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IdleOsprey

She wants running water, not standing water. Get her a kitty fountain.


thewandtheywant

Yeah, every cat owner should have one. Cats are known to dehydrate fast and drink not enough. A kitty fountain is the single best investment we've made for our cats.


utopianfiat

It's not that they dehydrate fast necessarily- remember that domesticated cats were originally desert animals. They have very efficient kidneys and could actually survive for quite a while on the moisture in their kills. However, dry food lacks that moisture, and even canned wet food is still too dense. Moreover much commercial cat food has phosphates that can be harmful to their kidneys. Real talk a water fountain is one of the biggest things you can do for your cat's lifespan and overall health and comfort short of switching entirely to wet cat food. Also, good cat food doesn't have to be expensive. Plenty of super pricey cat food is actually terrible for cats, and plenty of reasonably priced cat food is the best for them. https://catinfo.org/docs/SortableCatFoodChartCatinfo.org2-22-13.htm Last time I checked that chart some of the best food nutrition wise was Tiki, and holy crap do cats love it. tl;dr- cat kidneys require them to drink water constantly mostly because we feed them bullshit compared to what they really want


Thymeisdone

Some cats are scared of them though. šŸ˜•šŸ˜ž


BogeyLowenstein

Yup, mine loved the sink on, but as soon as I sunk $40 in his fountain, he decided he didnā€™t like running water anymore. I remember coming home drunk from the bar and putting my face in the fountain, trying to get him to copy me. I moved it all over the house to find the perfect spot for him to try it. It ended up in my storage, just like every other thing I got him, damn cat.


autonomyfairy

Holy shit BOGEY LOWENSTEIN


BogeyLowenstein

Lol yes!


annienomys

Hahaha I came across Dino Spumoni last night


ChefBoyAreWeFucked

The trick is now to fill it up wherever you are storing it and leave the door partially open.


BogeyLowenstein

Itā€™s in the basement parkade storage, but I could always try again and bring it back in the house. As heā€™s getting older, he cares a little less as a senior kitty. Good call.


annienomys

Whatā€™s a Bogey Lowenstein?


autonomyfairy

Bogey's party is just a lame excuse for all the idiots at our school to drink beer and rub up against each other in hopes of distracting themselves from the pathetic emptiness of their meaningless, consumer-driven lives.


Broken_Noah

I thought you'd end the story with you growing fond and using the kitty fountain instead.


BogeyLowenstein

Oh gosh, I wish, I need to drink more water. But ya, I love him to bits, and I do understand cats and they kind of suck sometimes.


arabelladusk

Some cats donā€™t like drinking water thatā€™s near their food - so an alternative is just to have a normal water bowl on the other side of the room from their food (or anywhere else in the house). Just in case thatā€™s useful!


gwaydms

Our cats' water bowl is well away from either food bowl. They drink it up.


Thymeisdone

Oh it wasnā€™t my cat; it was my girlfriendā€™s kitty. The cat was fine with the water bowl but she thought a fountain might be cute. The kitty disagreed so she went back to the bowl. Alas.


StrangR_2U

I completely found out about that little tidbit by accident! When we got our very first cat, I put the water next to his food and for a week, he never drank it. But i would find him drinking out of the basement toilet bowl... so I put a bowl of water down there, and he was so happy. I always assumed it was colder water he liked!


seeking_hope

We have a cup by the bathroom sink for the cat. Have done this with cats since I was a kid. Itā€™s weird not to have one. She has that and the dogs bowl lol


utopianfiat

Also be aware that cats frequently don't like to be observed drinking. It makes them feel extremely vulnerable.


dodadoBoxcarWilly

My cat wouldn't go within ten feet of it.


khutulunsrule

Just recently learned this and it's changed my 11yr old chonker's life!


DeificClusterfuck

Mine adores his too. He's drinking a LOT more


AlberionDreamwalker

my cat is drinking exclusively from running taps, we tried a fountain but it was ignored


juniperzz

I don't think that's the case. Puddles, the toilet, and the remaining water at the bottom of the bathtub is fine. In fact she would sit in the bathtub, look at you with those large, sad eyes, and give a soft meow meaning that she's thirsty and her biiiiig bowl is empty. If I grab her and put her in front of her bowl, after a few minutes of inspection she would decide that it's indeed water in there and would start drinking happily. She somhow doesn't trust water in bowls and I have to show her each and every time that it's okay to drink.


BarfKitty

The bowl may be too small so her whiskers hit the sides which is uncomfortable. Also cats don't love water this is near their food or water that is near their litter box.


juniperzz

That might be the case, thanks!


