My Cat Won't Drink Water

I got this cat last Saturday, and this iis my first cat. He is two months old and he is not welll trained. When I feed him I have to put him right on the bowl where his food at, or else he is not going to eat it. So, after he is done eating he will walk away, he won't even touch or see the other bowl with water beside his food, so I have to get him and put him right on the bowl with water, and he don't drink and he just go to his bowl with food. I put his legs on the water so he will know that is water, still did not work. Please help me what to do. Thanks

Have you tried dipping your finger in and letting him lick your finger, probably he doesn't know what it is for. Worth a try anyhow.

Try putting water in a small thick glass, on the table or something. My cats wont drink out of their water bowl, they prefer drinking out of a glass.

My cat actually prefers to drink out of the bathtub faucet.

Katie

Welcome to TCS! Most cats prefer not to have their water bowls right next to their food, because that's not where they would find water in a natural setting. Move the water bowl to another location in the room, if possible several meters away. You should also put a water bowl or two in other rooms, e.g., the bathroom and/or bedroom. Also, if he's eating canned food he probably won't drink much water, but should be encouraged to drink anyway by always offering plenty of fresh water.

Two months is not a long time in this world, and most cats at two months old are not well trained at all. Plus I wouldn't consider a cat drinking water to be any part of training. Chances are he never got to see the momcat take water from a bowl and so he doesn't know that he should.

You can invest in a water fountain for cats, most cats are drawn to running water. Or you can buy some colored aquarium rocks and rinse them really well and then put them in the bottom of a glass bowl with a shallow edge. Then fill the bowl up with water. Try getting some large jar lids, washing them out well and setting those around the house with water in them.

You can also float ice cubes or toys in the water bowl to encourage this kitten to play and drink.

Don't force his head into his water, water has no smell and the only thing that is going to do is confuse and scare him. You can dribble sardine oil or tuna juice into the water, and until he figures out that water is beneficial for him, simply add water to his canned food. Don't feed him dry until you know he is drinking on his own. Also be sure whatever container you use for water is low to the ground and doesn't bump his whiskers. Young kittens get confused when their whiskers get smushed, and they think the opening you have provided isn't big enough. The jar lids work really well because their whiskers don't even touch the sides of the jar lid because it is so low to the floor.

I forgot, you can also add some KMR kitty milk replacer to the water to make a watery milk substance and see if he goes for that.

I fed him this morning, and he is drinking water now, after he finished his food, I put the water. I think he was just scared, my cat is getting smarter Thanks for the reply guys!

Big thanks to Hissy!!! My new kitten wouldnt drink any water either and it was starting to freak me out! I laid out a tupperware-style lid with some water for him and he drank it all immediately! You could tell the poor thing must have been dying for a drink, but just couldn't figure out where to get it from. Guess my original dish was just too deep!

Now I have moved him from the lid, to a smaller bowl. He didnt like that at first- he would just dunk his head in real quick and get scared! So then I tried a little tuna juice and THAT WORKED LIKE A CHARM TOO!

So again, thanks and more thanks for such great and timely advice!