my cat eats a lot but wont hardly touch water. And she sneezes all the time.?

Question

I just got a cat 3 days ago. I got her trained to the litterbox already )which is pretty awesome since I havent had a pet in so many years) but i'm having a problem with her eating habits. At first she didnt seem to like dry food, but wet food made her breath smell SO BAD that i'm switching her back to dry. Anyway, she eats good now, but she doesnt drink her water. She used to be an outdoor cat (she's about 6 months old i think) and I adopted her and she is now an indoor cat. I clean the bowl daily but she doesnt touch it and she starts meowing with this raspy meow like she's thirsty but she wont drink it! And she wont drink milk either. I dont know why not. Can you help? She also sneezes a lot and I think she has a cold.

Answer 1

You can check the kitty's hydration by gently lifting her skin on the back of her neck if it goes right back down her hydration is okay. Also you can check her gums if they feel moist she's okay.
Your kitty is probably drinking but you just aren't noticing it. Outdoor kitty's are pretty slick about finding water. If you left the toilet seat up, or water in the sink, or extra water a plant coaster she could be drinking from there. Please don't give her milk because it will make her tummy upset. If you are really worried about the liquid you could try some chicken broth that is just a touch warm. The warmth will make it smell better and that might get her to drink. If you find that she does like to drink from the faucet like one of the people up above recommends you can by a fountain from the pet store. They're pretty cool and can get kitties to drink more water.
The old school of thought with cats use to be no wet food, only dry because of the risk of dental disease. Now the school of thought has switched to kitties needing some soft food. My company recommends all kitties get some wet food to help increase water intake and reduce the risk of lower urinary tract disease. Just so you know if you feed soft food her water intake will decrease because she's getting her water from the soft food.
BTW if she is dehydrated you need to take her to the vet as soon as you can, there might be an underline issue to why she's not drinking.

Answer 2

Until you can get her to the vet, switch back to canned food so she is at least getting some hydration. She will get very sick if she doesn't have any water. If she's sneezing and especially since she used to be an outdoor cat, there is a good chance she has an upper respitory infection so she needs to be seen by a vet anyway. Gently pull her skin up on the back of her neck. If it slowly goes back into place instead of snapping back like it should, she is dehydrated. Cats should not drink cow's milk so don't give her any of that. Try putting some water on her paw to see if she licks it off, turn the faucet on so it just barely drips and see if she drinks that way, or be creative and try different ways to get her water. But ultimately she needs to go to the vet anyway so just ask them.

Answer 3

This is going to sound weird - but have you ever thought of leaving a small drip going in the faucet of a bathroom and showing your cat that fresh water comes from it? Cupid - my male cat - is just as picky about water. He'll drink from a dish, but not very often - UNLESS it's fresh from the purified water pitcher or cold. But he'll spend all kinds of time lapping water right from the stream in the faucet if turned on and left going for a bit.

WilyBeth, my first cat, used to ONLY like fresh water and after about 5-6 hours would not drink it either. So I added ice cubes one day and she liked it. After that she always drank from a faucet, the tub (rinsed down with NO chemicals in it) or the sink (again - no chemicals) or would lick ice cubes we left in a bowl or on a plate. And on rare occasions, my wife could pour water from a Dasani bottle into the cap and WilyBeth would drink right from the cap!

Try any or all of these methods - one will catch on and work. Sometimes cats are just too finicky for their own good about the condition of their water or even the taste. Just don't give up!

BTW - if none of this works, go back to moist food and buy her "Greenies" and use them as treats from time to time for her breath. My three cats all eat moist food (1/4 small can twice a day) and all have Greenies at bedtime to help combat their stink-o-breath. They also have dry food left out most of the day. Maybe use the moist as a treat - at least they'll get the moisture and you can still use the dry as the main meal they get.

Answer 4

My cats eat Natural Balance and Wellness canned food (sometimes Lick My Chops and some others) They seldom have the fish varieties in these brands - maybe once a week. Also they have a raw meat, home-prepared diet for dinner every day. They do not have bad breath. If you feed a poor quality fishy canned food that's probably the reason for the bad breath. It would be well to have the vet check her mouth when you take her in for shots, spaying whatever and she may have some dental problems.

None of my cats drink water except the one who eats only dry food. The canned provides enough moisture and they do not need to drink water.

Try some quality brands of canned food and you will not have to worry about her water consumption.

Answer 5

^^Don't listen to the moron up there with the lead. It could kill a cat.^^

I used to think I had this problem with my cat, too. The water level in his bowl never went down, and I never saw him drinking! But later we found out the REAL truth - he'd been drinking from a leak we had in our toilet. It seems that cats will drink from ANYWHERE - maybe you should make sure that your puss doesn't have another source of water that he's using. Try closing all bathroom doors for a while and keeping them closed, and then see what happens with his water bowl. She's most likely drinking from the toilet or something. ;)

Answer 6

Most cats don't drink much water. Just keep supplementing with the wet food, I also sometimes sprinkle the water from the tuna fish cans on their dry food, when I open tuna cans. Another thing, I had a cat years ago, she wasn't much for drinking out of her bowl, but for whatever reason, she loved drinking out of the sinks and toilet bowls. Just pull the stopper up, and fill it a little bit. She also loved drinking when the faucet was on, just trickling out of the faucet. Maybe try one of those water fountain cat bowls.

Answer 7

Try removing the chlorine or using spring or bottle water. There might be an unpleasant aroma in the water that the cat doesn't like. Another option would be bottling rain water - if it was an outside cat it might have that preference.

I had a cat that was raised to poop in wood shavings and he would never go in litter because he preferred the wood shavings. Cats are finicky and spoiled, that's why dogs are so much cooler! ;) I have a dog and a cat, I just like to get the dog and cat war going with cat lovers.

Answer 8

I have an outdoor cat i put him out bowls of water but he doesn't drink it. He drink out of the pool and water puddles instead (cats are just like that) she might drink water while you aren't watching. he also sneezes alot but thats from dust.

Answer 9

It sounds like your cat has cat flu and needs to get antibiotics.
Most cats rarely drink water esp if you feed them canned food which is 60% water
Under no circumstance put lead in your cats ear - lead is extremely toxic to animals.

Answer 10

You should never give a cat milk. Pets have trouble digesting regular milk. Ordinary milk contains lactose. And it's lactose, the milk sugar, that is difficult for most cats to digest. It gives them loose bowels. Read more here; http://www.catsip.com/8reasons.html