Kitten not drinking water?

evolily

evolily

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My 8 week old kitten doesn't drink straight water. She will play with it, but won't drink. When she's stuck her head in it she gets her nose wet then wants nothing to do with it.

She gets only wet food, which I add KMR to and if I heat it up I add some extra water. She gets fed 4-5 times a day and doesn't go more than 8 hours without food. She seems well hydrated, she saw the vet a few days ago and he said she looked good. Should I be concerned, or just assumed she'll figure it out if she gets thirsty? She will lap her milk, but only if there's food with it (she won't touch straight milk since she graduated from the bottle).
 
sparkymema

sparkymema

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If she is eating wet food I honestly wouldn't worry about it. She is getting all of the hydration she needs from the wet food because of its high liquid content. It's kind of similar to us just having say juice or tea in the morning, it gets us hydrated while not being as good for us as water, we still get a good amount of hydration from it. I can't tell you how many of my cats stopped drinking water when they went to wet, so its pretty normal and typical. If she does play with it though, she is most likely licking it off her paws, which is still giving her some extra hydration. I think if you are still worried I would get a kitty water fountain and add some pedialyte or some water with electrolytes in it to the water. 
 
mrsgreenjeens

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sparkymema said:
 
If she is eating wet food I honestly wouldn't worry about it. She is getting all of the hydration she needs from the wet food because of its high liquid content. It's kind of similar to us just having say juice or tea in the morning, it gets us hydrated while not being as good for us as water, we still get a good amount of hydration from it. I can't tell you how many of my cats stopped drinking water when they went to wet, so its pretty normal and typical. If she does play with it though, she is most likely licking it off her paws, which is still giving her some extra hydration. I think if you are still worried I would get a kitty water fountain and add some pedialyte or some water with electrolytes in it to the water. 
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Exactly so.  And with many cats, even if that WANT to drink, they might not be able to tell if there is water in the bowl, or as you have found out, just where the water level is.  One of my cats has trouble with that, so I float a cork in the water bowl for him.  I just have to make sure I rinse it out well everyday when I change out the water, otherwise it would start to get slimy.   But, honestly, since all three of my cats eat wet food, to which I add additional water, I rarely see them go to the water bowls or fountain, and I live in a place that is very hot and dry.  It's not really  natural for cats to drink.  If you see them drinking much, that's when you need to worry. 
 
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kimba44

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I don't think you need to worry about your kitten not drinking water. There is a lot of water in the wet food.  You could try to leave chicken broth down for your kitten or in a pinch tuna water!  
 
sparks17

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Have you tried putting ice cubes in the water bowl?  I tried that with my kitten and she loved to play with them - and would lick the water off of her paws. 
 
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