Cat not drinking water

On Oct 26, 4:40 pm, RPSinha wrote:
I haven't seen my cat drink any water. I do feed her 100% canned and
she spends several hrs outdoors, so could be drinking when I am not
there to notice it.

Is this something to worry about or should I just leave water around
and let her nature take its course?

Should I try to insist that she drink some water before serving food
(about the only leverage I have)?

I didn't see this mentioned, so I thought I would mention it. One
thing you could do is add a little water to her canned food and mix it
in. That will give her a little more water intake. You could also turn
on a water faucet really slow and see if she will drink from it and do
that a couple times a day. Perhaps put a little toy in the sink also
to encourage her, Max loves to drink that way and then play with a toy
mouse in the sink.
Your vet could always run a test to check for hydration. You can also
do it at home one of two ways.

1. I check hydration on my crf kitty every day this way:
Feel her gums (hopefully you will be able to) If they feel slick, she
is well hydrated. If they feel sticky or tacky, she is not and this is
a problem. A vet visit would then be in order.
OR
2. Gently pull the fur at the nape of her neck. If it bounces right
back, she is hydrated. If it stands up or goes down slowly, you have a
problem and she is not getting enough water. I have been told about
this method, but it doesn't work for me, but it might for you, I use
the first method.
HTH

In article , Me wrote:

"RPSinha" wrote in message
...
I haven't seen my cat drink any water. I do feed her 100% canned and
she spends several hrs outdoors, so could be drinking when I am not
there to notice it.

Is this something to worry about or should I just leave water around
and let her nature take its course?

Should I try to insist that she drink some water before serving food
(about the only leverage I have)?

Go to petsmart.com & buy a "water fountain" water dish. It causes the water
to flow through the dish. Cats love running water. Ours will drink only
from it; they will not drink standing water.

Keep in mind that there's no reasonable way to get the water _out_, so
you'll have to carry the full contraption to the sink to clean it.
And change the charcoal filter every once in a while, otherwise it gets
fouled. With those caveats, my cat loved it, and it was nearly silent.
Hard to tell it's running except for the presence of water on the ramp.

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On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:40:11 GMT, RPSinha wrote:

I haven't seen my cat drink any water. I do feed her 100% canned and
she spends several hrs outdoors, so could be drinking when I am not
there to notice it.

Is this something to worry about or should I just leave water around
and let her nature take its course?

Should I try to insist that she drink some water before serving food
(about the only leverage I have)?

You should have a bowl of fresh water available
The best bowl is ceramic and wide so whiskers don't touch side.
That said cats don't drink much water
Petzl
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Petzl wrote:

: You should have a bowl of fresh water available
: The best bowl is ceramic and wide so whiskers don't touch side.

The water bowl is stainless steel and 6" in diameter. Her food plates
are china, also 6" indiameter, with very gentle "lip" at the edge.

The plates and the bowl aren't from a "pet store". They were just our
old stock sitting around that we weren't using.

I always have water available, change it about twice daily, usually at
the feeding time. The funny thing is, every time I set down the water
bowl, she keeps running with great excitement thinking it is food, even
sniffs the water, and then goes back to waiting for the food. Now, the
water bowl looks very different from food plates and I thought she
would learn to tell the difference but she takes no chances.

Update since the original post:

I have seen her sip the water a couple times. A little relief, to be
sure.

It was during the days when we had to give her some dry food because of
schedule. So, she does have pretty good sense of how hydrated she is
and if she drinks no water (or just less water and I don't get to see
it) that must be because her usual diet is almost 100% canned and she
must not feel the need. My confidence in this this cat is growing!

As I mention in another post, I change the water at feeding times and
one thing I find most amusing is, every time I set down the water bowl,
she comes running with great excitement thinking it is food, sniffs the
water, and then goes back to waiting for the food.

Now, the water bowl is stainless steel and looks very different from
the white china food plates and I thought she would learn to tell the
difference but she wants to take no chances.

RPSinha wrote:

: I haven't seen my cat drink any water. I do feed her 100% canned and
: she spends several hrs outdoors, so could be drinking when I am not
: there to notice it.
:
: Is this something to worry about or should I just leave water around
: and let her nature take its course?
:
: Should I try to insist that she drink some water before serving food
: (about the only leverage I have)?

On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:37:32 GMT, RPSinha wrote:

Petzl wrote:

: You should have a bowl of fresh water available
: The best bowl is ceramic and wide so whiskers don't touch side.

