how can i get my cat to drink her water?

Question

she drinks from the toilet and from puddles ouside, does this really matter? how can i get her to drink from her water bowl??

Answer 1

cats like fresh water, which is why she drinks out of the toilet. Every time you flush the water replenishes with new water. There are water bowls out there that will give new water every so often. I suggest you invest in one. Cats also like cold water...try putting an ice cube in it. And make sure that her water is close to her food, but that no food actually gets into the water. That's just gross.

Answer 2

First of all, it's kind of important to keep the toilet lid down at all times, especially if you want your cat to be able to get in there for other things (having litter box there, etc). Not because of drinking habits, but because it's not really a good thing to be in the toilet, and if the cat's small enough, it might not be able to get out on its own (not to mention I would be worried about her accidentally "going down the drain" so to speak ^^;;;; but that might be just me)

Secondly, cats do love fresh/running water. We've found out with our cat that she rarely touches her bowl of water, but when we turn on the tap in the tub just a little, she can stand there for almost half an hour licking at it (sometimes staring, offended, at the water when it gets her too wet).

Over where I live, toilet water doesn't really have anything added to it (unless you put something in yourself), since we have very clean water over-all, so toilet drinking wouldn't really be /harmful/ over here, but it's not really practical either. Some cats I've heard about even make a habit of opening up the shower drain and drinking from there ^^;

Another thing to try to remember, if we're talking about cat health and drinking (and eating, for that matter), is to not use a plastic bowl. Ceramic or stainless steel works a lot better. This is because plastic gets scratched after a bit of use, and loads of germs get stuck in those scratches and will remain there no matter how carefully you wash the bowl. So that could theoretically be almost as dangerous as her drinking from the toilet (if there's stuff added to that water).

Answer 3

1. Do not let your cat drink from the toilet. The water contains chemicals that will cause loose stool and an upset stomach.
2. Drinking from puddles outside is filthy but as long as you don't have acid rain it should be alright.

She might not realize there is water in the bowl. Try dipping your finger in the bowl of water and having her lick it off. Keep doing this but get closer each time to the bowl so that she follows it. Then put your finger in the water, and usually they will continue to try to get it from your finger so she gets the water instead. Give her lots of praise when she does(try to let her finish drinking first if she doesn't like being messed with while eating)

Also try making the bowl of water(after she knows there is water in it) the only source of water for her. This way, when she is thirsty enough she will drink the water you want her to. Again, give her a lot of praise every time she drinks from the bowl you want her to drink from.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

My cat used to do more than just drink out of the toilet - he'd get right into the toilet (all 4 paws) and drink. You'd come into the bathroom, and all you'd see was his back sticking out of the toilet. It taught me to always keep the lid down! LOL!

I don't think you can change her drinking from puddles outside. Keep the lid down inside, and make sure the water in her bowl is fresh every day, and you wash the bowl everyday (to make sure there's no slimy stuff growing on it - that happens after a few days if you don't wash it regularly). Also, try running a little water from the tap for her. My cats love to drink from the tap. They jump up onto the sink and meow until I come turn the water on for them.

Oh, and I just read the previous answer - good one - ice cubes. I had a cat once who loved cubes in his water when it was hot out.

Answer 5

The reason why your cat will not drink out of her water bowl is because they have a sensitive sense of smell and she can smell the chemicals in the tap water ( I presume) and that's why she drinks from puddles and the the toilet. I shouldn't think that puddle water could harm her but I would definitely close the toilet lid.- Hope this helps. (Also milk is bad for your cats health)

Answer 6

Ok this might sound a little weird but when i was a kid i used to put her next to the dish,make sure she was watching then drink the water myself! (I only did it if she didn't drink out of it yet) I did that when I was about 9 or 10. But if you think thats crazy (like i do now) You should try something different. Set her down next to the water bowl,and point to it. Maybe it will help. But definetly don't let her make a habbit of drinking out of the toilet. Then she might think that is her water bowl!

Answer 7

Look! do a blood test of hers and if she is well n healthy its not a matter. Secondly close tightly all doors and windows so she cannot go outside then tightly lock all toilet entrances and exits.
Then feed her lots of food and then put her bowl in front of her and eventually she will find no where water and will drink from her bowl. But the best thing is sell her and get a new kitten and train her hardly.

Answer 8

I have 3 cats and one also refuses to drink out of ANY bowl. I have tried the fountain ones and everything. But he will drink out of a running faucet. I just let him in the tub, or the sink and turn it on to a dribble and he is one happy cat. I have had him for 4 years now and he has NEVER drank out of a bowl, no matter how many times I've tried and even made himself sick and dehydrated once when someone said that he will eventually, well, he didn't. so the faucet is pretty much always on for him. I am at at a loss of what else to do, so there it is.

Answer 9

well cats should not drink from toilets because it may give her some sort of disease, and puddles outside can be filthy, so the way to make her drink out of the bowl is by giving her something nice inside the bowl, she will finally realize that there is water in reach.

Answer 10

A tough issue with cats! My cat has also been finicky about her water and as a result of not drinking enough she began to get urinary tract infections. Her vet and I tried several things...fountains, wet food instead of dry, diluting the water which low sodium chicken broth, etc. It ended up that what worked was giving her distilled water. It's the purest form of water and she has really taken to it and has stopped having UTI's. I would recommend that you just try different things until you see what will work for your cat and definitely try to get in the habit of keeping the toilet seat closed. Good luck!