Cat won't drink cold water from bowl?

elise1030

elise1030

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Theodore has had issues regarding urinary blockages, he has had 3 surgeries to correct it.
Anyhow, at the moment the main issue is getting him to drink water. He refuses to drink water from a fountain or flat dish and if it is cold, he refuses. So at the moment, we are syringe feeding him warm water.
How can I provide warm water and not have to syringe it to him? I love him but I really don't want to be feeding him water this way forever!
 
peaches08

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Here's a great article on increasing water intake:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/tips-to-increase-your-cat-s-water-intake

Also, if room temp water just isn't appealing, what about adding warm water to canned food?  Some cats just don't drink as much when getting enough water from their diet.  I saw a huge difference in water intake in my raw-fed-with-extra-water-added cats compared to the abandoned cat I took in that initially ate only dry kibble.  The raw-fed cats drank considerably less than the kibble eater.  Now that the kibble eater is eating the raw-with-water-added and less kibble, he's drinking less and having larger pee clumps in the litter box.
 
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lisahe

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This is so true! Our cats like splashing in their water dish though I don't think I've seen them actually drink from it in many months... but their litter boxes always have plenty of large pee clumps because I add extra water to their canned food and serve them soupy raw food. They seem to prefer their foods slurpy so everything works out well.

Good luck, elise1030!
 
betsygee

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mservant

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My boy will drink from a bowl if he has to so I'm lucky, but he does prefer to have a resident human hold up a syringe, or to drink from the tap ' on demand' (squeeks at tap until someone makes it drip for him).   He gets water from a syringe for treats only and I keep it in reserve like if he's out in the car and a bit distressed at which point he doesn't drink from a bowl. 

Have you tried one of those little lick and drip bottles used for rodents?  I've been wondering about one of those for Mouse as an alternative to dripping taps as they drive me nuts, and the water can be warmer that way too.  You could introduce holding it like you do a syringe and see if he takes to it.  I'm sure you can get glass ones as well as pastic if you're worried about allergies.
 
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elise1030

elise1030

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MServant said:
 
My boy will drink from a bowl if he has to so I'm lucky, but he does prefer to have a resident human hold up a syringe, or to drink from the tap ' on demand' (squeeks at tap until someone makes it drip for him).   He gets water from a syringe for treats only and I keep it in reserve like if he's out in the car and a bit distressed at which point he doesn't drink from a bowl. 

Have you tried one of those little lick and drip bottles used for rodents?  I've been wondering about one of those for Mouse as an alternative to dripping taps as they drive me nuts, and the water can be warmer that way too.  You could introduce holding it like you do a syringe and see if he takes to it.  I'm sure you can get glass ones as well as pastic if you're worried about allergies.
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I was TOTALLY thinking about one of those rodent drip bottles! He very well may take to one of those lol. He does love the warm water from a syringe though. We do add a teeny bit of water to fancy feat but hes not keen on watery food.

I did see him drinking from a bowl this morning after he polished off a plate of Royal Canin S/O.
 
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