Water bottle assembly having gnaw protection shield
A shield or guard for preventing damage to an animal watering bottle by an animal within a cage comprises a generally planar web of metal or similarly hard material having length and width dimensions similar to the water bottle assembly being protected. A pair of tabs are formed at the upper edge of the web, and are angled downwardly to engage a lateral wire of the animal cage wall. A tube opening is provided in the web adjacent to the lower end thereof to permit the water delivery tube to extend from the bottle through the shield and through the cage wall. The water bottle is disposed to impinge on the outer surface of the web, with the delivery tube extending through the tube opening, and a wire bail is secured about the bottle and hooked to a lateral wire of the cage wall to support the bottle on the cage. To remove and service the water bottle, there is no need to remove the shield; rather, the wire bail is unhooked from the cage wall, and the bottle is removed by withdrawing the delivery tube from the tube opening in the shield. The bottle is replaced by inserting the delivery tube through the tube opening in the shield, abutting the bottle against the shield, and re-joining the bail about the bottle to the cage wall. The web of the shield blocks access by the animal to the soft plastic of the water bottle, and prevents damage to the bottle due to gnawing and chewing by the animal.