New Kitten won't drink water :(

Hi guys,

I adopted a kitten two weeks ago, who is now 10 weeks. She has a pretty good appetite, but the problem is she won't drink water on her own out of a dish. Also, I bought one of those kitty water fountain things today at Petco, but still no go.  I've tried moving the dish, putting her in front of it and putting a bit on her lips, and still nothing.

She has been on antibiotics for just over a week (amoxicillian) and that has caused some diarrhea and overall upset tummy, but I've been giving her a bit of fat free, plain yogurt every day, which helps a bit. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I've been giving her water out of the oral syringe the vet gave me for her antibiotics a few times a day, but it's not that much (1 ml per syringe). I've been feeding her only wet food too, as I know she gets some water from it (as opposed to dry) but I doubt it's anywhere near enough.

Thoughts? Ideas? I'd appreciate it a lot.

Thanks everyone,

Crystal

crystalnicole said:

 
Hi guys,

I adopted a kitten two weeks ago, who is now 10 weeks. She has a pretty good appetite, but the problem is she won't drink water on her own out of a dish. Also, I bought one of those kitty water fountain things today at Petco, but still no go.  I've tried moving the dish, putting her in front of it and putting a bit on her lips, and still nothing.

She has been on antibiotics for just over a week (amoxicillian) and that has caused some diarrhea and overall upset tummy, but I've been giving her a bit of fat free, plain yogurt every day, which helps a bit. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I've been giving her water out of the oral syringe the vet gave me for her antibiotics a few times a day, but it's not that much (1 ml per syringe). I've been feeding her only wet food too, as I know she gets some water from it (as opposed to dry) but I doubt it's anywhere near enough.

Thoughts? Ideas? I'd appreciate it a lot.

Thanks everyone,

Crystal

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If you feed her wet food only  I believe she is  getting enough water .Most canned foods are at least 78% moisture .If I remember correctly  I read that cats need about 8 oz of water per day . If you were to feed  3 oz of wet food 3 times per day that should be good . You could mix in a tbs of hot water  to each meal  for extra moisture .. Getting a water fountain is a great idea , if she will use it . Always leave out a fresh bowl of water . Try a flat stainless steel dish . My cats love these ..

You can read Dr. Lisa Pierson on how much water cats derive from their food

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Feeding Your Cat - 4 pages 11-13.pdf

My kitty is on a all wet diet and rarely ever drinks water.   I'm not too concerned because everything I've read about wet food.      Also have you tried Cat Sip?  It's a milk substitute which my kitten loves.   I give it to him as a treat so I know he's getting even more moisture.     You can get it at Petco.

Lokhismom said:

 
You can read Dr. Lisa Pierson on how much water cats derive from their food

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Feeding Your Cat - 4 pages 11-13.pdf

My kitty is on a all wet diet and rarely ever drinks water.   I'm not too concerned because everything I've read about wet food.      Also have you tried Cat Sip?  It's a milk substitute which my kitten loves.   I give it to him as a treat so I know he's getting even more moisture.     You can get it at Petco.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the link . It is very informative . My 2 cats each eat 6 oz of wet food per day plus an 1/8 cup of Wysong Epigen 90 .

I also add a 1/2 can of hot water to their wet food and they love it that way ..