Why floor-level bowls stop working for an elderly Devon Rex
An elderly Devon Rex feeding from the floor has to fold a stiffening neck and shoulders down for every mouthful and hold that posture through the whole meal. The Devon is a light, fine-boned breed, and an old one often eats less per sitting, so discomfort at the bowl quietly shrinks her intake long before anything looks medically wrong. Raising her dishes so the rim sits around the height of her lower chest lets her eat with her head in a natural, level line. You will know the height is right when she stands squarely and eats steadily instead of shifting her weight, pausing, or dragging pieces out to eat them off the floor beside the bowl.
Choosing dishes that suit the Devon shape
Pick wide, shallow bowls for an elderly Devon Rex rather than deep, narrow ones. Her short muzzle and prominent whiskers do better with room to spare: a shallow saucer-style dish lets her reach the last of the food without pressing her whiskers against the sides or tipping her head at an awkward angle. Weight matters too — choose a bowl with a heavy base or a non-slip mat beneath it, because a light dish that scoots across the floor makes an arthritic cat chase her dinner. If she eats wet food, a flat plate often works better than any bowl, spreading the food so she can lap it up without pushing it into corners her tongue cannot clear.
Warmth is part of the feeding station for this breed
The Devon Rex's sparse, wavy coat insulates poorly, and an elderly Devon who gets cold at her feeding corner will eat quickly, eat less, or start skipping the trip. Move her station off bare tile and onto a mat or rug, out of the draught line between doors, and away from the cold spot beside exterior walls. Some elderly Devons drink more readily when water is offered at room temperature rather than fridge-cold, and a station near where she sleeps means she does not have to cross a chilly house at night for a drink — a journey an old cat increasingly decides is not worth it, to her kidneys' cost.
Water stations along her route, not just beside her food
Spread water for an elderly Devon Rex across the rooms she actually uses: one beside her food, one near her main sleeping place, and one along the route to the litter tray if that crosses the house. Multiple stations matter because senior cats drink opportunistically — a cat who passes water drinks; a cat who must make a special trip often does not. Keep bowls filled to a consistent level so you can see at a glance how much she is drinking, and refresh them daily, because a fastidious Devon will walk away from stale water with yesterday's food film on it. A sudden rise or fall in how fast those bowls empty is worth noting and mentioning to your vet.
Serving the same station whoever feeds her
Raised bowls only help if they are set up identically at every meal, and elderly cats suffer when each feeder improvises — bowl back on the floor by a well-meaning guest, water moved to a different corner, stand folded away by a cleaner. Write the arrangement down as part of her care routine: stand height, which dishes, which rooms, refill levels. Assigning those feeding tasks in KinsLe's Care Teams, with each completed feed marked off, keeps an elderly Devon Rex's stations exactly where her comfort depends on them being, whoever is on duty that day.