Weird eating habits and not enough water

Hello all,
I just got a new kitten and I don't think he drinks enough water. Whenever I feed him and change the water he will eat but not touch the water. He will look at it but not drink. He also only eats well when I sit on the floor with him. I leave food in the bowl at all times and I will see him snacking a little but I work 8 hour shifts sometimes and I want to be sure he's eating enough? It does not look like he eats when I'm gone. Or maybe he does and I'm over thinking it...
I have started putting water in his dry food and will buy more wet food but I want to make sure my little Ebai is hydrated enough?
I also tried putting the water in a saucer but that does not work either.
Sorry that was so long but I would appreciate any advice. This is my first kitten and I want to make sure I am doing everything correct

Have you tried a water fountain? Cats are usually attracted to running water. We have ours on a fountain, which works better than the bowl. She uses it more frequently. We also feed a combination of wet and dry food, so that she gets more water in her.

I have tried to drip water from the sink and he seems to not like it but I will do anything to be sure he's getting enough water. I will buy one next check and see how that works, thank you!

Adding more canned foods to his diet is a very good idea, both for the higher water content and the higher protein content, which is so important for a growing, active kitten! Maybe he'll be more interested in the wet food than the dry food, too, though if he's very small, he may not eat a lot of anything at one sitting.

One other thing about water: lots of sources recommend placing multiple water dishes around the house, away from the cat's food. This site (link here!) mentions that and some other tips for increasing water intake.

Good luck and enjoy your kitten!

Hi @warebubbles, congrats on your getting of a new kitten. How old is he?
If your kitten does not drink or like to drink water placed for him, it's better to feed him canned food. Canned food has enough moisture and you don't have to worry so much about him not drinking enough water.
Since he is not drinking water, dry food should be out for him. And it's also no good to add water to dry food and leaving it out for a long time let alone with no water in the dry food. A kitten needs more time to look after.
As for the water fountain, I would suggest that you hold on first as he is not interested in dripping water from the tap, not sure f he'll be interested in the fountain. Better not waste money on something he might not use.
Maybe you can try using another bowl or plate and fill it with water and dab your finger in it and let him taste your wet finger and see f he gets the idea of drinking. Depth of water plays a part too. My 7 month old kitten does not drink water too. Whenever I give him to drink, he'll either lap a few times and after that his paw in the water, lol.
Wet food is best for those that don't drink water. Sometimes I just add a teaspoonful of water to my kitten's wet food to ensure he is more hydrated.
some kittens/cats are choosy or fussy about food. Some prefer dry to wet or vice versa and some take both. But you have to take your work schedule into consideration. Unless there's someone home in the day to feed him.
But I would go with wet food if you are afraid that he is not hydrated enough.

I will definitely try all of these things, thank you! 

Ebai is 2 months. I will definitely buy wet food. I was worried about giving him too much wet food then that being the only thing he eats (I read that somewhere?) Yea I have been having to throw away alot of food because I will keep refreshing after pouring water in the food. He drinks the water if its food in it. He will drink around the food its so weird. I will definitely work with him. Thank you!

Our cats have some weird eating habits, too! It's great that you're sitting with Ebai, Warebubbles, and getting to know his habits so you know his preferences: that's been the most helpful thing for me in figuring out how to feed our cats. It really makes things a lot easier, though it can take time to figure out what's best.

There's nothing wrong, at all, with feeding only wet food, and my personal view is that it's better for cats. The wet/dry question can get a bit controversial but of course there are tons of factors. For a kitten, of course the best thing is to keep him fed when he's hungry!

And that must be Ebai in your avatar, he's very cute!

@LisaHe yes that is him Thank you! Your cats are beautiful as well! I have been watching his eating habits and I'm going to get more wet cat food next paycheck Friday. A 200 dollar vet bill and another 200 for supplies really set me back. He probably didn't need two cat trees and as many toys as he has but I went a little overboard... I've only been seeing little cans of wet food, is there a way I can buy in bulk?

Also is it bad to give different wet foods?? I just saw something on Amazon where its a 24 pack but different flavors? Can I give chicken one day then turkey another or is it bad to keep switching like that?

If you add water to dry food, discard the food if the cat has not consumed it after 30 minutes or so.  I understand that potentially harmful bacteria will begin to grow in moistened dry food if left un-refrigerated.

I sit with my kitten when he is having his meals and keep talking to him.
Yes, you have to budget when you own a cat and prepare some for emergency.
As for the cat tree, get one first. Cat trees comes with scratching post. I got my kitten a cat tree, he climbs it all the time but does not use the scratch post. So got him another scratch post and scratch board, he doesn't use it too. End up my sofa set became his scratch post, lol. If you have a window that can be locked, make it accessible to him so that it's like a wide screen tv for him to view outside and look at the birds. If your budget is tight, you can always look up Pinterest or youtube for diy toys.
As for the wet food, it really depends on where you are. Do you live near a pet supply store? If not can try online stores. Buying in bulk may save you some money, but at this early stage, I would wait and see what the kitten likes to eat. Like my kitten, he changed 3 types of flavor already. So if you buy in bulk and end up your kitten don't like the taste, it's gonna waste your money.

