Five criteria. The first rules out a very common material, and for a documented reason.
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The bowl gets less thought than anything else an animal owns, and it is one of the few things it uses several times a day, for life. Five criteria, in the order they matter.
Plastic scratches with use, and the micro-scratches hold bacteria that ordinary washing no longer reaches. In cats, this is a recognised factor in chin acne — small black pimples under the jaw, often mistaken for dirt.
Stainless steel and glazed ceramic do not scratch in the same way, and they genuinely come clean. This is the first criterion because it is the only one that bears on health.
A bowl that slides makes the animal chase it, which is a nuisance for any animal and painful for one with osteoarthritis, forced to reposition itself over and over.
A rubberised base, or enough weight, settles the question. This is the easiest criterion to check in the shop, and the most often overlooked.
A cat whose whiskers touch the sides as it drinks feels a sensory discomfort, and many cats then prefer to drink elsewhere — from the tap, from a glass, from a puddle.
A wide container, filled to the top, removes that contact. It is often the whole explanation for a cat that “never drinks”, when in fact it drinks perfectly well, elsewhere.
Cutting the portion does not slow a fast dog down; it only makes it faster on less. A bowl with raised ridges forces it to work its way around them, which genuinely lengthens the meal.
The stakes go beyond comfort: in large, deep-chested breeds, fast eating is among the factors associated with serious digestive incidents.
Raising the bowl relieves an animal with a sore neck or shoulders, and changes nothing for one with sore hips. It is not a universal piece of kit, whatever the shop shelves suggest.
Watch it eat: if it splays its front legs or bends its neck a long way down, height will help. If not, it will add nothing.