The ongoing quest for supplying water to our ate

itsnotpeanutbut

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Our cats appear to be drinking far too little (we haven't had any health problems yet, but I'd rather prevent than cure) and have been looking for ways to get them to drink more.

We first had 2 plastic bowls that they barely used (barely drank twice a day, for 5-10 second max), possibly because the bowls got dirty/slimy super fast, even if we cleaned it every day.

We then switched to gravity-based dispensers, but that didn't get them to drink more.

We recently had my parents' dog over for a weekend and we noticed that both cats went straight for the steel bowl and drank a fair bit more, so we decided to swap the plastic ones with steel ones, but turns out that was nothing more than the novelty-effect, because the dog is back with my parents now and the cats still barely drink.

However! They both like to go to the kitchen sink whenever we're not looking though (they rarely try to jump onto the counter when we're around). I swear, I can leave the room with both cats napping on their trees, realise that I forgot something a second later, head back into the living room and both of them are on the kitchen counter sucking on the tap as if they just spent a week in a desert. So this makes me think that they do want to drink, but are just hating the bowls

So upon checking out some books and websites, it turns out that some cats just prefer running/moving water (that's possible why the youngest of our cats always splashes the water in the bowls a little bit when he wants to drink). So we should get one of those fancy electric drinking fountains.

But here's the kicker.. Those things are electric, so they have a cable coming from it.. And our youngest is a passionate cable-chewer. We have spent a lot of time, effort and money to make the rooms they can get into nearly 100% cable-free, so to put a cable right next to their drinking areas simply will not end well.

So what can we do now? They dislike static bowls (unless they really have no other option), but we can't put a bowl with running water because it wouldn't last 2 days.
 

stephenq

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Hi

First, why do you suspect your cats aren't drinking enough?  Any animal including us who is otherwise healthy and not drinking enough will get thirsty, and then drink, a self correcting problem.  Cats who eat wet food often get almost all the water they need from their food.  Have you done a hydration test?  This yourtube link shows you how. 
If your cat is on dry food only, offering wet food can fix the issue. Some cats who only get dry food will not fully compensate at the water bowl in part possibly because the wild version of the domestic cat is used to getting its water from its prey, in otherwise dry dessert conditions.

Letting her drink from the tap is another way to deal with it, but as far as a fountain goes, you can buy  cable protectors from places like radio shack that will encase the electrical cord in a safe tube.
 

Willowy

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Try clear glass bowls---many cats like to be able to see the water level, plus glass doesn't make any funny flavors in the water. I like those Pyrex dishes that are larger. . .custard cups? I don't know what they're called.

What do they eat? A cat who eats canned food exclusively technically doesn't need to drink any water (although I'm sure they like a nice cool drink just like anyone, even if not strictly necessary). You can add a tablespoon or two of water to their canned food to make sure. If they eat dry food exclusively, yes, they should be drinking at least 8 ounces of water a day, so it is concerning if they don't drink enough. If they eat a combination of wet/dry, water intake should be somewhere in the middle, depending on what percentage of each they eat.
 
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itsnotpeanutbut

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They're getting dry food, mainly because 1 of them has issues digesting wet food (we tried 4 different types and brands but always the same problem) and the other one enjoys both, so we stuck with dry food.

I'm not really worried about dehydration because they do drink (and according to that test they're both fine), I'm just afraid they might get some problems with their urinary tract in the future. Like I said, I'd rather prevent than cure.

Might try the glass bowl thing. Cheers!
 
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