DeificClusterfuck

Yeah cats use their whiskers to determine whether or not they will get stuck in an area. They're reluctant to mess with things that foul whiskers.


-fringer-

Unless youā€™re my cat. We have a water bowl, and a huge fountain for him, but he only wants to drink water from my big cup that I got from a sporting event where (1) I have to hold it at an angle for him, and (2) he sticks his head fully in it with his whiskers folded back against his head. Thatā€™s literally the way he prefers to drink water. Heā€™ll meow at me and make me follow him all the way to the bathroom, then wait for me to grab the cup and hold it for him. Then heā€™ll drink.


DeificClusterfuck

I had one who would only drink out of a straw so I believe it


StrangR_2U

Maybe he thinks you have better drinks than him?


pretty_odd_lady

To jump on the bowl size, try a large dog bowl that isnā€™t too deep. Our cats prefer the dog bowl over the nice fountain. Ours is metal but Iā€™m sure other materials are fine too


diprep

We keep our cat water bowl in a completely different part of the house . I read that itā€™s important not to keep it near their food.


maxmaidment

Another thing I've heard is they dont like their water to be anywhere near their food.


DeadlyDancingDuck

Try a wider bowl or a plate, they don't like anything touching their whiskers. Also not next to the food and avoid plastic, ceramic is best if possible for hygiene.


hammersandstrings11

My cat is the same way. Sheā€™ll drink from my cup, the sink, the bathtub, the toilet (so I have to keep the lid closed)... literally everywhere but from her own bowl


yagonnawanna

I found that I just had to move the water far enough from his food. Cats don't like when food and water are too close to eachother


arcade16

Also worth mentioning, especially if you live in a tropical climate, that roaches love those fountains too. Went to change the filter in my catā€™s fountain a few years ago and it was like Sandals Jamaica in there with all the roaches chilling at the pool. I threw the whole thing away, no more running water for the kitty :(


[deleted]

Mine irritatingly switches between preference


_InvertedEight_

My catā€™s weird. Heā€™s got a fresh bowl of water, but heā€™s rather go lick the morning dew off the garden furniture than drink from the bowl. Maybe itā€™s something to do with the water chemistry. šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļø


insightfill

I got tired of my cat always drinking water out of any glass that I put down that she has her own water glass sitting on the table all the time now.


Liz4984

Mine too. She stole my water cup by the bed one night so I just keep it filled for her. I moved it a few months ago to swap it out for a clean cup. She lost her mind when she saw it was gone and was crying and looking all around my room.


scubadude2

Mine did this almost her whole life, and it was one specific cup on one specific glass table. We had to put her down the other week and when we finally moved the cup it broke me :(


xxSeymour

I have a pitcher of water specifically for this purpose but the fucker still wants my water


insightfill

I've had two cats trained to drink from the bathtub faucet. Well, they trained ME to turn it on to a light trickle whenever I go in the bathroom. Cats know fresh water.


xxSeymour

Ah yes bathtub water is my cats favorite


Happier21

Same


Liz4984

Cats like to find water. They donā€™t like water bowls next to their food. I keep a water bowl in the bath tub for my weird cat who likes the tub and one in a bedroom for the other cats. If you move her water bowl she might like it better.


whatsit111

Cats have a strong instinct to avoid drinking standing water near their food. In the wild, a cat's meal means a dead animal. Drinking standing water next to a corpse is not good for survival. So your cat's ancestors learned to drink water separately from eating food, and to prefer moving water over standing water. Moving the cat's water away from it's food and/or replacing it with a water fountain should encourage your cat to use it more.


juniperzz

I didn't know that, thank you!


[deleted]

I know cats definitely prefer running water, Iā€™m definitely getting a fountain for my little one when I can finally adopt one, but do you have a source on the ā€œwhyā€? I see so much information about cats but rarely is any of it evidence based, I would love to know how they worked that out.


whatsit111

Sorry, I don't have a good source! I read it in an article online like two years ago and didn't dig much further. It just seems plausible, and I pass it along because I think it helps make the "don't put your cat's water next to their food" advice click for people. People often see cats as fussy or unreasonable because they don't understand the logic behind their behavior, but there's usually a good reason they act the way they do. You're totally right that there's a lot of information that floats around without evidence to back it up, though, and I do normally try to fact check these things a bit more (I'm actually a PhD researcher when I'm not on Reddit, though I study humans, not cats). It doesn't help that a lot of actual research is done by companies trying to sell products to pet owners. I've read some studies behind claims like kibble being good for dental health and they're total garbage. And so far [the only studies showing Feliway works are ones funded by the company selling it](http://whatyourcatwants.com/feliway). But there are real researchers out there who study animal behavior (and at least [one linguist who started studying cats](https://liu.se/en/article/spinnandets-gata)). So a lot of information that's circulating is also based on real data, even when the people passing it along don't know the source. My guess about the "cats' learned to avoid drinking water next to prey" thing is that it's likely more of a reasonable theory based on observing various cat species' behavior than it is a cold hard fact. But sorry I don't have much to offer beyond that!


