2006-11-12 03:24:25 · 12 answers · asked by Zahyli Colon 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
At our clinic, we recommend adding a little tuna juice to some water to encourage kitty to drink more. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Make sure you are offering fresh water everyday in a bowl that is cleaned everyday. You wouldn't want to drink stagnant water from a filthy bowl and neither does kitty. :-)
Some kitties really like running water and there are kitty drinking fountains on the market that can also encourage kitty to drink more.
Do you have very hard well water? This also may be causing kitty to dislike the water. If this is the case, try giving kitty filtered water.
Another way to get more water into kitty is feeding canned food. Even healthy cats on a dry food only diet do not drink enough to make up for the lack of water in their diet. They compensate by creating super-concentrated urine. This will catch up to them eventually when they become older and possibly develop kidney or other urinary tract issues. Don't be fooled by people who say canned food will rot the teeth. Poor dental care and/or a genetic predisposition leads to bad teeth, not canned food. So give it a try. Kitty will thank you. :-)
2006-11-12 03:52:36 · answer #1 · answered by lvt4cats 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My 14 yr old cat drank mainly from the sink (she'd sit there until I turned it on, or tear off in front of my feet if I was heading toward the bathroom). I got her one of those Petmate Water Fountains and she LOVES it!
Her daughter, on the other hand, prefers COLD bottled water out of the fridge (she's spoiled). She will ignore the water bowl if it has tap (we have hard water) but if we bring out the bottled, she RUNS into the room, drinks the water until she's full and then hovers over the bowl protecting it from everyone else LOL
My suggestions would be to try cold bottled water in a CLEAN bowl first (maybe add some ice cubes to "play" with) and if that doesn't work, a cat water fountain.
2006-11-12 04:31:49 · answer #2 · answered by lmakings 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, all cats like water. Why do you think he doesn't ? What are you basing that on ? You don't need to give him anything else to drink. And you certainly donot want to give him milk as cats cannot digest milk and it will give him the runs. Water, water, water. All cats WILL drink water. Try changing your water every single day and keeping it fresh. Try washing the water bowl once in a while. It may smell sour to him.
2006-11-12 03:29:18 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi there...cats should always have access to "fresh" water. However as an occasional treat you can give them special milk formulated for cats such as CatSip, Lap Happy Milk Supplement for Cats found at most pet stores. It's not a replacement, rather a treat as it doesn't provide any nutritional benefit.
Cow's milk should never be offered as cats do not have the proper enzymes to properly break down the sugar in milk which is called 'lactose.' You may have heard of people who are lactose-intolerant. They are also missing these digestive enzymes. If the proper enzymes are not present, the lactose remains undigested and tends to ferment in the intestine and cause diarrhea. Some pets can tolerate a little milk, others, none at all.
Any vet can confirm these facts.
Cat only Milk treat products:
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441780916&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302033750&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1163348903823&itemNo=1&In=ALL&N=2033750&Ne=2
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=1119&N=2002+113617
2006-11-12 03:31:20 · answer #4 · answered by ♪ Seattle ♫ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We had the same problem with one of our cats. The cat fountain is the best idea! It costs less than $50, and now all three of our cats are drinking 4 times as much water as they used to. Get the fountain!
2006-11-12 04:46:21 · answer #5 · answered by Kir 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can give your cat a lot of things to drink. Such as milk, cream, chicken broth, beef broth, even tuna juice. He/she will love you for any of the above "drinks". Just don't give him/her a lot of the drink.
2006-11-12 03:56:06 · answer #6 · answered by gramoira_black_magic 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how do you know he's thirsty if he is not wanting to drink water??
2006-11-12 03:29:33 · answer #7 · answered by Tree 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't give anything other than water. Never give milk.
2006-11-12 03:31:45 · answer #8 · answered by Libby 44 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
how do you know he's thirsty if he's not drinking water???
2006-11-12 03:59:52 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Haven't you ever seen Tom and Jerry?!
CATS. LIKE. MILK.
2006-11-12 03:29:16 · answer #10 · answered by Bonda 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