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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.

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Original poster

Cat wont drink water (help)

51 replies

Suzie1997 · 22/05/2019 22:42

Suzie1997

Okay so I need help
My cats called cheeka he is 2 years old he isn't a fussy eater basically will eat everything and anything i give him..

But the down fall is he doesn't drink water but I leave a bowl of fresh water every day he will drink milk no bother though he also eats 1/3 felix pouches a day and has a bowl of biscuits

What should I do as I'm worried that he isn't drinking water

OP posts:

MrsBertBibby · 22/05/2019 23:14

Cats can't digest the lactose in cows milk. It gives them an upset stomach and can ferment in there.

Your cat really shouldn't be having milk! Semi skimmed or otherwise!

GrandmaSharksDentures · 22/05/2019 23:20

Mine will only drink from the bath tap while it is gently trickling for her. She sits & waits by the bath every evening for me to turn the tap on & adjust it to her preferences

Threeminis · 22/05/2019 23:23

Mine drinks from the toilet

SaskiaRembrandt · 22/05/2019 23:26

My cat won't drink water at all. During the summer she will drink cat milk, but the rest of the year she won't touch that either.

SunnySummerDays · 22/05/2019 23:29

I leave a jug outbid water for ironing... she drinks that. A bowl in the bath... she drinks that.... the bird bath.... drinks that.
Bowl in the kitchen next to food... no chance !!

SpoonBlender · 22/05/2019 23:31

We always leave a bowl of water out. One of the three will occasionally sniff it. They get most of their fluid from food, and much prefer drinking from puddles outside if at all.

Don't feed them cow's milk - cats are all lactose intolerant and it can lead to explosions, or upset bellies.

DontCallMeShitley · 22/05/2019 23:40

One of mine would never drink water until I bought him a drinking fountain.

I also stopped feeding him dry food once he had been with us a while, had to wean him off it as he had constipation. Added a little water to his wet food.

My other one learned quickly about the nice fresh water and took to the fountain as well.

Current cat is also happy to use a fountain although was wary at first, I just leave one set up, ensure it is cleaned and filled with filtered water and they investigate and then realise it is good.

Outdoor cats tend to drink from puddles, bird baths etc. problem is when people spike the puddles or leave out bowls with anti freeze and poison them.

DontCallMeShitley · 22/05/2019 23:43

If you give your cat milk, it needs to be cat milk. If that is a problem then use lactose free milk. Dairy is a problem for most cats, gives them the runs, or can cause constipation, a few cats are OK with it but only a few.

Fluffycloudland77 · 23/05/2019 10:26

I mix water into his food.

allergyhelpnewbaby · 23/05/2019 10:27

My vet advised adding extra water to wet food.

Original poster

Suzie1997 · 23/05/2019 20:40

Dose anyone elses Male cat yam once or twice when you go to bed should I be concerned about it he isn't doing it constantly though

OP posts:

DontCallMeShitley · 23/05/2019 20:41

Yam?

Original poster

Suzie1997 · 23/05/2019 20:43

Like meow he done it just there when I moved through to my bed room or sometimes when I lift him

OP posts:

Original poster

Suzie1997 · 23/05/2019 20:52

Just wandering If this is something to be concerned about

OP posts:

SpoonBlender · 24/05/2019 16:43

One of ours is a yowler. She just does it for attention. Best ignored or he'll probably do it more because it works!

bellinisurge · 24/05/2019 16:49

Make sure the water bowl is away from food.
My dear departed cat would actually drink from a rabbit bottle. Rather annoying actually that she went for my last ditch attempt at getting her to drink.
I would call out "bottle" and the little dear would come running. Yes, I had to hold it for her. I decided to get fancier wet food for her instead.

TwinsTrollsandHunz · 24/05/2019 16:54

Mine is also a tap drinker, so I bought him a drinking fountain with a pump. It circulates the water, keeping it fresh. It took him a while to catch on but he does use it now. It’s good for when we go away too and have my mate pop in for feedings, as it means she doesn’t have to fart about with the tap for his lordship. He can just help himself as and when. I got it off Amazon for about £30.

randomsabreuse · 24/05/2019 17:02

Cats don't like the taste of chlorine in their water - filtered or bottled generally better. Or a cat fountain.

bagpiss · 24/05/2019 17:13

I used to think my cat didn't drink water as barely ever any water had gone from his bowl, until one day i caught him drinking the scummiest green dirty rainwater from a large old dish at the bottom of garden. He frequents this 'water hole' regularly

dementedpixie · 24/05/2019 20:23

Mine drink out the manky green pond in the back garden.

Gingerkittykat · 24/05/2019 21:43

I bought a cat fountain, one was scared of it and the other managed to take the filter out and would dismantle it everyday for fun.

The running tap works, I also feed food in gravy instead of jelly and add quite a bit of water which they love. I've bought cat soup before which is really expensive but the cats also loved that.

MiniMum97 · 24/05/2019 22:23

Don't give your cat milk. They can't digest lactose. Not good fir them at all. You can give them lactofree milk or cream or cat milk which is lactose free and usually has added nutrients in too.

MiniMum97 · 24/05/2019 22:25

My car doesn't drink out if a bowl but will drink out of one of my glasses of water that I've left out. Very odd. Cats bowl is ceramic so not it's not to do with the water tasting plasticky. I've now put out a glass for her but obviously she doesn't want that either. Just my water!

tangledyarn · 24/05/2019 22:26

Mine will only drink from a massive mug that's left on the bedroom floor, never used to drink anything but now drink loads since I got them their own huge mug.

Guiltypleasures001 · 24/05/2019 23:47

I thought cats were lactose intolerant?

My cat doesn't drink from a bowl, we accidentally found out she will only drink from a glass
In the front room. Knew a neighbours cat who only drunk from a running tap.

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