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Cat has a drinking problem

Debbie Downer
9 years ago

No he's not a boozer!

He always was funny about drinking out of a dish ... seems like he didnt like sticking his head down to the water. Liked to drink out of a faucet and have me turn it on for him. When he drank out of a dish hed sneeze a lot and seemed to have trouble drinking.

Lately hes been sticking his paws in the water dish and splashing it all over the place - making a huge mess. And then the water gets all mucky with dirt and kitty litter from his paws. I doubt if he gets much water to drink because he scoops the water out with his paw and then licks the water from his paw.

I got him a little fountain - actually it has a bubbler, small stream and waterbowl. At first he wouldnt go near it, so I took away his water dish and now hes sticking his paws in it and splashing it all over the floor and still just licking his paws for water.

Arggghhh. There is another type with a spout (more like a faucet) but it had a louder motor which I do not like - any suggestions for what to try next? thx!

Comments (10)

  • zzackey
    9 years ago

    Let the faucet drip slowly in the bathtub. I had one cat that loved to stick it's paw in there and lick the water off of it.

  • christine1950
    9 years ago

    Both my cats will drink from the bathroom sink faucet, my new little one loves the sink, and will wait till I turn it on.....

    This post was edited by christine1950 on Wed, Jan 7, 15 at 17:03

  • carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
    9 years ago

    Have you tried differently shaped dishes? What about something wider, so his whiskers don't touch the sides when drinking?

  • murraysmom Zone 6a OH
    9 years ago

    Are you sure he is a cat?

    {{gwi:2136084}}

  • aurorawa
    9 years ago

    One of my cats would rather cram her head (she is a cobby-built tabby, so she is round in all places, face included) down into a glass and drink from it, another prefers the shallow and wide kitty water dish. And yet another one will drink out of the toilet like a dog if one of the kids leaves the seat up. The one that drinks out of the toilet also plays in water and will even drag her toys to the dish, drop them in, and then fetch them out. At one point or another, all of them have dipped their paws into the water dish or pawed at running water. I change their water daily, just to avoid any litter surprises.

  • pjanedapain
    9 years ago

    Firstly Murraysmom that pic is hilarious and adorable did you take this pic for real or what? Is the coon trained or something?
    In regards to the cat not drinking issue: when my cat gets sick and goes off water I feed him water via an oral syringe and just gently hold him and put the syringe into his mouth and gently squirt water down his gullet a few times and do this a few times through out the day to keep him hydrated, but otherwise when he is fine he drinks all the time even peoples bath and shower water and even cups LOL weird.

  • josephene_gw
    9 years ago

    ðÂÂÂâºï¸ÂðÂÂÂðÂÂÂ
    Sorry, you said your cat has a drinking problem.

  • emma
    9 years ago

    Have you asked a vet if something is wrong with his throat or mouth?

  • Debbie Downer
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    No, but that's a good idea (asking vet) - he sometimes seems hoarse or congested. I got him a fountain with a stream and he was still sticking his paws in the water and making a mess, so I returned it. Now I have one where the water drops straight down like out of the tap and he has been drinking quite nicely from that. He also spends a lot of time just watching the water fall. I think he likes it!

  • quasifish
    9 years ago

    I had an orange tabby who LOVED to drink from the faucet. He would take kitty toys into the empty bathtub, bang them around, meow, and do somersaults until I came in and turned the faucet to a drip for him. I'd turn the faucet on several times a day and let it run 5-10 minutes for him.

    DH's family also had a cat who loved to play with water- also an orange tabby, hmmm. They had one of those bowls that you used a 2 liter soda bottle with as a refill mechanism. That kitty would swat water out, watch the bubble go up the bottle, and repeat.

    Not coincidentally, my guy's bio sister had kidney disease, but his kidneys were in fine shape when cancer took him :( All that water drinking may have served him well. Sometimes water consumption is a bad sign, sometimes it's just their quirk.