I totally get the cat problem—mine once made off with a crucial little spring and I spent half an hour crawling around the kitchen floor. Bowls are definitely safer, though sometimes I forget which washer goes where if I’m not careful. As for tightening, yeah, I’ve had that same dilemma. Too loose and you’re mopping up water, too tight and you risk cracking something or stripping threads. The “hand-tight plus a smidge” method is what my mentor swears by, but honestly, it’s still a guessing game for me sometimes.
Funny thing, last time I fixed a leaky shower head, I thought I had it perfect—turned the water back on and it sprayed sideways like some kind of rogue fountain. Turns out I’d pinched the washer just a bit from over-tightening. There’s definitely an art to it... or maybe just a lot of trial and error.