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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Drinking fountains for cats

43 replies

janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 11:38

I bought my cat a drinking fountain last week but he is showing no interest in it. I have put it on the floor next to his dishes but he won't even look at it!

Any ideas how I can help him to use it? At the moment he doesn't drink at all and is dependent on wet food for water.

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 11:43

I'd try moving it away from his food dishes a bit - they often don't like them close together. Is there another plug you can use?

cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 11:46

PS - it may also be that he simply isn't thirsty (they get a huge amount of their liquid needs from the wet food and it's not hot summer in any case) - or he's found another inside or outside source. Have you found him eg near the toilet recently? Or if he goes out, are there puddles or external water sources that you can think of out there?

Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 11:53

Thanks cozietoesie.

There isn't another internal source as he doesn't go into bathrooms and doesn't jump onto work surfaces in the kitchen. He doesn't go out much but of course he could be drinking from puddles etc when he does.

I'll try putting it somewhere else and see if it is that he doesn't like having it next to his food. To be honest I think it's that he actually has no idea what it is!

OP posts:
Lonecatwithkitten · 09/12/2013 12:35

When I have used mine I have it on a timer clock so it is not running all the time. I found they liked it running sometimes and not others.
Also if he is eating wet food which is at least 80% water the need for other fluids is very low.

cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 12:45

...I found they liked it running sometimes and not others....

Oh My.

Lonecatwithkitten · 09/12/2013 12:50

Lets face it Cozie we are dealing with cats those fickle individuals - timer switch works really well and I would alter the times every couple of days.
Now I must go and attend to my masters' needs.

cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 12:54

It's just that .. sometimes you think you understand cats and then you realize that you actually haven't got a clue more than a surface scratch. Creatures of mystery, eh?

Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 12:58

I hadn't thought of a timer switch. To be honest that would be a good idea anyway because he is always asleep 7pm - 6am.

I had hoped that the drinking fountain would stop him demanding food all the time (thinking perhaps he was thirsty no hungry sometimes), but that was always naive!

OP posts:
Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 13:00

I definitely don't understand him! We've had him a year but he was a stray before that, and he could be about five. I tend to put the quirky stuff down to trauma that happened before he found us but he's probably just inexplicable anyway!

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cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 13:09

What's his build/weight like, janey? He could be after more attention/games from you rather than food - but maybe he's developed a piggy streak after his stray existence. How much wet food would you reckon he eats on the average day?

AngelsWithSilverWings · 09/12/2013 13:10

I bought one for my cats but they ignored it.

My cats will only drink out of my glass of water, the shower tray or the the toilet.

Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 13:24

Cozietoesie he's massive. He weighs 8.5kg. He eats 4x85g pouches each day. Looking at the cat food box it recommends 3 pouches per day for a 4kg cat. Presumably this shouldn't be doubled for a larger cat, although I know he'd like it to be! He certainly doesn't look underweight. When we first took him to the vet she said he had the potential to be a very large cat, as he had not been neutered when young and has very large paws and long legs.

He does play with us. He has one of those laser lights which he likes and also a treat ball which he plays with a lot, even when there are no Dreamies in it.

AngelsWithSilverWings reading your post perhaps I should be grateful that he doesn't drink from our glasses!

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 13:35

Blimey - that's huge. Do you have a picture of him/know what his breeding is or is likely to be?

Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 13:38

I'll see if I can put a picture on - predictably I have loads :)

On his vet card it just says he's a domestic shorthair. He is pure white all over and has one blue eye and one green eye.

OP posts:
Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 13:53

Picture up (I think).

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 14:18

Certainly is.

While it's a bit difficult without perspective, I have to say that he looks a little .... full figured ..... to me, janey. (Sorry if that's a blow to maternal pride and all.) When was he last at the vet - and what did the vet say about his weight?

cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 14:20

His eyes are just wonderful, aren't they?

Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 15:05

He looks quite full-figured to me, too! And I say this as someone full-figured myself. Blush

The vet said she thought he hadn't yet grown into his paws. Also that cats couldn't overeat. I am sceptical about both! He would eat any time I feed him. Whenever there's no food he's demanding it. It's hard to keep him to 4 pouches a day. For example, he usually has the final pouch at 4pm but he's been asking for it extremely vocally now since 1.30. I was hoping that sometimes he might just be thirsty and that's why I bought him the drinking fountain.

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 15:22

I would be inclined to change your vet, janey. They certainly can overeat in my experience. I'm also a little surprised about the 'growing into his paws'. For a kitten, yes - but he's, what - 5 years old? He may have been neutered late but I'm a little at a loss as to how that would mean any significant difference to his basic overall size - one of the vets who post may comment there.

How much does he measure - eg in length?

I definitely wouldn't be giving him more wet food than he's getting now. Certainly until you can see someone else and get their view. (And how much kibble/how many Dreamies is he getting in addition ?) Don't worry if he goes outside and gets food 'on the hoof'. Only a relatively small percentage of stalks result in a kill and I suspect he could use the exercise. Unless of course he starts bringing home half chickens that he's stolen from open neighbour windows!

Lonecatwithkitten · 09/12/2013 15:26

Cats can most certainly overeat. I am a bit Confused at your vet considering pet obesity is the biggest single animal welfare issue in the UK at the moment - the collective agreement of the CAWG and FAWG.

Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 15:28

Thanks for your replies. I'm not quite sure which bit to measure. He is 115cm from the tip of his nose along his back to the end of his tail. I can't measure any other bits now because he has the tape measure :D

He doesn't eat many Dreamies - perhaps 6 a day, and from a ball he has to push around.

I have never seen him catch anything, or bring a catch home. He watches birds but they tend to see him as soon as he moves as he is white. I don't know how he survived before we fed him. When I first saw him he was eating bird seed.

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 15:30

You might find \link{http://www.icatcare.org/advice-centre/cat-health/obesity-cats\this} interesting.

Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 15:31

I did think the vet's advice was odd. That's why I didn't double the suggested amounts on the cat food box to adjust for his weight.

I do think the advice on the side of the food boxes is a little unhelpful. If the guidelines are for a 4kg cat, should you double it if your cat is 8kg, or halve it?

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 09/12/2013 15:32

By the way, janey, just in case you didn't realize, you've got the view of an experienced vet above you.

Original poster
janeyjampot · 09/12/2013 15:40

Thank you :)

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