I call on the beneficent cat ladies of DU (male or female!) for advice

[jpgray]

Our cat has started to demand running water from the bathroom sink, and ignores his little water bowl. Now, I don't want him up on the sink meowing for the nearest slave to go turn on the faucet, but I also find it a bit irritating to bring him upstairs and refill his water bowl under the weight of his little accusatory cat eyes (which is the only way he'll drink out of the bowl). So what's to do? I hear there are some drinking fountains for cats available, but an easier solution must exist. Anyone have this problem before? What did you do?

[skygazer]

1. Bowed to the inevitable, of course

I traipse into the bathroom and wait on the little bastard. What else?

[crispini]

2. Get him a drinking fountain, they're only like $40

Check it out, this one comes with optional green plants for kitty nibbles! What a great idea!
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1783&Ntt=water%20fountain&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

[pokerfan]

5. You can even find them for under $15

http://www.nextag.com/cat-water-fountain/search-html

[SOteric]

11. Yep.

http://www.mileskimball.com/MilesKimball/Shopping/ProductDetail.aspx?CID=Pets&SCID=Cat+Items&CollectionID=CFOS&SiteNum=0

[Demoiselle]

20. I've got 3 of these Drinkwell fountains...

I've got 6 cats in a fairly big house with 3 different "territories." The fountains are great. You must clean them, change the filters, etc. And if you allow them
to run dry the little motors will burn out. But my cats are quite content with them and I hope have healthier kidneys because of the
fresh, appealing water supply. And, once again we must remember that cats don't have owners, they have staff. We are only here to serve them.

[bettyellen]

24. i grow my kitty some killah hydro with that.....

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

3. I wonder if adding another water bowl in the bathroom would help

The late Simba and his brother Monty loved to drink out of our lotas (watering can Muslims use in the bathroom) and all but ignored their water bowl. We got another water bowl and put it in the bathroom to deflect attention from the lotas. Now Monty (and Morrissey) drink out of that water bowl in addition to their bowl in the kitchen.

I have used the drinking fountains for them before, with varying success. Morrissey got scared of it and refused to use it, and the thrill was gone early on for Monty.

[REP]

4. Pet fountain or bottled/filtered water or glass/ceramic bowl

Your cat may not like the taste of water that has been sitting in his bowl; you can try changing the bowl (I use bowls intended for human use; better chance of the glaze used being nontoxic). If that doesn't work, try different water (CA water tastes like ass) and then give in and get a pet fountain.

[bicentennial_baby]

6. Get the fountain...

Trust me, it's worth it. :)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. fountain dude.

[Raven]

8. Screw the fountain...spend the $ rescuing another cat. The cat will

drink water when it is thirsty enough. Maybe put a bowl in the bathroom but don't buy the fountain. Next thing you know, the cat will want it's own masseuse!

[jobycom]

18. Cats will starve themselves to death

I wouldn't take the chance that they wouldn't do the same with water.

The fountains are not only fun for the cat, but more sanitary, and easier to use. Since the water flows, it gets less stagnant, and takes less to clean.

[TZ]

9. some cats love the sound and sight of water coming from faucets

including mine..I bought them a fountain. They love it. They dip their paws and sometimes bat at the stream of water. They still come running when they hear the faucet though.

[pokerfan]

14. In the wild, running water is generally safer

than some stagnant pool. You will find that your felines will probably be encouraged to drink more water from a fountain leading to improved health.

[jpgray]

15. That's what I'm concerned with--I don't want him to get dehydrated.

[zanne]

10. Just let your faucet drip a little bit.

That's what I do for my cat. It saves alot of aggravation. I mean, come on, you know you'll cave in eventually; why not spare yourself the meows?

[libodem]

12. I think it's a cat thing

probably some evolutionary bent that helped them survive by not drinking scummy, stagnant, stale, pond water. I think wild cats always go for running water. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. You just have a smart but manipulative kitty.

[SOteric]

13. StirFry prefers water from the bathroom faucet as well.

But that actually works for me.

