Not drinking much water

vinny

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Anyone with suggestins regarding the best system I could buy my cat (water fountain system)?
She is not a great water drinker and I thought, a fountain might help since she loves running water from the sink
 

petnurse2265

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I have 2 of the petmate ones, they are not the top of the line fountains, but their customer service is great. My fist one I thought was leaking, so I called the company and they sent me another one no questions asked, turned out the filter was in a little crooked and causing it to run over. The second one the dog drank it dry and no one in my wonderful family noticed (I was at work) and I thought tfor sure the pump was burned out, well I called the company and the told my to try a coupl of thing with it and it works fine now.
http://www.petmate.com/Catalog.plx?ID=205 I got mine at Wal-Mart for $30.00
 

jen

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Know what else I do when my cats don't drink much? Put a pretty good amount of water into their wet food so its more like soup. That way if they don't drink the water straight up, they are kinda fooled into drinking it through the wet food. They like it because it smells like the wet food but its really mostly water.
 
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vinny

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Originally Posted by Jen

Know what else I do when my cats don't drink much? Put a pretty good amount of water into their wet food so its more like soup. That way if they don't drink the water straight up, they are kinda fooled into drinking it through the wet food. They like it because it smells like the wet food but its really mostly water.
Indeed it is a good idea, but my problem it that Kirim does not like can food only dry food
 

misstorri

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I sometimes have to fill a glass with ice cubes and water for my cats ,for some reason it works every time!
 

cloud_shade

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You could try mixed a little water in with her dry food, or adding some wet food on top of it.
 

esrgirl

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My cats love their Catit fountain. I got it from amazon.com. They are drinking way more water now that it's cold and filtered. I think cold and filtered is the key, regardless of what type of fountain you get really. I've heard great things about the Petmate and Freshflow fountains as well.
 

cirque

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Another "trick" is to put a couple colored marbles into the water dish which is supposed to encourage them to drink more. And of course, fresh water every day as well.
 

ktlynn

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Vinny - just some advice: you mentioned that Kirim doesn't like canned food. Still, I think it would be worthwhile to try to get her to eat a high quality canned food.

Dry food is highly processed, and contains lots of carbs which aren't necessary or particularly healthful for cats. It is also strongly suspected of causing and/or aggravating kidney/urinary problems.

Dry food also requires LOTS of water for digestion. It soaks up moisture like a sponge - not a good thing, especially for a cat like Kirim who doesn't drink much water as it is. Combine that with a diet of nothing but dry food, and you may find she develops health problems as time goes on. Many cats become dry food addicts, especially to lower quality foods. You'd be improving her health if you could get her to eat canned food for meals and use dry food for treats. It will take time and patience, but the benefit to Kirim's health is well worth the effort.
 

jcat

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In addition to a fountain, you could try putting water bowls throughout your home (I have three water bowls, in addition to a Petmate fountain) in places your cat passes all the time. Another good trick is to make homemade chicken or beef broth, unseasoned, and freeze it in ice cube trays. Then all you have to do is drop a "broth cube" into the water bowl, to make the liquid a bit more interesting. The "juice" from water-packed tuna works as well, i.e., as ice cubes, but contains quite a bit of salt, so it would be best to use "mini" ice cube trays, or to crush the ice, and just put a few flakes in the water.
 

dmcwlvssr

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I found if I put a glass of water(glasses that I use daily) and leave it on the table they drink out of it I guess because they think they are getting away with something. I have just ordered one of the fountains hope it works the only other way they drink water is leaving the tap trickling. Best of luck!
 

esrgirl

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neither of my cats really likes canned food, but they really, really love the pouch food. They usually lick up all the gravy from the pouch before starting on the actual food tidbits. Maybe pouch food could help?
 
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