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Warebubbles said:

 
@LisaHe yes that is him Thank you! Your cats are beautiful as well! I have been watching his eating habits and I'm going to get more wet cat food next paycheck Friday. A 200 dollar vet bill and another 200 for supplies really set me back. He probably didn't need two cat trees and as many toys as he has but I went a little overboard... I've only been seeing little cans of wet food, is there a way I can buy in bulk?

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Yes, all the initial expenses for a new cat are a bit mind-boggling, aren't they? Even if Ebai didn't need two cat trees and all the toys, he'll appreciate them: when we'd had our cats for two days, my husband went to buy them a scratching post but brought home a tree/condo thingy instead. I thought he'd gone totally overboard but we've had the cats 2.5 years now and they still love it so it was a great purchase, particularly since they scratch on it so much. I didn't know then that "vertical space" is really important for cats--ours love racing up the posts and observing birds from the platforms. (We put it right in front of a window and move and/or rotate it a couple times a few times a year: the cats love that.)

Warebubbles said:

 
Also is it bad to give different wet foods?? I just saw something on Amazon where its a 24 pack but different flavors? Can I give chicken one day then turkey another or is it bad to keep switching like that?

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In general, it's fine, even preferable for lots of reasons, to switch wet foods but cats' (and, from what I gather, particularly kittens') stomachs can be a little sensitive so I'd introduce new foods slowly, a little at a time, just to be sure. I'm not experienced with the specifics of feeding small kittens (we got our two cats when they were ten months old and my last kitten was in the early 1990s, but the food situation was totally different there!) so hope someone who knows better about kitten specifics will answer your question. In general, it seems more problematic to switch dry foods quickly than wet foods.

If you're thinking of buying food online, you might want to check out chewy.com, too: they often have very good deals and they sell so many kinds of food that you can get a really good idea of what's available and (from the comments) how various cats like them. They also deliver very fast, and delivery is free over $49.

And our cats say thank you! That photo's one of my favorites, from a week or so after we adopted them. They're very sweet cats!

I see that you are in Maryland.  I believe that there are Shop Rite supermarkets in Maryland.  Shop offers periodic discounts on cat food.  This week you can buy 20 cans of the Friskies varieties for 8 bucks, but you are not required to buy twenty cans.  If you seek to avoid corn, wheat and soy in cat food, then I recommend Friskies Poultry Platter, Friskies Turkey & Giblets and Friskies Cat Concoctions Salmon & Chicken Liver.

TheGreyStalker said:

 
I see that you are in Maryland.  I believe that there are Shop Rite supermarkets in Maryland.  Shop offers periodic discounts on cat food.  This week you can buy 20 cans of the Friskies varieties for 8 bucks, but you are not required to buy twenty cans.  If you seek to avoid corn, wheat and soy in cat food, then I recommend Friskies Poultry Platter, Friskies Turkey & Giblets and Friskies Cat Concoctions Salmon & Chicken Liver.

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Nice tip, TheGreyStalker! Yes, Friskies pates are very decent food at a very decent price. (I'd also suggest staying away from the slices, shreds, and whatever because of all the wheat gluten and other ingredients cats don't always digest well.)

I learned from experience, Lisa.

Early on I fed her a Friskies beef formula that was full of gravy.  The second mistake was to let her eat it all at one sitting.  It wasn't long before I was staring at her "meal," which she had regurgitated in my bathtub.

Warebubbles said:

 
Ebai is 2 months. I will definitely buy wet food. I was worried about giving him too much wet food then that being the only thing he eats.

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Cats don't need dry food, so eating only wet food isn't a problem.

Good luck with your kitten!

Thanks everyone! I had wet food and was giving a little at a time and mixing with dry food. I was only giving 1/4 of the can and would refrigerate the rest. I'm going to buy him more wet food. Yes I've been throwing the dry food with water away after he's eaten what wants.

I was just worried because I work and didn't want him not eating because I'm not here with him. I'm going to definitely look into different flavors and deals but will be careful not to switch up too much do I don't shock his system. I already know the amount he eats since I sit with him I just need to figure out flavors he prefers

If I know that I'm going to be away for many hours, I freeze some wet food and set it out frozen for the cats. It thaws eventually and they can eat while I'm gone without the food going bad.

TheGreyStalker said:

 
I learned from experience, Lisa.

Early on I fed her a Friskies beef formula that was full of gravy.  The second mistake was to let her eat it all at one sitting.  It wasn't long before I was staring at her "meal," which she had regurgitated in my bathtub.

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This is great advice on what not to do! I wish I learned better from my own mistakes: one of our cats eats quickly and will overeat. And that sometimes ends up with regurgitation, too, because I forget and give her too much to eat or forget to shut her in so she can't finish off her sister's food. Edwina, however, isn't polite enough to regurgitate in the bathtub!