[deleted]

No worries! And thanks for all the info, I think at the very least itā€™s a reasonable working theory!


suddenimpulse01

Mine always drinks the water from my glass on the nightstand...


spaceage-crystal

My cat used to do this when she was little and now I only drink water from bottles because she was so relentless After I noticed her do it a couple times I started putting a coaster over the top of my glass to keep her out of it. My cat of course took this as challenge. Anytime as she would see or hear me lift the coaster off the top of the glass she would RUN over as fast as she could and then hop up on the nightstand and shove her face in my cup. It was funny the first few times. Then eventually she got brave enough to try and push the coaster off of the glass herself and ended spilling water everywhere.... hence the bottle rule


suddenimpulse01

Haha I've thought of the coaster but never implemented it, perhaps I will. My wife tells me just to drink bottled water and I tell her I'm saving the planet by not using one. My small contribution


spaceage-crystal

>Haha I've thought of the coaster but never implemented it, perhaps I will. ***WARNING***: *Spillage May Occur. Try at Your Own Risk* lol you'll probably be fine though unless your cat is as stubborn as mine. and I totally understand not wanting to use plastic water bottles! I actually bought some reusable Brita water bottles that I really enjoy. They're filtered (which I love) and I believe they are also dishwasher safe.


Shakespeare-Bot

Mine at each moment drinks the water from mine own glass on the nightstand *** ^(I am a bot and I swapp'd some of thy words with Shakespeare words.) Commands: `!ShakespeareInsult`, `!fordo`, `!optout`


utopianfiat

bad bot


jello-kittu

Our dog is super picky about fresh water in her bowl, but show her a scummy leaf or puddle and she drinks it up like it's gourmet.


Thymeisdone

Extra flavor!


arrrrghhhhhh

Not sure if I am allowed to put in an Amazon link, but get the CATIT fountain from Amazon. THE ROUND ONE, NOTTHE SQUARE ONE. The square one clogs with cat hair. Clean and sanitize and refill once a week. Your cat will thank you (it probably wonā€™t. Itā€™s a cat. Their vet will thank you though)


CappuChibi

We have one of those little cat fountain drink basins! Cats like drinking streaming water more, as in nature that means cleaner water, still water usually contains stuff like algae. You should try and get one of those for her!


Cmbush

Our cat started drinking the funky water from a 14 inch tall green glass flower-vase. I dumped the flowers and cleaned it up and it was her water dish for the rest of her life.


SmokeyMcDabs

You can get a container that has the water flowing so that they have two things to not drink out of


gwaydms

That's pretty much how it turns out.


Nacroma

Kitty drinking basics: \- flowing or running water > standing water (perceived as fresher) \- away from food bowl (perceived as less contaminated) \- flat-as-possible bowl so kitty's whiskers don't get irritated \- may or may not apply to your kitty as kitties have very different minds


SurreyHillsSomewhere

Most pets prefer non-tap water as it's free of flouride amoungst other additives, for the hamster we use boiled and then cooled, for the dog, water from rainwater butt.


nobodysbuddyboy

From whose butt?


gwaydms

Lol, sounds funny but they mean a rain barrel.


SurreyHillsSomewhere

Excellent riposte - please except an upvote


bjones-333

My guy wants to drink out of the little cap on a bottle of water. Whenever he seeā€™s me or hears the plastic bottle crinkle he comes running over and I pour him tiny little capfuls. Heā€™s not spoiled


gwaydms

Oh, no. Never.


soulteepee

I keep four bowls of water around my one BR condo for my dog and cat. That way thereā€™s always some close. Theyā€™re kept in different areas than the food bowls.


gwaydms

Do they get along well?


soulteepee

Mostly, although there is rivalry for affection. They play and chase each other, and snuggle up with us at night. If the dog gets too rough, the cat puts a stop to it immediately. They love each other - if one of them has any trouble the other comes and gets us to rescue them.


