Tap water

racn1320

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Is city tap water ok to fill a bowl with and have a cat drink that? Or does the chlorine or whatever chemicals affect her???
 

icklemiss21

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Mine prefer tap water, I fill their fountains from our big water cooler bottled water but they still jump into the tub and drink from the taps, it would probably depend on the quality of your water. I know some places are having problems now from old lead pipes.
 

tarasgirl06

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A lot of the additives in tap water, such as chlorine, will evaporate after water is poured and exposed to air and light. My Nine prefer tap water, too; I've tried bottled and purified water, but their little noses turn up and they seek water from my flower vases when I do that, so they've won the battle. I do add a dental health liquid additive each day to their water, btw.
 

emmylou

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Sure, tap water is fine. If your area's water is fluoridated, that's an added bonus for the cat's teeth.
 

sham

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Nearly everywhere (at least all of the US) uses chloramine now. That's chlorine combined with ammonia. It does not evaporate and leaving water sit does nothing except settle out some possible trapped gases.

I would say if you would drink your water, not whether you prefer it over bottled but if you didn't have bottled would you drink it without worrying too much about your health, then I would give it to the cats. If your water is so bad you wouldn't consider it safe for you to drink longterm then give them bottled. Our city water smells like a swimming pool and makes me sick if I drink it or even if I cooked with it so in the apartment I was using bottled and RO. Now back on wellwater it isn't great stuff and high in sulfates but it doesn't make me sick. I could drink it if I have to and I frequently cook with it or even make hot chocolate from the wellwater so now I give the pets wellwater.

You can't just switch them from tap to bottled in a day. They won't drink it. You have to mix the bottled in with the tap in increasing amounts. After they get used to it then you could watch for a preference but they won't want to drink it at first because it tastes different.
 

babyharley

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My boys will drink anything- tap or bottled without a 2nd glance, but I don't give them water straight from the tap because its so cloudy & gross. We have bottled most of the time, but I did get a Britta Water Jug that filters the water through and keeps it cold. I give them that, straight from the fridge & they love it
 

sharky

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I live in a rare place with no floridation or clorination... so I am fine with the tap water That is filtered to remove the nitrates ... Bottled is OFTEN just filtered tap...
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by emmylou

Sure, tap water is fine. If your area's water is fluoridated, that's an added bonus for the cat's teeth.
Actually it's been proposed for that to stop being added due to children getting fluoride poisoning, so I'm not entirely sure that it would be a bonus for a cat's health...

Originally Posted by babyharley

but I don't give them water straight from the tap because its so cloudy & gross.
Cloudy water, if you're referring to the white gypsum, isn't harmful... unless you're a water heater. Your body can (and probably your cats too) use the calcium in the water.
 

emmylou

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Fluoridated water has had a huge impact on decreasing cavity and decay rates in the human population.

By contrast, parents who feared fluoride and chemicals in supposedly "dirty" tap water and reared their kids on bottled water caused a counter-wave of rise in cavities.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryC...Health/tb/1756

For fluoride poisoning, there has to be a much higher fluoride content than is in fluoridated water.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by emmylou

Fluoridated water has had a huge impact on decreasing cavity and decay rates in the human population.

By contrast, parents who feared fluoride and chemicals in supposedly "dirty" tap water and reared their kids on bottled water caused a counter-wave of rise in cavities.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryC...Health/tb/1756

For fluoride poisoning, there has to be a much higher fluoride content than is in fluoridated water.
Yes fluoride does help decrease cavities... BUT floridated water is the chemical variety not the natural mineral.... add to that floradated toothpaste and anti cavity rinses plus showing up in veggies using reused water Kids and Adults are GETTING way too much ...
 

dragoriana

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Our water is clear which is good. I've been brought up on it my whole life. Out at Tristans house they rely on tank water, not mains, so they have to have their filtered. All the kitties drink tap water and they've been ok.

I think there are alot of people who don't also realise how much greenhouse gas is produced making the bottles for bottles water....
 

werebear

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We drink from the Brita pitcher, so the cats do too. Their favorite way to drink it is from their own big mug in the living room. They like being like us, apparently.
 

emmylou

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I've found that cats care where the water is more than what "kind" it is. So the toilet water may be tastier than the bottled water in their dish.
 

rapunzel47

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Our city water is fine. We drink it all the time, and my cats have always had tap water. They do prefer it to have had some standing time, in order to outgas, so I just fill a gallon juice bottle and leave the top off, and then fill their dishes from that.
 

freezebyte

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I use a faucet attached Pur water filter for cleaning/replacing Shadow's water. He seems to like it.

 

white cat lover

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Our tap water turns rusty within 5 minutes, so.....no. We get our water from my grandma's house in town, so they get city tap water. I go through 5 gallons a day between the outside kitties, inside kitties, & dogs. I think we might have a Brita pitcher somewhere.....but it doesn't filter out rustiness, so it does no good for our tap water. I'm not sure that rusty water is good for the animals, either so they don't get it!
 

jennyr

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The only thing I would add is to watch the calcium levels if you have a cat prone to urinary blockages. I discovered our tap water is very high in calcium after Wellington had a blockage, and the vet advised me to switch to a low calcium water. They all drink it as you can't keep water bowls separate!
 

missymotus

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My kitts drink Brita filtered water in the bowls, the fountains have regular tap water.
 
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