How can I get my cats to drink more water?

Question

They only drink from the bath tap and won't drink from a bowl. I have tried a cat fountain with oxygenated water but they turn their noses up at it. I'm worried they don't drink enough water as they eat quite a lot of dry food.

Answer 1

You can take the cat to the water but make them drink. Cats are specially independent and do not follow instructions. If they are perfectly healthy I should not worry. Otherwise take them to the vet.

Answer 2

I've recently bought a product called drinkwell water fountain apparantly used by most vets. It cost me about £30 off the net & the cats seem to be drinking more. They were a bit unsure at first because of the running water, but both are dinking a lot more & their litter boxes are more full. It also puts oxygen back into the water so its constantly fresh. Stale water puts cats off.

Answer 3

My cat drinks from the tap, i run it just a little bit, the vet told me they love running water the best, rather than bowls, i thought it was a bit gross to let him drink at the tap but i always clean it well, he never actually touches the tap itself but drinks the falling water. I dont mind as he's part of the family. Maybe you should try it.

Answer 4

One of my cats does exactly the same thing, when shes thirsty she miaows and leads me to the taps. she sits while i have a bath or shower ands as soon as I'm finished she jumps in and wants a drink. Although i know that there is always clean water around for her to drink both in a cat bowl and a dog bowl, she is a peculiar creature and i find her tendencies rather amusing. So i say as long as there are other sources of refreshment available she will find them and not to worry.

Answer 5

try placing a bowl of lukewarm water down for them. It certainly encourages mine to drink. Also I make a very dilute solution of evaporated milk and warm water. BArely enough to colour the water but enough to make it smell nice. All 12 cats sit around the huge dish I put down in the mornings and drink it all up.Yes, yes I know ...cats are lactose intolerant. I have been doing this for the last 15 years and not one of mine ever has the runs from it. The trick is to make it really diluted and it must be warm.

Answer 6

I have three cats - they have a bowly each for their food and I used to put a bowl of fresh water down a day for them!!! They never seemed to drink from it - now I know the exact thing to do - its bizarre but I promise you it works!!

My girl cat - she is a real lady - Molly - likes to drink from anything thats not a bowl and anywhere where there shouldn't really be water - she personally likesa wine glass at the top of the stairs - my fella curses everytime he knocks it over!! she also likes spring water - but like I said - she is a snob!! Harry, my naughty ginger belly boy - he likes his water in a glass - a normal one - under a radiator - he likes his water to be tepid I think!!!! and Jesse likes to drink from the tap or on the kitchen top!! strange - but true !! some might say I slightly over pander to my cats and others will probably say I treat them too human - but cat lovers will nod their heads and they will understand ..... your babies get whatever they want!!!!!!

x

Answer 7

As far as I'm aware cats don't actually need that much water, they should be getting all they need from the taps - obviously, if they are eating dried food they do need more water than a cat being fed on wet food.

Try this...

Mix some warm water into their dried food, this way they get water and their food tastes even better! I was using this trick to get my fussy persian cat to eat his food, when I stopped doing this he got cystitis - cos he was getting the majority of the water he needed through his food.

Answer 8

My cat's the same - she would only drink out of the bird bath so I had to constantly keep it clean and topped up with water. Dont worry - if they were getting dehydrated they will drink out of the cat fountain. Mine ignored it for months and then just took a shine to it and loves drinking out of it.

Answer 9

Most cats will drink as much water as they need under normal circumstances. As long as you constantly have water available, they'll drink it if they need it. If you are really worried, give them some of the juice from a can of water packed tuna...they'll love it.

Occasionally, a cat will become dehydrated, you can check this by gently lifting its skin on its back and see how fast it returns to position when you let go. The skin of a well hydrated kitty will snap immediately back to place. If the cat is dehydrated, it will return to place slowly.

If this occurs and you can't get your cat to drink any fluids, call your vet and ask advice. They will probably have you bring the cat in for a hydration jab of saline solution under it's skin to move the process along.

Answer 10

Use clean water, like filtered or distilled water. Also, give them freezing cold water and change it a couple times a day. Would you want to drink stale, warm, dirty water that tastes like clorine and has been sitting on the floor all day? Neither does your kitty.

Besides they should drink water. Over years, if your cat is dehydrated all the time, she can develop sever kidney problems later in life from all that concentrated urine.

And if you still have a problem, try feeding your cat wet food every once in a while as a supplement to their normal food. I hate wet food and it rots teeth if that is all you give them, but at least they'll get more water in them that way.

Answer 11

If cats are thirsty they will drink, be it from a puddle or a tap! they might be getting water elsewhere and in my experience cats drink the most disgusting dirty water and they're fine. Try not to worry about them, cats, unlike humans, will drink when they want to and not put it off to do other things!