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The litter tray

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

Original poster

My cat doesn't drink...

50 replies

FirstSeemItThenBeIt · 25/04/2017 16:04

I've just got my first cat. He's eating ok, but as far as I can tell hasn't had anything to drink since Saturday.

There's always water out, but I've never seen any sign of him having a drink. I tried milk today, which he had a little bit of.

I'm not sure what's normal. Should he be drinking more? Enough for me to be able to see that the water in his bowl is lower?

OP posts:
Bringmesunshite · 25/04/2017 16:13

Not milk unless it is "cat milk". Does he have dry or wet food?
I had a cat that never really learned how to lap water although her sibling could.
Believe it or not she was able to manage water from a vertical water bottle for rabbits or hamsters.
Speak to your vet.

Bringmesunshite · 25/04/2017 16:15

Also, put the water bowl away from the food bowl. We have the food downstairs and the water bowl in the bathroom with our current overlord. There's some thing about them not liking water near food in case it becomes contaminated.

dementedpixie · 25/04/2017 16:20

Cats don't tend to drink a lot. If they have wet food they get a lot of moisture from that. What food are they eating?

FannyWisdom · 25/04/2017 16:20

I have one that only drinks out of a moderate running tap.
The other is a filthy creature and will ignore any clean water.
Drinks only manky outdoor water or peach squash.

dementedpixie · 25/04/2017 16:22

And don't give milk unless it's for cats. They ate lactose intolerant so cows milk can give them the runs. I've never given any sort of milk to my two

dementedpixie · 25/04/2017 16:22

Are*

dementedpixie · 25/04/2017 16:22

Yeah mine drink from the manky green pond too!

LemonRedwood · 25/04/2017 16:25

Second the suggestion from Bringmesunshite

I had a cat who was on a prescription pain in the arse dry food only diet and refused to drink. Moving the water bowl around the corner so it wasn't near the food solved the problem.

Palomb · 25/04/2017 16:27

I don't even put water down for mine now as they ignore it and drink from the pond!

Thatextrainch · 25/04/2017 16:30

I'm the same as Palomb, my cat eats wet food and doesn't drink the water I put out for him. He prefers a puddle/pond/bird table. He's 7 and still alive. I put water out when it's really hot as I feel obliged but he still doesn't drink it. I read once that cats don't sweat so their requirements for water is quite low (not sure if true)

NewStateswoman · 25/04/2017 16:35

Ah ok. He has plenty of wet food but I'll move the water bowl away from the food too.

Thank you!

Fiona1984 · 25/04/2017 16:42

My male cat prefers to drink water from the tap, or from a cup if i leave it in the sink and it fills up with water. He also tries to drink the bath water. I only let him do that if I've not put bubbles in yet though

shitgibbon · 25/04/2017 16:50

Leave a tap slowly running or dripping. If you notice him drinking from that a lot then buy him a cat fountain. Some cats prefer to drink flowing water. Mine do.

ThouShallNotPass · 25/04/2017 16:52

Cats are strange creatures human owners aren't they? Our current master never seems to touch her water bowl or sinks or anything. Ever. She must be getting hydration somewhere because she's almost 3 and not dead yet. It's odd.
Oh and I also want to reiterate that cows milk will cause bowel problems. Whiskers do a nice cat milk.

heymammy · 25/04/2017 16:55

Fill a pint glass with water and leave it in a corner somewhere that dcat has to walk past. It will work.

As an aside, my outdoor cats can often be found lapping manky leafy water from plant pots, dc's buckets left outside, puddles etc etc

Eatingcheeseontoast · 25/04/2017 16:56

One of mine would only drink out of taps. The other one I have never seen drinking. He's 9 and fine and eats wet food. Vet said that's probably his normal and only worry if that changes.

You are supposed to leave water somewhere different from food.

Toddlerteaplease · 25/04/2017 16:56

Try putting a cup down. My two are both good drinkers but drink more out of their cup.

Orangebird69 · 25/04/2017 16:59

What type of bowl is his water in? Some cats don't like the taint that plastic bowls leave it the water. Also, lactose free milk is ok for cats. But don't panic too much if his diet is mainly wet food - they get a lot of their water intake from that.

NerdyBird · 25/04/2017 17:01

ours doesn't drink much. we tried moving the water but that didn't seem to make much difference. We now give her the 'soup' style of cat food and we think she's getting a decent amount of liquid from that.

WeeCheekyBird · 25/04/2017 17:09

I have very seldom seen my cat drink anything in the 4 years I have had him. He shares a water bowl with the dog (he wouldn't use his own) and I have caught him drinking from the tap/toilet/all sorts of places.

Cats are strange creatures. He could be drinking fine and you might just not notice. As long as the cat is well I wouldn't really worry.

claraschu · 25/04/2017 17:12

When I moved our cats' water away from their food thy started drinking all the time. Mum cat's favourite drink is out of the bath while I am in it; I get 3 of her paws on my knees Smile. My husband says she is "having a pint".

Orangebird69 · 25/04/2017 17:25

My cats rarely drink out of their bowls. It would seem though that any glass that I am using is fair game Hmm

KonKatenate · 25/04/2017 17:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

millifiori · 25/04/2017 17:37

Our cat got hospitalised with dehydration, so we got him a water fountain and switched him from dry food to wet. He's been fine since.

MycatsaPirate · 25/04/2017 17:40

I have never seen boy cat drink water. However he is nearly 14 so I presume he drinks outside.

The three girls all use the water bowls although girl cat 2 prefers to dunk her paw in and suck the water off that. I have seen her doing it in the garden too, out of a bowl of manky rain water full of rotting leaves. Or the pond.