Thirsty kitten?
By ShepherdSpy
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
Omagh, Northern Ireland
May 31, 2012 7:18am CST
I have a young cat,and despite leaving out fresh water in a bowl that's changed regularly,he doesn't seem to ever drink much from it...most times when I see him interested,it would be when I'd be at the sink myself,brushing teeth or washing dishes,and he'd want a drink from the tap! He'd take milk too occasionally,but times would leave it to go sour..I feed him both wet and dry kitten foods,but was wondering would wet food give enough water to be sufficient..Anyone got some input on this? I'm considering one of these motorized pet fountains as an option,but when I looked for a bargain one on ebay,the seller mentioned it was on offer as the motor noise deterred the cat from using it! Any ideas?
3 responses
@billutheguy (179)
• India
31 May 12
Try flavoring the food up with different types of flavors . He would like some thing fishy I guess , but seriously keep on experimenting with flavors and different types of food. Take a good look at it if it looks sick then may be that could just be it and there might not be any problem with the food . If he really looks sick then just take him to a vet once this kitten got lost and came into my house accidentally , it wouldn't eat anything seemed very weak and not very active and It didn't have anything that cats would usually break in to have .
The next morning it passed away .
So if it seems like his behavior is abnormal then take him to a vet before trying anything else .
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
31 May 12
Oh,there's nothing wrong with the appetite around here...I was just a mite concerned about how slowly the drinking water was going down,or if I was going to need to leave a tap running all the time!
@billutheguy (179)
• India
31 May 12
oh, I misunderstood , but other than that, all the behavioral patterns are all normal?
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
31 May 12
If "Normal" for a cat is sleeping a lot of the time,mugging my ankles and trying to climb the drapes some of the rest of the time,then yes,all is normal otherwise!
@nonersays (3329)
• United States
31 May 12
We have an indoor/outdoor cat who hardly ever drinks her fresh water in her bowl outside. Her favorite place to drink is from the birdbath outside.
If he is interested in the running water from the sink then a flowing fountain might be the best. You could look at the customer reviews on amazon to find out which one is the most quiet, then see if you can find that brand on ebay or elsewhere.
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
31 May 12
I was checking reviews on Amazon,and then saw one of those same fountains on Ebay at about half the price,but mentioning the noise issue...not much of a bargain if the cat wouldn't drink from it!
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
31 May 12
Fair point..I'm not familiar with these cat fountains up close or in use,but if as you say they'd be only about as noisy as a running tap,then that shouldn't faze him at all..
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
24 Jun 12
At the finish,I decided not to go with the pump activated fountain idea...I had seen a water bowl before that used any standard PET (appropriate,huh?
) recyclable plastic bottle as a water reservoir..this bowl replaced the screwtop on the bottle, now repurposed and refilled with water..turn it over,the water fills the bowl,and air pressure holds the rest of the water inside the bottle until water was drunk from the bowl..a very simple and elegant invention!
Unfortunately,I couldn't find this version of the drink fountain available at this time..
There's a similar concept available,but it doesn't use the recyclable bottle..instead,it comes with a container with a clip on sealable lid..you fix the clip,there's a hole at the other end that fits into the bowl,and you fill the water in there..other than no screw top fitting,after that,it works like the other one..the cat seemed to approve-I'd hardly set it up and filled it before his head was in the bowl!
) recyclable plastic bottle as a water reservoir..this bowl replaced the screwtop on the bottle, now repurposed and refilled with water..turn it over,the water fills the bowl,and air pressure holds the rest of the water inside the bottle until water was drunk from the bowl..a very simple and elegant invention!
Unfortunately,I couldn't find this version of the drink fountain available at this time..
There's a similar concept available,but it doesn't use the recyclable bottle..instead,it comes with a container with a clip on sealable lid..you fix the clip,there's a hole at the other end that fits into the bowl,and you fill the water in there..other than no screw top fitting,after that,it works like the other one..the cat seemed to approve-I'd hardly set it up and filled it before his head was in the bowl! @luckyblue (16)
• United States
6 Jun 12
I would not recommend getting one of the cat fountains. They are more trouble than they are worth. Make sure you are changing the water in the cat bowl frequently(about twice a day). Odds are that your cat is drinking but you just aren't seeing him do it most of the time. One of my cats only eats and drinks at night because he knows he won't be watched by me or the other cats. Your situation may be similar.
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
6 Jun 12
I like your thinking! Looking at those fountain machines,it's not just the cost of buying the thing,they've also then got you for the aftersales and parts thing too with filters,and even replacement pump motors on offer beside the ebay listings..can they be that unreliable that you need to replace the mechanism periodically? It just seemed to me that my cat likes to have the company around at mealtimes..I saw a drinking bowl before that had a screw fitting for any regular screwtop soda bottle that could be used as a water reservoir..the water level in the bowl kept the water in the bottle,and as the cat drank,the water was replenished....simple,and smart..I'm looking out to see if I can get one somewhere now..
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
23 Jun 12
I had no luck in finding one of the "bottletop" waterbowl attachments,but I did find a similar idea on Amazon with a reservoir that'd hold around a litre of water and keep the attached bowl filled up..it arrived in the post today,so hopefully it's going to be a useful addition..!
