At BlogPaws2017, I was introduced to a new side of blogging, that of the honest product review. Soon after, I was approached by Madeline Talt of Clean Healthy Pet Products and asked to give such a review of her company’s line of biodegradable compostable pet bowls and litter boxes. I looked up their website and was intrigued by their products as well as attracted to their earth-friendly small business. I asked Little and Tyler if they wanted to test them out, and they both agreed, “go for it!”
Little and Tyler are accustomed to a clean bowl at every meal, and I have a dishwasher so I was not sure where the disposable bowls might fit into our routine. Then I counted it up: 4 to 6 bowls a day, 7 days a week, turns out to be 28 to 42 dirty bowls! That’s a dishwasher-load in itself. Dishwashers use water and electricity to heat it which costs $$. On the other hand, disposing of the used CHP bowls would be a simple matter of dumping them in the green recycle bin along with food scraps and yard cuttings, to be turned into mulch.
Mad and her dad, Mark Talt, sent me free samples of both the bowls and the boxes to try in my home. We tried the bowls first.
Little inspects the arrival of pet bowls.
Little: But they’re empty.
Tyler: Whaaaaa?
Me: Hold on, guys. It’s coming, I promise.
Little takes medications that I grind up and mix with a tablespoon of her food. She lapped it right up out of the CHP bowl. The bowl surface is smooth and pleasing.
Big Tyler pushes his food bowl around as he eats so I used the CHP bowl as an insert. It fit nicely into a standard ceramic bowl, giving more weight. I can continue to use the ceramic bowl for many days without needing to wash it.
Tyler: This is more like it.
Little: I might like Tyler’s better.
There are many reasons to use a disposable bowl, either as a liner or on its own.
- Bacteria: If you’ve ever seen a cat with chin acne, it was likely from a dirty food bowl. Though most of us cat people are servants to our cats, washing an endless line of little dishes so each meal is served on a freshly clean bowl, this is not something everyone does. And even the best cat moms and dads don’t always have time or ability to stick to such a strict cleaning regimen.
- Travel: I have no trouble keeping things clean at home, but we take our cats on monthly visits to the beach. Especially if you’re staying in a hotel, these bowls are a lifesaver. Both you and your adventure cat will love the convenience of these inexpensive and biodegradable bowls.
- Multiple cats, fostering, and shelters: It’s one thing to wash out food bowls for one or two cats, but when you get up into the multiples, whether a personal clowder or a shelter situation, a disposable bowl in indispensable. If sick cats are involved, such as a fostering situation, using a disposable bowl each feeding reduces the chance of infection or re-infection. Many shelters already use paper trays, but CHP bowls are a superior product by far.
Personal favorite: Using these bowls makes me feel like a princess. It’s easy, luxurious, affordable, and guilt-free all at the same time.
Little and Tyler love them too. There is no danger of whisker fatigue from these wide, spacious bowls. Both Tyler and Little do a better job of finishing their wet food than with the ceramic bowl, though they haven’t told me why.
Here is a product I needed without ever knowing it. Thanks, Mad and Mark, for introducing me.
I asked Mad about Clean Healthy Pet Products:
The business is run by my father, Mark Talt. The company came about because with all of the animals my family has had, my mom mentioned one day there should be a ‘coffee filter’ like pet bowl so she didn’t spend so much time scrubbing dirty disgusting pet bowls! After a little research, it was apparent that … these bowls were needed for more reasons than just convenience.
We are a very new company (in the last 2 years) and have just started to see an impact. The bowls are really made for cat and small dogs at the moment and we are hoping to expand into bigger bowls for dogs. …My roommate has a cat, Rhino, who only eats out of Clean Healthy Bowls. I also have an incredibly picky pittie, Chilli, who will not eat his food if either the bowl is slightly dirty or his wet food and dry food are touching (and I rescued him from a shelter, so clearly it was my parenting that convinced him!) So I use two Clean Healthy Bowls nightly, one for his dry food and one for his wet food and I no longer worry about his not eating.
I asked owner Mark Talt about Clean Healthy Pet Products:
We started our company after a few conversations with the Pasadena Humane Society. We tested our product through them and Best Friends and then began slowly rolling them out to the public a little over a year ago. We manufacture our product through World Centric (in China), a leader in compostable goods for human use… We are located in Pasadena, CA…
(Our bowls & litter boxes) are 100% made from natural products, most often from wheat after the chaff is extracted. The product is 100% compostable and is very environmentally clean! And we have two cats who eat and drink from our bowls daily. The bowls can be used a few times and can hold water for up to seven days. The litter boxes last until the owner feels it is time to dump the box and add a new one!
Mad and Mark are generously offering my readers a 10% discount on their products from their Amazon Store. Use promocode Mollie10 at checkout.
Next time I’ll tell you about my experience with the Clean Healthy Pet disposable litter boxes. I can’t wait to try out them out. This product sounds incredibly useful. It’s not just that I dislike cleaning litter boxes; it has again to do with bacteria that builds up in the pan itself, and unless you have an industrial dishwasher to wash your litter pans in, it’s hard to get them truly clean.
Disclosure: I received a free box of Clean Healthy Pet Bowls to try out in order to make this honest review.
Mollie Hunt: Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and more 
That sure is interesting, especially with 9 of us there is a lot of bowl washing constantly!
That certainly qualifies as “multiple” cats!
Interesting thoughts! I’ll have to give it a good thought. I do get that the bowls are environment-friendly, and that washin bowls costs a lot of energy, too. That being said, producing and transporting disposible bowls also takes a lot of water and energy, so I’m not really sure it’s a 0-balance in the end.
True, product production and transportation must also be considered. I think it may be a matter of trying them and seeing where they might fit in yur cats’ lives.
That is the first time I’ve heard about those kitty bowls, Miss Mollie. Are they available at retail pet stores? I am very picky about eating and these sound like a good idea ’cause like your kitty I don’t like my moist foods and dry kibble to touch. They sound like a good way to insure that kitties get clean bowls more frequently. Mew Mew!
Owner Mark Talt says in respect to retail stores, “Bristol Farms, Gelsons and a few other grocery stores and have a few huge opportunities in the works.” I’m not familliar with those.