I don't know how many cats you have, but for starters I'd give them a lot
less water to play with.  If they are knocking it over they have killed the
whole point of having a long term supply because you can't leave now and be
sure they have water.

Ours get fresh water two places in the house and two places outside twice a
day.  OK one outside is a dripping faucet but they love it.  It has a bowl
under it when the dog isn't carrying it around the yard.  Must find stone
bowl.  The other is the birdbath.  All the cats in the neighborhood drink
from that.  Inside are two glasses.  It they spill, it isn't much to clean
up.

I'd go crazy with the feeder trying to keep it clean enough.  The inside
dishes go through the dishwasher after a half day use.

Before anyone thinks I'm a neat freak, I haven't scooped the litter box in a
week.

If I were having a tipping problem I'd get the bowls at the pet store that
don't have a rounded bottom.

Jo

I use a dog bowl for mine - it is shaped like this and so is almost
untippable:

<http://www.fabpets.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=
58&osCsid=2172851ff43f7118238341015c79f8cf>

(watch out for the line wrap on that link)

HTH

Deb.

<snip>

I used low, bottom-heavy pans and bowls until Sam (thankfully) lost some
of his obsession with water. At one point, the cats were drinking out of a
smallish but very expensive cooking pot with a very thick bottom that was
probably the most expensive cat-watering container in city!

I don't need long-term water supply as I check it regularly and refill as
necessary. And Sam has lost a little of his obsession and now mostly
leaves a perfectly ordinary bowl in place and upright - although he'll
still come running if he hears running water.

I have given up on the Petsmate because TuTu has trouble jumping to the
bathroom counter.  I now use a small dishpan in the tub.  I also have a
small dishpan in the shower stall    If any spills occur, it doesn't
matter.  When filled to the top, the dishpan is too heavy for her to move.
It works!    MLB

I don't know about a nontippable water bowl, but Holly used to love to play
with the water in her bowl.  She wouldn't tip it over, but she would stand
there vigorously batting it -- and all the water was on the floor within a
matter of minutes.  I solved it by getting one of those vegetable bins (made
by Rubbermaid or some similar company), the type where three sides are high
to hold veggies and one side is low so you can easily reach inside.  I
placed a heavy ceramic bowl inside the veggie bin.  Both Holly and Duffy
drank readily from it, and it pretty much eliminated play time.  If she did
play with it, the water would be held inside the vinyl veggie bin instead of
on the floor.  (As she got older, she stopped doing that -- so now I can
just place the two heavy ceramic bowls in separate rooms, and I don't have
to do anything to prevent water spray.)

MaryL

Yes.  Forget the fancy cat thingies and buy a heavy pottery open water dish
that is designed for large dogs.
Mine have these because I had them already.  Works well for us.  Hope this
helps.

Tweed

I use a glass 8 inch round cake pan.  (Then there's another bowl in the
sink, but I don't care if that one tips over.)  They can both drink out
of it at once, although they don't often.  And when Pi gets bored, he can
take his pet q-tip for a swim.  ;-)

Chak

Large dog size ceramic or wide base stainless steel bowl.  The SS bowl
I have in mind is stamped from sheet metal sort of line it started out
as a cone, then the top was pushed down into the base - the base is
much wider than the bowl.  The ceramic bowl I use is labeled "dog",
weighs several pounds, and holds about half a gallon.  The SS bowl is
used for food.  Neither has been tipped over by any of the fifteen
cats in the last five years, though I have broken one of the ceramic
bowls by washing it in hot water.

You really should change the water more often than every five days.

You mean one with a reservoire, I take it.  There ARE
"non-tippable" dishes that work quite well (although they're
usually made of plastic), but if the kind with the water
bottle isn't stable enough so they can't tip it, I don't
know what to suggest!

Glue it onto a square foot piece of plywood.
If the cat is smart enough to turn that over,
it belongs in the genius class.

I don't know if you still need this, but maybe someone could use the
idea.  

We have two bowls the cats can't turn over.  One is molded plastic and
looks rather like a bowl on a tray, but it is a pain to use because
the bowl part is so small it has to be filled often, and cleaning the
18 inch across thing is a pain.  The other is home made with a
removable bowl, is easily cleaned and holds more water. The bowl can't
be turned over by the cats, but is easily removed from the tray to
wash and refill.

You will need three things:
large round plastic beverage serving tray--dollar store variety is
fine
flat bottomed bowl--we used the Crock brand pet food bowl we had
some peel and stick Heavy Duty Velcro

Turn bowl upside down and cut two lengths of the Velcro to fit across
the bottom, leave both "sides" of the Velcro stuck to each other. Peel
one side of joined Velcro to expose the glue and then apply to bottom
of bowl, just off center.  Apply the second length next to the first.
Now peel other side of both lengths to expose the glue, hold bowl
right side up, and apply bowl to the center of the tray by pressing it
down firmly.  

The reason it works is that the cat must have front paws on the tray
to be able to reach the bowl, and the Velcro holds the bowl to the
tray.  The tray itself is too wide a base for the cat to lift and turn
over.  
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere