# cats and filtered water



## meowmix (Feb 29, 2004)

I was just reading a couple articles at littlebigcat.com and i noticed it said don't give cats distilled water. I have a brita filter water dispenser and i was wondering if it's ok for cats to drink the filtered water. Does filtering the water take out the necessary minerals the cat needs? would bottled water be better? or jus stick with tap water?


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## coco & little guy (Jan 5, 2004)

I wonder about this too. We are on a well, not city water, and I know there is higher levels of lead and nitrites? Or is it nitrates? We had to have a water test done before we could move in, but that was 6 years ago. We put a PUR filter in our kitchen faucet, and have been using that for the guys' water bowls. We get the big 2.5 gallon natural spring water at the grocery store (which is ozonated and micron filtered) for our drinking water needs. 

The guys don't ever seem to drink water from their bowls, they seem to prefer a sink filled to the top with just the tap water better. :? Hey, I don't know why, they are just strange like that   

I would think that they get enough minerals, fortification etc. from their food, and that the filtered water would be better for them. Especially if you know there is some no good things in there to begin with.

Maybe Dr. Jean has some thoughts? It is probably more important that they get ENOUGH water more so than being against filtered water.

My $0.02


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## ForJazz (Dec 30, 2003)

I asked the humane society's consultant about this when I got my cats. He said that filtered water is actually better than tap water -- at least around here. We don't have flouride in our water anyway -- which is too bad b/c it is good for teeth. He said tap water is fine, but filtered is better. Distilled is different than filtered though. It might depend on what kind of water you have where you live.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Distilled water is different from filtered water. Distilled water, according to a delivery man I spoke to, gives some people diarrhea, although he drinks it with no problem. Distilled water, I believe, is steam that turns back into water. 

Some people who have wells think city water, which is filtered, tastes awful. Some well water actually smells bad (rotten egg water), but according to a man I was going to pay to test it, is good for you. It contains minerals that we need, according to his sources. We didn't buy that house, though, and that was one of the reasons. We could have had the water filtered.


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## Aonir (Aug 18, 2003)

I prefer well water because I grew up on it. Now that I'm in a city, I drink bottled water.


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## Juli (Jan 23, 2004)

Distilled water is pure water, all H2O molecules and nothing else. Filtered water still has some calcium, nitrates, and microorganisms. Bottled water does too. It's really not very healthy to be drinking distilled water, and not healthy for pets. Boiled water, or water from steam is not distilled water either, because the process for making distilled water is more complex. Boiling doesn't remove all of the things in water.


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## Richo (Jul 4, 2003)

I found this information on distilled water...



> Distillation is the process in which water is boiled, evaporated and the vapour condensed. Distilled water is free of dissolved minerals and, because of this, has the special property of being able to actively absorb toxic substances from the body and eliminate them. Studies validate the benefits of drinking distilled water when one is seeking to cleanse or detoxify the system for short periods of time (a few weeks at a time). Fasting using distilled water can be dangerous because of the rapid loss of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) and trace minerals like magnesium, deficiencies of which can cause heart beat irregularities and high blood pressure. Cooking foods in distilled water pulls the minerals out of them and lowers their nutrient value.


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

I don't recommend distilled water; it reportedly leaches minerals out of your system and can create deficiencies. 

In my last place I had a tap filter, but I can't get the dang faucet thingy off here! So...I use a Britta for the cats' water as well as mine. I would certainly filter well water too.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

We got our drinking water from my sister's house. I don't like water anyway, but rotten egg water is just too much! I used it for washing clothers, etc., but I didn't even like brushing my teeth with it!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

That was rotten egg well water. It was safe, just tasted and smelled bad. We didn't buy that house. Our water here is city water, and tastes normal, thank goodness! I understand that type of well water is good water, but it even smells bad. And it left rusty looking stains on the bathtub. The house had other problems or we would have bought the house and filtered the water. I don't care if the minerals are good for me or not! I didn't like the taste.


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