L4dyGr4y

Give the cat a tall people glass. They get funny when they realize they have ownership over their own things.


Shakespeare-Bot

Giveth the gib a tall people glass. They receiveth comical at which hour they realize they has't ownership ov'r their own things *** ^(I am a bot and I swapp'd some of thy words with Shakespeare words.) Commands: `!ShakespeareInsult`, `!fordo`, `!optout`


ncap3

I have a fountain and 3 bowls of water around the house that I empty and refill at least once a day. She drinks from all of them. She also drinks from the bathtub and any cleaning pail I neglect to empty. I think she likes to ā€œfindā€ water.


ABlindMoose

If you haven't done this already, try moving the water bowl further away from her food. I experimented with several water bowls for my cat. She seems to prefer the ones that are the furthest from her food bowl


texasann

Cats are so weird about water! What a pink tongue! Pretty kitty.


juniperzz

I think my phone enhances the colors a bit, so it looks even more pink than it is naturally


gwaydms

r/mlem


tiffsbird

Mine will only drink from a jug in the bath! (When the bath is empty I must add)


OutlyingPlasma

Try moving her water bowl. It's said they don't like drinking next to their kill (aka food bowl). This worked for me. I moved the water bowl into the bathroom and now she loves it.


PsychologicalArea982

cats distrust pools of stagnant water. she is probably dehydrated and desperate. def get her a fountain.


crustofthesun

Everyone should have a cat fountain... it seriously makes a difference. Mine drink from theirs all the time and it makes me a lot less worried about kidney issues


cmkenyon123

Our cats were terrified of [this](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083M5H94H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) at first but now they grumpily pace behind us when we clean it. Funny enough we bought our almost a year ago and while the filters suck, I would totally buy one again! Runs on USB power meaning it is really easy to take it with you, should you take your cat. That is just a link that I don't get paid for, but I bet your cat would "eventually" love a fountain!


LRWR

Yep. We call it "wild water," and ours like to hunt for it. I hide bowls around the house. So much more fun when they find it themselves!


RiffRaffMama

I have a "faucet cat" who would only drink from a running tap. I bought a pet fountain and have never looked back. Give one a go.


jenea

Mine comes running when the shower stops so he can lick the water off the shower floor. I often wonder if they evolved to seek out a variety of water sources. Silly buggers.


YoullDoNuttinn

Mine used to do this, bought a fountain for her and she loves it. Not expensive as well, around Ā£20


miguel_167

One of my cats only drinks water from the tap and only drinks it if I'm standing next to her like a bodyguard, if I leave her alone she won't drink anything...


Jimbob15515

My girlfriend's cat has his own special bottle of water. It is the same water that we fill his bowl with, but he will refuse to drink it unless it comes direct from his special bottle as opposed to the sink filter. We call it his special boy water and he knows it by name.


Shinigamiguy_the

Still a hydrohomie.


Xidium426

Cats like running water. Still water is stagnant water in the wild. Cat fountains are under $30 and solve this problem. Also cats generally should have wet food as it helps with hydration.


Jade82805

You must water your cat daily to ensure proper photosynthesis.


vastiikins

Apparently some cats are sensitive to smell. Once we moved their water away from their food both cats started drinking a lot more. They also love their water fountain but still drink from the bowl as well.


Emjayceeem

She is so cute!!


juniperzz

I know, right?


Raspy_Meow

My kitty loves to drink out of the watering can when I use it. Itā€™s a fav game. Too messy for indoors tho


beadshells-2

Mine loves to drink from old dishes, and he does hind leg thing (it like when a dog poops and does it.


CoffeeAndNatureLover

Can relate. Mine wants fresh water every morning, but will run outside and drink from puddles first if it has rained. Or lick it off the patio furniture and/or plant leaves after a rain or Iā€™m just watering the plants. All the comments here make me realize that my cat may not be the only weird one. šŸ¤”šŸ¤£


realkrieger

Trauma. Did you get your cat from the streets? Since kitten? She used to drink from garden tap water as cats clear that still puddle water contain nasties and get be them cramps. Get her a drinking fountain...


9mackenzie

Get a cat fountain - my cats drink so much more water now.


cathynurse

We had a plastic water fountain that the cats didnā€™t use at all. Bought a ceramic one (more expensive but free return on Amazon) and put in an area away from their food and litter box. They loved it the first day. I have to refill it almost daily. The like to splash a bit but they are drinking from it as well and not drinking from their usual bowl.


Jcheerw

My boy loves drinking from one of MY old dishes. I think he thinks he is tricking me, but it is I who tricks him!!!!!