Kitten plays with water.

[peacefulchaos]

Hi,

Whenever I put water out for my kitten, Hank, he plays with it to the point where there is no water left. There are days where I am out long hours and I cannot replenish it every five minutes (and even when I do he makes it go everywhere anyway). The water is in a regular dish.


Is there anything I can do differently to stop this? I have toys everywhere. He plays with them but makes a point to get rid of the water every single time. The dish does not matter.

What else can i do?

 

[louann jude]

Have you tried a fountain? 

 

[margd]

You could try getting a fountain.  Hank will probably have a terrific time playing in it, but it might help you keep water around a little while longer.  There are quite a few models on the market.  Check out our reviews:

http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/fountains

and amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ds=cat+drinking+fountains&tag=&tag=thecatsite

 

[awesomepawsome]

I have a Maine Coon and he does this, as well.  I got a large and heavy dog dish that I use as a water bowl.  No problems now.  It's inexpensive and even the kitten can stand on his hind legs and use it. 

 

[DreamerRose]

Many cats paw the top of the water; it's instinctive from being out in the wild to clear leaves and debris off the top. My cat did this too until I got a fountain. He drinks directly from the spout, and he doesn't do any splashing of the water in the bowl now. I also have to keep the lids of the toilets closed because he prefers to drink water there instead of the fountain. And he makes a mess in the bathroom doing that, splashing water everywhere.

 

[molly22]

I have the same problem with one of my cats. My solution was to put out 2 bowls far apart from each other. One is huge, the other, very tiny. She plays with the small one and drinks from the big one. Never plays in the big one at all. Good luck.

 

[peacefulchaos]

Definitely going to order a fountain. I think that might be the solution. He seems to have an affinity for water. I've tried multiple bowls but I think the fountain will fix it.

 

[magister]

Just be a little careful about which type of fountain you choose.

One of mine, Kîa, had the same fascination; she could half-empty a bowl within minutes, and I made the mistake of buying the Pioneer pet fountain, as it was almost entirely ceramic (I wanted to avoid plastic as much as possible).


Unfortunately, Kîa discovered (to her lasting delight) that she could knock the ceramic top out of alignment. The fountain would then do her job for her: pretty-much ended up with it simply pumping water all over the floor, which pleased her no end!

 

[DreamerRose]

This is what I love about the Drinkwell Preium fountain - Mingo can't knock the top of it off. He's finally quit trying. I'm not all that concerned about the plastic; this fountain is very durable, not flimsy at all, and I really don't think there is any danger from chemicals leaching into the water. The problem with plastics is that when they are heated in the microwave, they can release chemicals into the food you're heating.

 

[peacefulchaos]

I'll look for the drinkwell fountain. Thanks again everyone. If someone else has one to recommend feel free.

 

[magister]

I'll look for the drinkwell fountain. Thanks again everyone. If someone else has one to recommend feel free.

Depends on how much you want to spend, and whether you'll be bothered by somewhat noisy pumps.


My problem with the Drinkwell (at least, the plastic model), was that the pump motor was far from quiet. Unfortunately, most fountains use cheap, AC (Alternating Current) pumps, mounted very crudely in a plastic surround. Whilst low voltage, simple and in the main very reliable, they can end up making a racket if not properly mounted. Unless you're very lucky, the little rubber suction cups used to hold the pump to the case, and the case to the fountain base, do very little to isolate it, with the result that the hum ends up rattling the case and resonating through the entire fountain assembly. Worse, once wet, these cups can lose there grip, so the pump rattles and the assembly starts ‘walking’: not much, but enough to cause even more noise.


If the constant hum doesn't bother you, then it's not a problem. But I was unlucky enough that mine just happened to produce some nasty harmonics that set the whole fountain body singing (luck of the draw; probably another one wouldn't have resonated exactly at that frequency).


If potential noise is something that might get you annoyed, there are some very quiet pet fountains around, but they do cost a good deal more (better, quieter, well-mounted pumps that don't cause the body to resonate). Some sites have links to Youtube videos, where you can see (and, more importantly, hear) the fountain running; a damn good idea IMO.


Good luck.

 

[tallyollyopia]

Maybe the cat just likes playing with water. One of our cats, Princess, is like that. We keep a larger water bowl around for her (sometimes she swims in it). You might try having two bowls down, in case your cat's trying to play in  the water and not just with   the water. (Which a water fountain won't fix.)

 

[misterwhiskers]

Depends on how much you want to spend, and whether you'll be bothered by somewhat noisy pumps.


