I'm sure the cat is well aware of the water in the bowls. I think it's far more likely that the cat is smelling something in the water that he finds repellent. Try buying some bottled, filtered water and see if he'll drink that. Also, don't use anything but water and a sponge to clean his water bowls. It's possible that detergent residue on the bowls is turning him off.

Some cats will drink only very fresh water and, in fact, insist on drinking water directly from a dripping faucet or fountain. You can buy pet fountains at pet supply stores.

Laurie

The cat will drink when it is thirsty. You say he is a two year old rescue but don't say what his life was like before you rescued him.

Maybe he only had pond water or puddle water to drink and clean water is strange to him. Don't worry, he will drink when he is thirsty.

Are you feeding her mostly Canned food? Here is a possibility...I had a similar experience with my cat when I brought her home from the shelter (8 yrs old...she had to be someones pet because she was declawed). Because of her excessive shedding and bowel problems, my vet told me to immediately take her off dry food and put her on high quality canned food. I noticed that she never drank from her water bowl. I subsequently read that cats who are sufficently hydrated from their diets might not seek out additional water, because it is natural for a well fed cat to get all the water they need from their prey (mice are 75% water). I started to give her an extra ounce of distilled water mixed in with her canned food just in case. She slurps it all right up. Odie is the first cat I've ever had who eats a diet of 90% canned food.

I've also read that cats have limited depth perception, so it was suggested that a ceramic bowl with a pattern on the bottom might help. However, I've tried all kinds of bowls, but Odie never goes near them...she just seems to prefer her soupy meals.

My cat will only drink from the bathroom faucet or a bowl that I keep filled in the sink.If the water is dripping she will push the full bowl of water to the side until she can get to the drip.Maybe your cat is the same way?

My cat also will only drink from the slightly running faucet. If he is REALLY desperate (and after much caterwalling for us to turn on a faucet) he will drink a tiny bit from a bowl-maybe. He also likes to drink the water from the shower floor (when the water is running before we get in). Yes, he's a PITA.

My cat refuses the drink out of his bowl. He prefers to drink out of the sink, my glass of water, even the dog's bowl. Who knows why. Your kitty will drink when he gets thirsty enough.

Maybe its the metal bowl.. My husband has really sensitive teeth and we had some metal cups and they gave him a bit of a zing, something to do with dis-similair metals of cup and metal fillings I think. But maybe your cat is sensitive because of teeth problems, try a glass bowl.

The sink, the bathtub, my glass are what my cats like to drink out of.

One of my cats refuses to drink from the "cat bowl" in his area, even if we just put fresh water in it. He will only drink from the dog's bowl, or from a spill of something on the kitchen counter. Eeeww.

Well I for one am glad to see that my cat isn't wierd. He's the first cat I've had with a water fetish, but it's nice to see it's pretty typical behavior.

Thanks for all your responses! It looks like the issue has resolved itself, as my cat is now drinking normally out of the stainless steel bowl. I think maybe because everything was new to him, including the bowl, that he was hesitant.

Just to address some of the posts here, there was no detergent used in the bowls, and since he came from this area, I don't think the tap water was strange to him. Also, he's only eating dry food, so he is thirsty. Actually I am trying to get him to eat canned as well, but he keeps refusing it, despite my mixing a tiny bit with his dry food, or putting a tiny bit on my finger and letting him smell it, or warming it, or any of the tricks that are supposed to get a cat to eat canned food. I'll keep trying, since I think a cat should have both canned and dry food in his diet.

And yes, he LOVES drinking straight from the tap! I turned on the faucet in the bathroom sink, and he immediately jumped up and started drinking from it without hesitation. Makes me wonder where he lived before, since he clearly was familiar with drinking straight from the tap. I'll never know though. Don't you wish they could talk and tell us where they've been?

I also have a "faucet only drinker". In fact, I don't even keep a water bowl out. I have NEVER seen him use it. He gets fresh flowing water every morning when I am getting ready and also enjoys a drink from the shower floor. He also eats canned twice a day so I am sure he is hydrated.

I've heard that some cats can't tell where the surface of the water is, so they'll float something in the water (like a plastic ring) so they can tell. My cats often put a catnip mouse in their water bowl, but they often put toys in their food bowl as well. Cat security bankies, perhaps? Mine drink out of the bowl, but they also love to drink from the tap, and sometimes if I have a dish or pot soaking in the sink they'll jump up and drink out of it. Eww.

"Makes me wonder where he lived before, since he clearly was familiar with drinking straight from the tap. I'll never know though. Don't you wish they could talk and tell us where they've been?"

That is so true. Odie is the first adult cat I've taken in without knowing her previous situation. If I could be granted one supernatural wish, it would be to know her history. It must be a heartbreaking one since she is such a sweetheart but came to the ASPCA via the City "shelter"...in other words, she was granted a narrow escape from euthanesia.

One of my cats likes to drink from a bowl - the toilet bowl. I guess she has a little dog in her, lol. Another loves to drink from a dripping faucet. And yes, a couple of them insist on drinking from my water glass, so I either have to keep a close eye on it, or only fill it part way. They all prefer fresh water, which I can't say I blame them. That reminds me, I need to go refill their water bowls.

Sally

I had a dog who wouldn't eat from a steel bowl either. I watched him enough to figure out, I think he was seeing his reflection in the shiny surface...perhaps thinking there was another dog around?
I didn't want to use plastic either, so I switched to ceramic.