My cat will only drink running water

[WinkyWinkola]

He get fresh water in his bowl every morning and night but won't touch it. Weirdo. He's about 17 years old and is a very thirsty cat.

Does anyone know why he does this? And if he's guzzling water like mad, does it mean I should take him to the vet as I've heard failing kidneys are a common problem among older cats and it makes them drink a lot. He also pongs. Poor lad.

YES! Cat drinking a lot is worrisome, older cat drinking a lot rings alarm bells here.

I hope I'm wrong but please do pop him into the vets.

As for the running water, I'm told that this is because cats don't like the smell of chlorine which is found in still water. Dunno if this is true though!

I do know that my little white girl is the same as your boy and won't drink unless from a running tap. So, if anyone can recommend a cat water fountain which is reasonably priced, I'd be very grateful.

posting and running sorry

Beat me to it Trillian - we have one of these for our kittens and they love it. It was from pets at home and was about £20 I think, will try to link. Our cats have always been funny about still water and would jump in the sink to drink from the tap!

Attempting link: cat fountain

Thank you!

I guess I'll need one big enough to accommodate a German Shepherd snout. My younger Shep has no preference for running water but he is so damn nosey he won't be able to resist sticking his beak in!

Cats do prefer running water. I used to keep a tap dripping in the basin in the bathroom for mine - many many years ago. They hardly touched their water bowl.

If yours is guzzling then I would say take him to the vet as he is getting on. You need to get him checked out.

I invested in one of those for my cat but he still wouldn't use it.....
I have found that that he drinks from dishes of water that I have dotted around the house, eg one in bathroom filled from bathroom tap.
Vet also suggested that I could try adding a tiny bit of marmite or stock cube to encourage drinking.
My cat has crystals in his urine so has to have a particular dried food and so is v important that he drinks.

My ferrets prefer running water, too. One of them pulls any bowl until it sloshes. They like to dip their faces in - cleans their face and whiskers, I guess?

My cats would only drink running water. I sadly don't have the cats any more, but do still have the drinkwell, which I was about to put on eBay if you are interested in it?

My cat pushes bowls so the water sloshes out too, I just googled and found this

Thanks - that's a lot cheaper than Pets@Home.

I don't know if it is universally true, but I have heard that cats do not like to drink in the same location as their food bowls.

Mine certainly don't - one will only drink from the glass of water on my bedside table, and the other prefers a stagnant puddle.

One of my cats drinks from the shower running slowly in the bath - never from her bowl.

Another only drinks from the birdbath outside that I have to refill twice a day and the last one does actually drink from the bowl near their food.

They all also like to drink from a glass of water they might find by bedside or downstairs!