How to get Bass to drink

[Bee]

plus one for the fountain.. might be worth a go if you can possibly squeeze it anywhere. The one we have is very quiet and we have it in a different room to their food (lounge) they love it. It's a steel one as I think they are better for keeping clean.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Two very handsome male models posing with the water fountain there, they wouldn't look out of place in the Argos catalogue! 

[jezebel]

Thanks lornab but I really don't have anywhere to put one! Our kitchen is tiny and the hallway is really narrow.

I'm pretty sure it'd be a waste of money anyway, Bass doesn't even like toys!

[lornab]

I bought a water fountain recently, I think you are supposed to leave it unplugged with water in it for a few days so the cats get used to drinking from it before it starts making a noise.
If an electric socket is the problem you could always buy a cheap extension lead so that you can plug it in where you want it.
Of course I was way too impatient to do that so I plugged mine in straight away, the lads were a bit wary at first but i solved that by balancing Dreamies on top of it so they had to go right up to it.
I think it does help though, if you are not so sure and want to try one here is a link to a really cheap one I bought off Amazon - they are great for returns too so if it dosn't suit, you can just send it back.
If it seems noisy when you plug it in it will be because the reservoir is not full enough, just top it up until the noise stops, this is quite handy really as it reminds you to do it!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-Pet-Raindrop-Drinking-Fountain/dp/B003YI2HPQ/ref=sr_1_11?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1341477091&sr=1-11

[Mymblesdaughter]

I've just put mine in the hall. Both of my cats are scared of everything but they have gotten used to the water fountain. They do act strangely around it though. They don't like you to see them drinking from it , strange as they aren't scared when I find them drinking from the toilet!

[jezebel]

I thought about water fountains a few weeks ago, but there's nowhere to put one where I can plug it in.

Knowing Bass, she'd be scared of it anyway!

[emmmy_lou]

Jezebel if you are going to try a water fountain zooplus have some on sale at the minute

 m.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_bowls_feeders/cat_fountains/67700?previousProductGroupId=10818

I might invest in the platinum one cos my two like to drink from the bath tap and it seems similar

 http://m.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_bowls_feeders/cat_fountains/146826?previousProductGroupId=10818

(hope the links work cos I am on my phone)

We used to have a pet mate one which packed up after about 6 months. we did see them drinking more from it. I probably wouldn't bother with the filters to be honest, but change the water daily and just make sure its clean!

Of course you never can predict what your cat will or won't like... 

[Tiggy's Mum]

I'm sure that was the type I had and I only ever washed it, didn't ever replace it, although I didn't use it for that long as it was as popular as a trouser press 

[Mymblesdaughter]

It said on the instructions to wash weekly and change when dirty or every month. It doesn't seem dirty at all. It looks a bit like a big scourer but with a looser weave, as far as I can see it's just stopping dirt and particles from coming up to the top. I used to have a water filter on my tap and it looked like a big piece of chalk or ceramic and that actually took out certain pollutants that contaminated the water. As far as I can see the cat ones aren't like that so think as long as I wash it it should last for ages.

I don't trust the manufacturers as they want you to keep buying the filters every month as it's a good little earner for them.     

[Tiggy's Mum]

Out of interest how often do people change the filter in their water fountains? I've had mine about a month so should really change it but it looks totally clean.

Are they the type you have to change or do they just need rinsing? I'm sure when I had a cat fountain (aaaages ago for my old cat) they didn't get changed but just rinsed through when you clean it out.

[Mymblesdaughter]

Out of interest how often do people change the filter in their water fountains? I've had mine about a month so should really change it but it looks totally clean. 

[Liz]

We have 7 water fountains = all different kinds, 14 water bowls of varying types, plastic, metal, small, large, shallow and tall and we also have 2 glasses bluetacked down that a couple of the domestics like and then there is drippy tap

Ours also have bird baths outside and 3 washing up bowls that the dogs like to have

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I use a deep and wide cereal dish that they can get their whiskers in and Sasa . Lupin and Ducha all use them as did my late cat Kocka.

Misa wont and he sticks a paw in a small watering can LOL

I also add water to Duchas food every time, he doesnt have biscuits cos they make him sick.

[jezebel]

Thanks all.

Bass does go out but only when we're around to let her into the garden as there's no cat door, and I've never seen her drink from anything there.

The water bowl is in the kitchen but away from their food bowls. I could try putting another one down but her favourite room is the bedroom, and there's nowhere for it to go (and I'd probably stand in it when I got up in the middle of the night!).

I'll try adding a bit of water to their food, although at the moment they're not even interested in Felix with gravy. I remember we did try them with cat milk when they first arrived but neither was interested - I might give it another go, Bass could use some extra weight.

[Rosella moggy]

What Carol and Susanne sed 

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

This is something I went through with Korky when he was in the early stages of CRF.

Does Bass go out?  You may find she prefers to drink outside, in fact she may already be drinking from dirty puddles ( a favourite with a lot of cats).

I tried a water fountain to no avail (even got on my knees to lick it myself to show him what to do  ).  I then found out that cats are very sensitive to both the position of their water bowl (many don't like it next to their food bowl just to make life difficult for you) and also the type of bowl.   Some cats prefer short fat bowls, others tall slim bowls or even glasses, some patterened bowls, others plain bowls etc etc.  Its a matter of trial and error I'm afraid.  I had bowls everywhere (including outdoors) and eventually I found a pyrex bowl in a different room from the food bowl was Korky's favourite.  But be warned - some cats just don't like to drink and if Bass is one of them and you think she is a bit dehydrated you might have to stick to wet food (another thing I did with Korky).

beaten to it again I see- I'm such a slow typist. 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

You could try putting water in different shaped containers and putting them in different rooms - sometimes cats prefer certain ones over others (mine always seem to prefer my bedside glass of water to their water bowl!).  Some people use water fountains and find their cats like them.  Are you adding extra water to the wet food?  That's a good way to get some additional water into them as they tend to drink it up with their food.

[Tiggy's Mum]

I used to add a good slosh of water to their wet food at every meal, only stopped as I got out of the habit of doing it not because they were bothered by it. Alternatively there's cat milk but it's considered a food rather than a drink so if she's on the porky side you'll need to watch her weight 

[jezebel]

I was wondering if there's any way of tempting Bass to drink a little water - in all the time we've had her, I've never seen her drink once. (By contrast, her sister drinks fairly often.)

Although she seems fine, I've noticed she has a lot of loose skin and seems a bit dehydrated (she occasionally has problems with very dry poos), and I'm sure she could do with some more fluids. It could be an age thing, of course (she's 11).

She has a wet diet but there's always a bowl of biscuits available, and she's rather partial to them but they don't seem to make her thirsty.