How to train my boy and girl to drink water from the bottle rather than from the bowl

hi everyone,

My gafy boy now like to play water. Helways split all the fresh water I put on their feeding bowl and end up the poor sis Ambel don't have water to drink while I am away to work. Now I have change of feeding them water using a bottle that will be hanged on a surface rather than from the bowl bottle. But my 2 babies don't know how to use the bottle to drink water. They don't know that the ball at the end of the tip of the bottle control the flow of the water!!! So how?
Please help me up. Thanks.

From Garfy mum

Why not instead leave a little bit of water in your bathtub or sink, or invest in a heavy ceramic bowl to hold the water. Cats don't drink like rabbits and hamsters, they have to lap up the water and not suck it like other critters. Depriving them of water by natural means could mean risking their health.

Hi Hissy,

My garfy boy will use his hand to make the water in the bowl split on the floor. So I cannot use boel or any container to feed them water. That is why my vet give me the suggestion of feeding them with the bottle. Anyway i am still puting a bowl of water for them as they still don't know how to use the bottle. But for sure when I reach home, there will the bowl will be dry due to garfy and my girl girl will show me the face of "mummy I want water"!!!

I really don't know how to handle this problem!!

Ok what about an automatic waterer or a fountain for cats? Would that work?

http://www.vetventures.com/

Something like that, or what I have for the barn cats is a huge sparkletts bottle that you fill with water and it trickles down into the bowl until the bottle is empty?

I am sorry your kitty thinks he is part raccoon.

http://www.our-pets.com/dogfeed.htm#waterbuffet

Hi Hissy,

The idea is good. I like the idea as it can make my babies drink more water. But it can only solve half of the problem. I am worry that my house will get floated when I reach home after work as there will be infinite many water for garft boy to split on the floor. Also i cannot find its price. will it be too expensive after convert to Malaysia currency?

I am having the same problem. One of my girls just sits there and plays until the dish is empty. I had a dispenser, but quit using it because I woke up this morning to a flooded kitchen. She just started doing this a few days ago, so I hope someone has an idea before it becomes an unbreakable habit.

Thanks,
Jacki

What about leaving the bathtub faucet running on very low setting and put a shallow dish under the faucet so that the other cats can drink and the one that is messing in the water wont make such a mess?

Ok what about this? Find a large plastic tub (I am thinking like a big rubber tub you can feed horses grain in- put the smaller bowl in the larger tub and place both on the floor. The cat can jump into the large tub, play or drink water. You can even get aquarium rock and line the bottom of the big tub to hold the water in one place so the cat can't then scoop the loose water out to the floor (it will be underneath the rock or gravel)?

Also these cats sound like they could benefit from a ball bin for all their extra energy. Get a large empty cardboard box (such as a small appliance would be shipped in) Flip it up on it's end, cut off the flaps on the top- make cat sized holes off the ground level, that the cat can easily jump in and out through, and then throw in about 4 ping pong balls. They play in this ball bin for a long time, and wear down some of their energy.

Hissy you are so smart, my cats flood the kitchen everyday playing in the water bowl. One cat likes to use the bowl as a hockey puck. So I have been putting a towel under it but still water everywhere. That big plastic tub may just work, while I am away from the house
Thank you,
Clara

HA! It is not smart, working with strays and ferals, I have learned to be resourceful is all! LOL That is how I get a feral to drink water out of a bowl, I put pebbles from the creek into a glass bowl for cats that refuse to drink out of a bowl. They then see the rock and identify with it as holding water and drink their fill.

I have a bunch of water bowls, because my little marble does the same thing! he splashs all the water all over. I keep a bowl in the sink filled with water for him to play with. The other cat hiss at him when he sticks his paw in "their" what

Thanks for the advice, they both sound like a great ideas. It was cute when it was just a few little dribbles, but having to use the shopvac in the kitchen would get old quick ;-)

I know what you mean..although the floods caused in my kitchen are from my kids stepping on the bowls

Hi all,

Thanks for all the good idea. Another observation that I found on my cats are, those who like to play their drinking water will have less problem when they have a bath. Is it true in general?