Q. on drinking habit or lack of it

[lisa77]

I see Leo drinking from his bowl quite often.. (when he isnt skidding accross the floor knocking it everywhere !!!

My cat marley who lives with mum & is an indoor / outdoor cat wont ever use his water bowl.. we find he would rather drink from puddles !

Some have said its as our tap water has chemicals in it galore..

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Wet food has 83% water (just looked on a can)

My cats that only eat dry tend me drink alot of water but the cats that eat wet food dont !

[alisonandarchie]

The last thing Archie wants to drink from is a fresh bowl of water. He first pref. is the shower and unfortunatly the toilet sometimes. He also likes the small pond in a bowl  we have, rainwater and a glass of water.

[CurlyCatz]

I think its always a good idea to keep trying to encourage the water drinking though with trying different dishes, dripping tap, water fountain etc but as some have found you can lead the horse to the water but..........

On another note a long while ago when tan mentioned her beloved lad drank from a glass i must confess to thinking she was slightly barmy (in a nice way of course    ) WELL .... Cody now has my son connors little personalised glass for his water every night     and theres always a good inch drank by morning      Not that the codster had a water problem and drank well but he stopped drinking from his own bowl (he'd drink from the dogs) but i was worried if in the night he was lapping the dogs might take acception to something they couldnt see well in the dark being at their bowls. (its all fine through the day)


(Connor now does not use the glass btw    )

[hOrZa]

Mine get wet and dry and have seen all of them drinking water from one of the two bowls I have around the flat.

hth

[dolcetta46]

When I saw the title I thought it was about our drinking habits 
not the cats 

    Blimey, one should be really careful about how to word certain things on the internet eh... (who was that said "their size and sex shouldn't have anything to do with each other" on the argument of purring?? )

Well good to know that Oliver is not so abnormal... all the materials I read is written as if cats should drink just as dogs do, very confoosing!!   Thanks again everyone!

[Tiggy's Mum]

Lucas never drinks water either, he used to have kitten milk every day but as someone pointed out it's rather like letting your kids drink pop everyday which I wouldn't allow them to do (if I had any!). 

Have started to give them kitten milk just as a treat now and I also water it down.  I was hoping  I'd see him drink more water as a result of milk rationing but I haven't so I've started adding extra water to their wet food aswell.  Riley always drinks plenty of water but I still add water to both of their meals as they often switch bowls!

[Ralph's mum (angie)]

When I saw the title I thought it was about our drinking habits 
not the cats 

[Stuart]

I used to put a bowl of fresh water down for Hamish and Misty when they were young, But they would never Drink from it??
and for years they would just eat the wet food and optional biscuit's, I think they were about 6-7yrs
when I noticed Hamish drinking water from the bathroom tap, and from then on I alway's let the tap trickle so they could
please them selves if they were thirsty, I dont let the tap run now though, and I have bought Misty a Drinkwell so I can try and keep an eye
on how much he drink's
and like Gillian say's most fluid is gained from wet cat food 
Trivia: ALL bird's of Prey Do NOT drink water..... eagles, sparrow hawk's, Owl's etc,etc They get all their water intake from the meat they eat 

[dolcetta46]

Thanks Gillian, it is reassuring to get an advice from an experienced meowmy of a whole school of gorgeous Purrsians!!

[Gillian Harvey]

I have been slightly concerned becasue I very rarely see Oliver drinking his water.   I read somewhere that cats drink very little because they feel very little thirst drive, and they take major intake of fluid through wet food.  He does get fed plenty of wet food,

Does anyone encounter this problem, if this is indeed a problem?  What kind of adjustment can be done if it is a problem?

Don't think it is a problem, as your'e feeding wet, thats right - thats where they get most of their water from. Mine are all fed wet (raw, pouch, canned) and I rarely see them drink, unlike when they were eating dry, they were always at the water bowl.

[dolcetta46]

I have been slightly concerned becasue I very rarely see Oliver drinking his water.  It is changed daily fresh in a clean bowl, but I find it always still full.  I read somewhere that cats drink very little because they feel very little thirst drive, and they take major intake of fluid through wet food.  He does get fed plenty of wet food, and he does like milk but I know he shouldn't drink it regularly like to replace the water intake (and I don't do that, he just get a little milk for an occasional treat).
Does anyone encounter this problem, if this is indeed a problem?  What kind of adjustment can be done if it is a problem?
He does like to go exploring the loo though, I just hope he is NOT prefering the water there!!!!