# Cats never drink water



## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Hi,

I notice that my two cats never drink out of their fountain since putting them on an all wet diet. Even when I had them on a mixed diet of wet and dry, they barely touched the cat mate water fountain. I feel like I am wasting money on filters which I replace once a month, when I never see them drink out of it. I just hope that the water they get from their food is enough. They both pee normally and I did the scruff test to make sure they were not dehydrated. Should I keep using the cat mate fountain or just leave a regular bowl of water just in case?


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Typical cats. They have an expensive fountain, but if given the opportunity would rather drink from the toilet, fishbowl, or a glass sitting on the coffee table.

If they are getting wet food, then they should be getting adequate water from their diet and I wouldn't worry too much.


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Ok, thanks, how many cans? Currently I split a can of either Wellness or Weruva at breakfast and dinner. However, lately I notice that they seem more hungry since weaning them off the dry. I have heard that Weruva doesn't have as much calories as other canned food so last night I caved and split another can between them before bedtime. Is this too much?


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I don't have a fountain for Murphy, but I do stash a couple extra water bowls around the house. He never wants to drink the water from the food area in the kitchen, but he does drink water in other locations. That may be worth a try, just putting a couple extra bowls around the house, as long as you think you'll remember to change the water every day.


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## SomeRandomChick (Sep 11, 2011)

It really depends on the size and activity level of your cats. An average size cat on canned only would usually go through roughly one can a day - but that's a cat in the 7-10 pound range. If your cats are bigger, and especially if they're active, splitting 3 cans a day is probably fine. My cat's just under 8 pounds so roughly 6 ounces per day would be the recommended amount, but since she's very active, she takes about 9 a day and maintains her weight just fine. Just keep an eye on their weight - it's actually pretty easy to tell pretty quickly if your cat is gaining a little weight just by general observation and petting. But if they want 3 cans a day split, and they aren't gaining, that's fine. Mine would get too skinny on a single can a day.


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

I hardly ever saw Toby drink anything and the only liquid i've seen go down Ridley thus far is milk. From what I understand cats are desert animals and therefore are very good at getting their water needs from their food.


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

I wouldn't worry. Mitzi hardly ever drinks. Infact I've never seen her drink from a bowl or their fountain. She is a glass kind of girl! She will happily drink for my glass of water! Evie, on the other hand, loves to drink from their fountain.

They both have regular wees (how lovely). I just assume Mitzi gets enough water for herself from her food. I also think Evie likes to play in the fountain- splashing it around etc. You wouldn't think she was nearly three!


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## Beth_Laubenthal (Oct 24, 2011)

Cats do not have a natural thirst drive. That's the reason dry cat food is not good for cats. Cats get most of their hydration from their food. A typical raw diet (or natural diet for ferals or other big game) is approximately 70 percent water.


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Ok thanks for the replies and suggestions regarding water and canned food for cats. When I took them off the dry food, I noticed Oreo lost about 2 lbs. and Little Pumpkin lost 1 lb in one month. They are both very active but late at night they seem hungry for food. However, I think adding a little more wet food will probably be best if I continue to monitor their weight and give them play time for exercise.


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## Meezer_lover (Apr 19, 2011)

Same deal here, too. When Yoshi was on 50/50 wet/dry food, he actually drank a LOT of water from his dish a few times per day. But since he's been on 100% wet, I haven't seen him take another drink of water.


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

I guess I shouldn't worry so much then. Today I added water to their wet food, they ate it the same way they always do. It's hard not to worry about them!


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Auntie Crazy: That is true, this is why I want to feed them more canned food throughout the day, thanks for the advice!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

The 6 in my house love water, and I see every single cat sipping from the fountain at least once a day. I buy water in gallons from the grocery store though, because my tap water wears out the motor on the fountain really quickly. They love that stuff and won't drink normal water.

brats


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

Mia drinks a bowl of water a day. