drink from a bowl until we got one of those continuously circulating fountains. She almost never bothers our glasses anymore unless she’s doing some negative attention-seeking behavior.
I do think that its a cleanliness thing. The cat is new to me but he was my mom’s cat for like 12 years. He started doing it when they had a dog, we think to avoid backwash. They tried a cat fountain but he wasn’t interested. He also likes the glasses to be up on a table or something instead of the floor and I don’t want a fountain running continuously on my desk.
A fountain with a filter is a must for getting cats to drink enough water
Yes! Ours is filtered and has a fully enclosed UV light. It retailed for like $100 CAD but I got it for about $25 on clearance.
yeti is most likely to be food-grade stainless steel, i think you will be fine with this.
Those fuckin cups cost like $40 a pop, ain’t no way they’re gonna risk giving rich, sue-happy yuppies heavy metal poisoning
As food grade stainless steel it’s hard to beat for safety for drinking cold water. But you might want to research YETI in particular in case they have had any issues.
i’m sure it’s fine. but you can always just make a cover for any cup with a yogurt or margarine or coffee (etc) lid.
could also try leaving a tap slightly dripping (bath shower or sink) and showing the cat. If it is not too ecologically/economically onerous for you. Some cats need a bowl put under the faucet.
in my tradition, we submit to the cats and just give them their own glasses where they like them, and the humans choose a new containers and keep it in a new spot. I used to have a glass of water beside my bed for my own use, now I just have a cat glass on my bedside table and I have a water bottle the cat can’t access.
