Oliver won't drink from a bowl

Oliver is seven weeks now. He eats lots of wet food from a dish, but will not drink from a bowl. I know he can do it because he did it once, but it's like he has no interest in it. I've tried plain water, catsip, KMR liquid, I've tried deep bowls, shallow plates, heating it, cooling it, all he wants it to suck that bottle still. Sometimes he'll go over like he wants to drink but he gets his nose in the bowl too far and snorts and runs away.

I'm adding water to his canned food so that he's getting extra water, and I'm giving him KMR in a bottle still because I don't want him to get dehydrated, especially since he's still getting over that URI.

I even bought one of those water fountains with moving water and tried turning on the tap to see if he'd like that, but no luck.

Why is he being so stubborn? Are there any tricks I can try to get him to drink? Should I be concerned or will he just eventually get this on his own? I've never heard of a cat not learning to drink from a bowl before.

Just keep offering him the different water bowl/fountain options. I'm sure he'll figure it out. Right now, between the KMR and additional water in his wet, he's probably getting enough moisture. I know that many cats who are fed an all wet/raw diet hardly ever drink water but pee plenty.

My cat like his water bone water, almost to the point of being frozen. He also will no drink his water if their is any food or hair in the water. I change his water every 24 hours and have no p.roblem with it

This issue is why I joined this forum. My cat is healthy, happy, house cat, who is 8 years old. Cleo has become increasingly fussy about her water and is becoming a real pain in the butt. Her current preferred choice is to lick the plastic lufa mesh thingy that hangs under the tub faucet. Its clean and everything, but it doesn't hold much and she will sit in the tub in our ensuite crying (in the middle of the night)

for someone to turn the water on for 4 seconds. Before that, it was out of any unattended water glasses, sometimes (often), knocking them over. She gets fresh, filtered water in a clean bowl every day when she gets fed. I don't understand, but the way she goes at water in her places of choice make it seem like she never drinks out of her own bowl. Any ideas?

Aren't cats weird and quirky??  LOL  To the original poster, he is probably getting enough water in his wet food, especially if you're adding extra to it.  (I do this with my kitties, too.)  My boy kitty enjoys drinking from any container that might have water in it in the sink!  It drives me CRAZY!!!  Perhaps your kitty is drinking water while you're not looking.  I have 4 water bowls in my house.  Three are bowls and one is a mocha mug.  I also keep them in different rooms.  I have 2 in my den, 1 in the master bedroom, and one in the spare bedroom.  Offer a variety of dishes (large cups/mugs, bowls, water fountain) in a variety of places in your home.  Water shouldn't be next to the food dish either.

Dodgegirl1771 said:

 
This issue is why I joined this forum. My cat is healthy, happy, house cat, who is 8 years old. Cleo has become increasingly fussy about her water and is becoming a real pain in the butt. Her current preferred choice is to lick the plastic lufa mesh thingy that hangs under the tub faucet. Its clean and everything, but it doesn't hold much and she will sit in the tub in our ensuite crying (in the middle of the night)

for someone to turn the water on for 4 seconds. Before that, it was out of any unattended water glasses, sometimes (often), knocking them over. She gets fresh, filtered water in a clean bowl every day when she gets fed. I don't understand, but the way she goes at water in her places of choice make it seem like she never drinks out of her own bowl. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

In your situation, since it seems she prefers dripping water, I would try a fountain.

Thank you, I had not heard of them before joining this site. I'm an unemployed full-time student, we are living off of my husband's wage. Do you  recommend any style/brand over others, this is probably a one shot deal, as I can't afford to buy more than one.

Yea! Thank you for the advice, I did some on-line research and spoke to some pet people on the phone, and have found the fountain I want, in my town, on sale. The store is moving so  all their wares are on sale, so Cleo might get some of the awesome Hagen food maze and toy stuff!

I will post the results of the fountain, hopefully will be useful for someone else.

Miri4191,

Your kitty is probably getting enough water and just isn't thirsty. Try pulling her skin by the scruff of her neck and see if it goes back to its original shape quickly. If it does, she's hydrated. Since you're adding water to her food, she's probably doing fine. I add water to my kitty's food and never see her drinking from the bowl. I used to give her kibble, and back then she'd drink from the bowl.

Have you tried putting ice cubes in the water?  A vet suggested that to me once and it worked--kitty liked the ice water.