My cats dont drink!

[Twonewcats]

We adopted two cats a couple of weeks ago, and noticed that we've never seen them drink anything. I've always got water out, but the level never seems to go down, and we havent seen them anywhere near the bowls of water. I have also tried a little chicken stock cube in it (just a little), as per advice on a forum, but they still didnt go near it. I have now started adding a spoonful of water to their food.

But is this normal/anything to worry about?!
(In case it's relevant, they have been indoors for 2 weeks, but their previous owner allowed them out. We'll let them out soon, when we feel they're settled properly. )

[purplepingu]

I have two water fountains in the house and one bowl. But guaranteed mine will only ever drink out of my glass of water at the side of the bed (which has now become theirs and I drink out of a bottle). I've also added a glass of water downstairs for them too.

[cozietoesie]

If they had had no liquid for two weeks they'd probably be dead!

If they're eating wet food they obtain a large amount of their liquid intake from that. Also, they probably have been drinking but you just haven't seen it - cats aren't like dogs (great lolloping draughts of water going down), they're more delicate sippers - and also very water efficient. (And they could be using the loo or a dripping tap or something similar: some cats prefer those.)

Leave lots of fresh water around. That should do it.

(I don't think I've actually seen my old boy drink water in over a year. He's perfectly hydrated.)

[cozietoesie]

PS - of course, the ultimate test is their litter trays. What's happening there?

[Chaby]

Mine will only drink from their own dedicated water glass, never from a bowl. And it has to be on a raised surface, not near their food. Will also drink happily from a dripping tap.

[Twonewcats]

yep, definitely peeing. I had cats years ago, and they drank a lot - so maybe they were the ones that were not normal!

[stealthsquiggle]

Ours will never drink from a bowl - they drink from puddles if outside or from dripping taps inside but mostly I think they get what they need from wet food.

[DowntonTrout]

Mine also prefer the glass of water on my bedside table.

I've made the mistake of thinking it was mine and drinking from it too a few times. Ugh!

[GRW]

My ginger boy will only drink from the fish tank.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I bought ours a water fountain, it was popular for 30 seconds & then he was bored with it.

He will knock glasses of water over though

[HowsTheSerenity]

We bought a water fountain as Dorcas was getting uti's.
Both cats now get quite irate when it's turned off. Their water intake has increased dramatically.

[ThisFenceIsComfy]

I change a bowl of water once a day as something to really.

My cat likes dirty puddles or my lovely bedside glass of water

[ThisFenceIsComfy]

Something to do*

[Twonewcats]

Yep I'm hoping they'll drink more once they're allowed out.

[cozietoesie]

They might - or might not. Who can tell.

Your previous cats might have had a different food regime or, sometimes, age can make a difference if their innards aren't working as efficiently any more for whatever reason. Were the previous cats older when you knew them?

Apart from the drinking, how are they doing? Do they seem happy in their new home?

[sashh]

I too leave a glass of water by my bed for the cat, she also has her own that she doesn't touch.

She is rather partial to puddle water, and although she won't drink out of a bowl in the house if I leave a bowl of food out for the strays once it is empty of food and filled with leaves/rain water and the odd slug she will happily drink out of it.

Forget the level in their water bowls, check the toilet.

[cozietoesie]

And make sure that you never put any of those 'blocks' in your toilet cistern or rim. Gawd knows what those bleaches and chemicals would do to a cat.

[moonbells]

I have water out all the time and also never see it being drunk from or the level dropping. But I have seen both cats sneaking drinks from the pond while eyeing up the froglets! And they certainly pee, so I assume the wet food plus the pond are sufficient.

[chemenger]

I have found that they won't drink if the water bowl is beside the food, ours are always on the other side of the room. Grotty puddle water is everyone's favourite, however.

[WitchWay]

Mine prefer filtered tap water (I know - I'm a cat-slave) as ours has quite a strong chlorine smell. We do filter it for our own consumption as well, not just for the cats (I'm not that much of a cat-slave)

They much prefer drinking from the bird-bath though - the water probably tastes slightly of bird

[Lonecatwithkitten]

If they eat wet food it is 80% water. So if they eat 200g of wet per day they are getting 160mls of water per day and if they are 4 kg cats their maintenance levels are 200mls per day so not much more required.
Cats do prefer wide open bowls so they don't bend their whiskas and can look out over the top of the bowl.

[ToFollowJulie]

Mine has a water fountain but he only uses it when I give him dry food. When he has wet food he doesn't seem to need it at all. I also have a large shallow dish in the garden - I think it's actually supposed to go under a large flower pot. I put it out for the ducks (they always drink from puddles but sometimes there aren't any) but I notice Bert drinks from it when it's full of rainwater. That's definitely the water he likes best.

[ToFollowJulie]

Wouldn't a chicken stock cube be very salty?

[Twonewcats]

They don't have access to any toilets so def not drinking from them. And there isn't room for them to go near the kitchen tap. And re the chicken stock cube, it was a tiny piece, the theory being that it would give it a smell and make it more in timing. But it didn't

[TheAmazingChandler]

I've seen mine drink maybe 3-4 times and I've had her 15 years. She's drunk from a dripping tap, the shower tray and people glasses, never from her bowl (that I've seen)

[weegiemum]

Our boy drinks from puddles, taps, glasses, the toilet, and has a marked preference for sparkling water!

The rabbit drinks out of the cat bowl!