Toilet drinking

[inquisitive]

I bought a ceramic fountain for my 8 month ragdoll kitten and he still insists on drinking from the toilet. The fountain is cleaned regularly but I never see him drink from it. I have tasted the water from it (the fountain) myself & it's fine. I don't want him to drink from the toilet but would rather him drink toilet water than not enough water. How can I encourage this cat to use his fountain?

 

[DreamerRose]

Close the lid on the toilet. When he can't get water there, he will go to the fountain. I had to do this for my cat, and he drinks plenty of water from the fountain.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

My mother has one who you can't leave a lid up with him around.  It took him ages to outgrow the phase of trying to look when you would flush.  

 

  The only way we ever found to solve it was to just keep the lid shut.  She has one of the litter boxes in the bathroom; so they can't be shut out of the bathroom altogether. 

 

[BonitaBaby]

I would urge you to keep the toilet lid shut. It's best for your health as well. Ever since I heard that your bathroom counters and everything get coated with nasty bacteria every time you flush your toilet, I close the toilet lid before flushing and keep it down until the next use.

 

[LTS3]

Please don't let your cat drink out of the toilet. Not only do toilets contain harmful bacteria from Human waste which may make your cat sick, but chemical cleaners and fresheners you may use in the toilet bowl or in the tank will leave residue in the bowl which the water picks up. Household cleaners are very harmful pets if ingested. Keep the toilet lid down. It will also prevent your cat from possibly playing in the water, dropping toys in, and accidental drownings.

Some cats just don't like water fountains. It may be the noise of the pump inside the fountain or the moving water. Since it seems that your cat likes standing water (toilet bowl), why not provide a regular bowl of fresh water?

What do you feed your cat? The easiest way to get more water into a cat is to feed canned food. Some people like to add extra water to canned food to ensure good hydration. Cats who eat mostly canned food will rarely drink out of a bowl or fountain but they should always have fresh water available.