Cat doesn't drink water

[Tenten12]

Hi, I have a problem with my cat. He doesn't drink any water, like never. I feed him with wet food so he gots a bit hydrated but I don't think it's enough. What do you think I should do? I've read already a bit about it on the internet but people have different opinions. I am wondering if the cat water fountain is worth buying? I liked particularly this one miaustore.com/uk/ but I'm not sure if it will solve my problem. Do any of you also have it and can help me?

Don’t think I’ve ever seen mine drinking water although it is put out all the time. She has a mixture of wet and dried food. The vet says she is getting enough liquid from the wet food. She wees and poos regularly and although now 15, is very healthy.

I had a fountain like that and one of our three (at the time) cats loved it, the other two avoided it and just drank out of the bowl. It may be worth a try.

You have to look at the output side. If he's peeing in the litter box he's drinking water, just not when you're watching.

Start off with a cheap one then if your cat doesn't like it you've not lost much. You can always get a posh expensive one at a later date if he does take to it.

At which point he will never drink out of a fountain again because he's a cat and all cats are arseholes 😂

My cats have never drunk a drop of water I've presented them with... they prefer to lick the bottom of the shower tray, muddy puddles, stagnant washing up water...

Are you sure he's not drinking anything? Do you leave the toilet seat lid up??

My cat will drink out of a tap, a bath, a glass of water left unattended, a puddle, a toilet..... but not her water bowl. At least not when anyone is looking.

There was a couple on “Shop Well for Less” who had bought a cat water fountain,,but the car had never used it. Because, as we know, all cats are contrary bastards.

You could try running the sink or bath cold tap at a slow dribble, and lift your cat in facing it. Make sure you don’t get his feet wet, which would annoy him! If he’s the sort of cat who will only drink running water, he may well accept it from the tap and start lapping at it. I had one elderly cat who insisted I turn the tap on for him every night at about 3am, and lift him in.
If yours won’t drink from the tap, it may be a waste of money to buy a fountain. You can buy lactose free cat milk, or just give regular wet cat food.

Ours only drinks outside so we leave a bowl out there. Fresh, clean water available indoors all the time of course, but cat could not be less interested!

My cat loves drinking from the bath tap. We bought her a fairly cheap fountain that she was initially scared of but the next day she was loving it.

She still snarfles the bath tap sometimes but mostly sticks with her fountain.

Mine drinks from the manky green pond outside

My cat never drinks water from her dish, but does go nuts if we give her cat milk. I think she likes the taste rather than drinks it because she’s thirsty.

The only time I ever see her drink water is if it’s in a puddle on top of the wheelie bin. Our vet said she is getting enough hydration from her wet food - sometimes we add a bit of water to it and mash it in with a fork if the weather’s warm. If we add too much, she leaves the food. She is an absolute little diva!

I grew up with dogs - DP was the cat person, although I love her so much now we have her - and I am still surprised at just how fussy she is tbh. The idea of a dog turning its nose up at food (in my experience) is preposterous!

We have a bidet - its only use is as a cat drinking fountain.
Stagnant puddles, the river, the sink, dripping taps are all fair game. They never seem to drink from the water bowl though.

Mine drink from a beaker. My parents cat demand the bathroom tap
Be turned in just for him.

I had a cat who loved to sit in the bathroom sink and drink from the tap. We called it "sink drink".

Does your cat go outside? Because it probably drinks from some revolting puddle outdoors.

Or do you leave the loo cover up? Another secret favourite.

A nice fresh water bowl is last choice.

Cats have a low thirst drive, they are designed to get all of their liquid requirements from their food. So a cat on a wet or raw diet get all of the fluid they need from their food.

My cat has probably drunk less than 250ml of water in her whole life 😂 but she's fed wet food and pees all the bloody time! If you feed your cat wet food I wouldn't worry. As a previous poster said, cats are designed to get all of their hydration from their food.

You can add water to their food.

I put fresh water out for my cat but she refuses to drink it. I caught her drinking from a puddle at the bottom of the garden.

Cats don't like to have their food and water near each other - I can't remember the reason why. Something prehistoric to do with risk of rotten meat contaminating water supply. Try putting it in a different room and in a dish shallow/wide enough that it won't bend whiskers as they drink.

I have had one of my cats for a decade, I have seen him drink water about 2-3 times in that time when he's been ill and that's it. He's an indoor cat too, so it's not as if he's drinking from puddles and the like.

Water is always available because my other cat drinks a lot. She eats dry food but my male cat only has wet, the vet said there was enough water in it and his health has been fine.

My cat must be broken. He drinks from his bowl 2-3 times a day.

Our cat used to only drink from a running tap which I thought was fine until I found cat litter in the sink whilst washing my face in the same sink

Now she uses a water fountain very happily. There are loads of cheaper ones on Amazon, I wouldn't bother paying much until you know they'll use it.

Cat 1 is seen drinking several times a day, but only because she's water obsessed and you notice her splashing.
Cat 2 is seen perhaps twice a year stood on her back legs drinking from a water bucket belonging to a particular horse.
Cat 3 has never been seen to drink. Even on one of his longer convalescences when he couldn't go more than a few feet for the first few days his water never appeared to be touched.

Mine will only drink from her water bowl if it is outside and has rainwater in it.

Lots of cats prefer running water, so slow dripping tap or water fountain. Also, don't put the water bowl next to the food bowl. Has to be separate.