My cat has a drinking problem. ;)

dani_elle

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My cat Brutus has loved water since he was 4 weeks.

He always ran TOWARDS the spray bottle, instead of away from it, so that he could drink the stream out of the air.
It's actually really cute, but we stopped doing it because we thought he was peeing on things (it has now stopped, after we moved into a new place, and got him checked out by the vet).

Recently, in our new apartment, he's able to sit on the bathroom sink.. so whenever we turn on the tap, he's there, meowing his face off to get a drink. We would let him pretty much every time. But he doesn't seem to know when to stop.. and more often than not, he won't unless we turn the thing off!


In any case, we found a few puddles just outside our bedroom (thank god, not on any carpeting). But it didn't smell like cat pee at all, nor was it yellowish. It just looked and smelled like water. There's no way it could have leaked from anywhere as far as we can tell. So we've only been allowing him to drink out of his water dish (which is rinsed and refilled twice a day). And it seems to have stopped..

Do you think Brutus had a few accidents because he was drinking so much water?

My mom suggested getting a drinking fountain for him, but I worry there's no way to regulate his drinking if we do that. Or maybe if we did, the novelty of it would lessen, and he would go back to drinking normally?

It's not a big problem or anything, I just thought it's weird for a cat to drink so much, and take bird-baths in my sink.
 

goldenkitty45

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Sometimes when a cat drinks a lot of water all the time its a sign of diabetes. Has he been checked for this?
 
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dani_elle

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Hmm.. he was recently fixed, so he's been to a vet. But I'm not sure if he was checked for it. o_o Are there any other signs to look for in a cat that might have diabetes?
 

goldenkitty45

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I'm sure there are, increase water intake is the major one. I'd have to look it up on the net or someone in here might have the answer. And unless you mentioned it to the vet at the time of neutering, they wouldn't check as a routine thing.
 

trouts mom

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Is it possible, that he gets soaking wets legs and tummy from always being in water and then sits somewhere and makes it all wet?

Trout leaves wet spots on my bed sometimes after she has been playing in the tub...
 

larke

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The other major sign is not only drinking (& eating) a lot, but also peeing a lot... which could explain the puddles you found. Get him checked ASAP.
 
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dani_elle

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Well, he hasn't been eating any more than usual as far as I can tell. But I'll see if I can get him checked out, or at least ask the vet (since he's a friend of my mother). o_o

Hopefully he's just weird, and not diabetic!
 

taz982

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I know there's a disease in humans that makes a person constantly thirsty, and they won't stop until they kill themselves (they will flush all of their electrolytes). I wonder if cats can have something similar.

Nick
 

callista

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Well, if he's got diabetes, don't worry too much--it's treatable.
 
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dani_elle

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Scary, Taz!

Callista: Yes, I did some reading up on it. The thing is, his water dish always has water in it, but he only really drinks there if I JUST replaced the water. So I'm wondering if he's just picky.


Still, it would be good to get him checked just in case.
 

piccadilly

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My Bingley does this (although he will stop once he has had his fill and I have never found any puddles). Bingley found me and I have the feeling that for a while, leaking outdoor faucets were his only source of water and so he is most comfortable with running water. We have a system where he is allowed access to the bathroom sink with running water first thing in the morning and last thing at night (usually when I'm doing my daily routines). The rest of the time I put his water dish in the sink and let him see me freshen up the water. I was never sure if he was touching it, but I've recently brought in a new kitten (Pippin) who drinks from the water dish (when he isn't playing in it
) and I would swear that Bingley has learned how to drink from the dish by watching Pippin as he does it much more now.
 

kunalen

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Hi,
My Nacho only drinks water out of a mug.We got him a lovely mug with a tiger figure around it.I don't know why he dosen't drink out of any other container.
 

iluvdevons

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You should contact your vet about potential medical issues for inappropriate urinating - but I have another thought about Brutus's drinking behavior; You say he loves water from the faucet and likes to drink water when you have recently changed it. Many cats enjoy fresh, running water. We bought our kitty a Drinkwell pet fountain. It constantly recycles water, and has a filter (which should be changed monthly) to remove any strange smells and/or tastes. You simply fill it with water, plug it into a wall socket and top it up as needed. Once a week, unplug the fountain, drain the water and clean it with warm, soapy water (and brushes that are made to clean the fountain). Once rinsed and dried, you fill it with water and voila! Brutus will still be interested in the faucet, but he won't be desperate for running water. A friend told me that her cat drank from the toilet bowl (yuck) but stopped this behaviour once she purchased this type of water bowl. Hope this helps!
 
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