My problem with the Drinkwell (at least, the plastic model), was that the pump motor was far from quiet. Unfortunately, most fountains use cheap, AC (Alternating Current) pumps, mounted very crudely in a plastic surround. Whilst low voltage, simple and in the main very reliable, they can end up making a racket if not properly mounted. Unless you're very lucky, the little rubber suction cups used to hold the pump to the case, and the case to the fountain base, do very little to isolate it, with the result that the hum ends up rattling the case and resonating through the entire fountain assembly. Worse, once wet, these cups can lose there grip, so the pump rattles and the assembly starts ‘walking’: not much, but enough to cause even more noise.


If the constant hum doesn't bother you, then it's not a problem. But I was unlucky enough that mine just happened to produce some nasty harmonics that set the whole fountain body singing (luck of the draw; probably another one wouldn't have resonated exactly at that frequency).


If potential noise is something that might get you annoyed, there are some very quiet pet fountains around, but they do cost a good deal more (better, quieter, well-mounted pumps that don't cause the body to resonate). Some sites have links to Youtube videos, where you can see (and, more importantly, hear) the fountain running; a damn good idea IMO.


Good luck.

I have the CatMate fountain and it makes zero noise. I have it in my bedroom and my cat slurping from it makes more noise than the fountain does, even set to maximum flow.

 

[DreamerRose]

I have the Drinkwell Platinum fountain, and it also makes zero noise. That is if you aren't counting the sound of falling water. The noise of Mingo lapping the water is also the loudest noise coming from it. It has an aquarium pump that runs on AC current, which is what we have in the States.

 

[magister]

I have the Drinkwell Platinum fountain, and it also makes zero noise. That is if you aren't counting the sound of falling water. The noise of Mingo lapping the water is also the loudest noise coming from it. It has an aquarium pump that runs on AC current,

Interesting. I suppose those pumps could be intended only for 60Hz. They'd work still at 50, but would start to run rough and get noisy, which could explain it. Just for curiosity, I'll try to find a Youtube clip of a Norh-American Drinkwell running.

 

[DreamerRose]

I did it for you. There are a number of clips of the fountains running. This one you will have to watch to the end to hear the fountain:


In this one, you can clearly hear the fountain:


There is also another video of comparison of the three types of Drinkwell fountains. The Platinum model has rubber feet which prevent the vibrations of the pump from making any noise. The original model does not have the feet, so if not placed on a mat, it may be noisier.

 

[magister]

In this one, you can clearly hear the fountain:

Thanks; I'd found the first one, but not that. Yes: definitely, the pumps appear not to have a problem when running at 60Hz. I did find one noisy one from a North American clip, but that was uploaded in 2010, so either they've improved them, or that one just happened to have a dicky pump.


I could find only one clip of a Platinum running at 50Hz, and that one also was noisy. So, conceivably, it is a problem with the pumps running rougher at 50, although one other example doesn't exactly prove the point, as mine also may simply have been a bad pump.

 

[magister]

Just out of curiosity, anybody had any experience with these? I looked at them some time ago, but never got around to doing anything about it.

Ceramic Cat Fountains Pet Fountains & for Home by CatFountains


Might be worth having another look.

 

[DreamerRose]

No, I haven't ever used one, but they are very attractive. They don't have a reservoir, though, which means you will have to constantly refill it.

 

[magister]

No, I haven't ever used one, but they are very attractive. They don't have a reservoir, though, which means you will have to constantly refill it.

Good point.


As for pumps: I know this is getting a little off topic for Cat Behaviour, but a little more info for those living outside Nort America / Japan (i.e., for countries running on 50Hz mains):


A friend pointed out to me something that should have been opvious, and that I'd missed. Assuming the supplied low-voltage pumps are identical for fountains sold world-wide, then definitely there's likely to be a noise problem when trying to run them at 50Hz.


First, running 20% slower, the pump's impeller should be 20% heavier, to ensure it stays smooth and quiet. The slower it runs, the less flywheel effect, meaning more jerkiness, and so more vibration and noise, unless compensated for by a heavier impeller.


Second, because it's an AC device, 20% slower means it should be running on 20% less voltage. It's possible manufacturers take this into account, but both of us are pretty willing to bet that, assuming the pump is meant to run e.g. on 12V, they'd just supply a 12V output transformer, regardless of whether they're selling for 50Hz or 60Hz mains. This means that at 50hZ, the pump is going to be running over-voltage, and so get hotter and produce still more noise.


Of course, I don't have a North American model whith which to compare, but certainly this might explain what's going on.


Sorry to get a bit off-topic for this forum.