It isn't as though he guzzles the stuff down like a German sailor at an Oktoberfest all-you-can-rink beer hall. I keep a bowl for him in the bathroom. If he wants water, he'll drink from it. I know this, because I fill the bowl every morning and it's down to a small amount every evening when I get home.

On the plus side, my cat and I have worked out a little communication system based on the fact that his various desires are in different places. If he goes into the kitchen, I know he wants food. If he goes into the bedroom I know he wants to be fussed and snuggled. And if he goes into the bathroom I know he wants water. There's no staring at one another trying to read minds.

[jpgray]

16. I'm still at the "I'll reason with him" stage of cat owner denial

Be gentle. :P

[asthmaticeog]

29. Wait...

...you named your cat StirFry?

That's so hideously wrong. I love it!

[jpgray]

17. Thanks for the advice! Looks like fountain may be the way to go

Especially considering we may be adding on another cat. :scared:

[RiffRandell]

19. Had same thing.

Me speak in drunk english that DU can rip apart.

Bottom line, took cups off cough syrup bottles, and fill them up each day from our bathroom sink.

Leave on bathroom counter, cat drinks.

[grace0418]

21. Make sure he's not diabetic. My cat starting doing that and it turned out he

was diabetic and wanting lots of fresh water (even though I changed his water bowl daily). Not saying this is your cat's problem, just something to check. :hi:

[bridgit]

22. Tim drinks out of the shower, and we hear him splashing in the toilet...

but he's never drank out of his water bowl either so...i got bupkis!!

[bridgit]

23. jp, may find these interesting: Why do some cats insist on drinking from a dripping faucet?

Cats - like most other animals - prefer their food and water fresh, and running water is most appealing for that reason. Too, the motion of water coming out of a faucet is probably appealing to their sense of hearing and sight. Some cats will even put their paw into their water dish and "swirl" it around so they can drinking "running" water.

http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/whycat.htm

Cat drinking out of faucet

My cat realized that her freshwater was coming out of a chrome-plated faucet. At this point, my cat decided to cut out the middleman (the bowl) and head directly for the water source.

In my cat's opinion, the fresher the water, the better the taste and smell. My cat also identified other faucets in the house besides the one in the kitchen that could supply her needed water.

At first she would jump up on the sink and wait for me to turn on the water at a slow trickle so that she could drink. Again, my cat studied my behavior and figured out that the large chrome handle would turn on the water. She would grab the cold side handle and turn on the water.

http://www.cat-health-behavior.com/weird-cat-behaviors.html

Who needs a water bowl?

“I’m just doing my part to cut back on dirty dishes.” What a thoughtful guy! Ted the cat prefers to drink his water straight from the faucet. He’ll use a bowl if he has to, but the way he sees it, why dunk your head into a dish when you can lean back and guzzle away with little or no effort?

http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=news&mode=entry&entry=9E9694C5-BDB9-396E-9F9B3434779F3281

and of course the human price, or toll depending

http://www.amazon.com/Drinkwell-DW-001-Pet-Fountain/dp/B00063446M

[huskerlaw]

25. I have a fountain

My cats LOVE it. In fact, they will only drink water from one of three sources: 1) the fountain, 2) a ceramic bowl newly filled with *bottled* water, and 3) a glass I'm currently trying to drink out of.

Part of that is because Los Angeles water tastes like ass...hence the bottled water...but unless it is ULTRA-fresh, the water simply must be moving.

It's far easier to get the fountain than to fight the cat. Even if you can convince him/her to drink out of a bowl, he/she likely won't drink often enough. Plentiful, fresh water is essential to cat health.

[Eurobabe]

26. Save your sanity, get a bidet

of course, for kitty's use only.

[begin_within]

27. Bottled water

just kidding

[applegrove]

28. Someone got me the "running water" drink fountain. And it just terrified my cat.

I would say to just change the water twice a day and see how it goes. Your cat will have to adjust.

[billyskank]

30. I think he'll drink from his bowl if there's nothing else available

You are allowed to set some limits if you want to. And he'll drink when he gets thirsty enough - he won't die of thirst when there's a bowl of water there. Trust me. ;)