The water bowl is stainless steel and 6" in diameter. Her food plates
are china, also 6" indiameter, with very gentle "lip" at the edge.

The plates and the bowl aren't from a "pet store". They were just our
old stock sitting around that we weren't using.

I always have water available, change it about twice daily, usually at
the feeding time. The funny thing is, every time I set down the water
bowl, she keeps running with great excitement thinking it is food, even
sniffs the water, and then goes back to waiting for the food. Now, the
water bowl looks very different from food plates and I thought she
would learn to tell the difference but she takes no chances.

Stainless Steel is also a excellent choice. Nothing wrong with a
saucer from cupboard

Cats also have a high sensitivity to taste (often not liking plastic)
a drop or two of fish water in it may also tempt a cat to drink. You
may wish to try mineral water in a saucer

That said my 2 old alley cats (inside outside) love a coke cola bottle
screwed into plastic bowl filled weekly with tap water, at end of week
it is ½ empty (2 litre) The water I give with their food is rarely
touched

All pets except for horses do not sweat cats, I believe, evolved from
desert areas. Point is cats do not drink much
Petzl
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Petzl wrote:

: On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:37:32 GMT, RPSinha wrote:
:
: Petzl wrote:

: Cats also have a high sensitivity to taste (often not liking plastic)
: a drop or two of fish water in it may also tempt a cat to drink. You
: may wish to try mineral water in a saucer

Where do you get "fish water"? Of course I could save the water from
tuna cans and in a small bottle and try that.

But as I said in another post, I am less anxious now that I have seen
her take a few sips a couple times. It was when we had to leave dry
food for her. So she has pretty good idea of when she needs water and
may be I should just leave her alone.

On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:26:15 GMT, RPSinha wrote:

Petzl wrote:

: On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:37:32 GMT, RPSinha wrote:
:
: Petzl wrote:

: Cats also have a high sensitivity to taste (often not liking plastic)
: a drop or two of fish water in it may also tempt a cat to drink. You
: may wish to try mineral water in a saucer

Where do you get "fish water"? Of course I could save the water from
tuna cans and in a small bottle and try that.

Tuna or Sardine cans even a chunk of cat food in cats water I doubt if
it matters

Petzl
--
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or http://tinyurl.com/7a7wt
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On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:47:25 GMT, RPSinha wrote:

Update since the original post:

I have seen her sip the water a couple times. A little relief, to be
sure.

It was during the days when we had to give her some dry food because of
schedule. So, she does have pretty good sense of how hydrated she is
and if she drinks no water (or just less water and I don't get to see
it) that must be because her usual diet is almost 100% canned and she
must not feel the need. My confidence in this this cat is growing!

As I mention in another post, I change the water at feeding times and
one thing I find most amusing is, every time I set down the water bowl,
she comes running with great excitement thinking it is food, sniffs the
water, and then goes back to waiting for the food.

Now, the water bowl is stainless steel and looks very different from
the white china food plates and I thought she would learn to tell the
difference but she wants to take no chances.

RPSinha wrote:

: I haven't seen my cat drink any water. I do feed her 100% canned and
: she spends several hrs outdoors, so could be drinking when I am not
: there to notice it.
:
: Is this something to worry about or should I just leave water around
: and let her nature take its course?
:
: Should I try to insist that she drink some water before serving food
: (about the only leverage I have)?


They really don't drink very much. In fact, if one starts drinking a
lot, think diabetes. Be happy your kitty isn't drinking too much.

I have one of the fountains (petmate) and Espy is the only one that
drinks with any regularity, and I see him do it once or twice a week.
Nipsy ignores it completely. Marlo likes looking at it but doesn't
care to drink from it.

"JJ206" wrote in message
...
Petzl wrote:
On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:40:11 GMT, RPSinha wrote:

I haven't seen my cat drink any water. I do feed her 100% canned and
she spends several hrs outdoors, so could be drinking when I am not
there to notice it.
Is this something to worry about or should I just leave water around
and let her nature take its course?
Should I try to insist that she drink some water before serving food
(about the only leverage I have)?

You should have a bowl of fresh water available The best bowl is ceramic
and wide so whiskers don't touch side.
That said cats don't drink much water
Petzl

What's bad about metal bowls ?

Jon

Cats love to drink from dirty water pools. Mine like to drink from our
birdbath, even if the water hasn't been changed in weeks......Rain water
pools are their favorite. I leave them fresh water inside the house, but
they still love the dirty stuff. - Maybe they are turned off by the faint
taste of chlorine....I don't know what it is.......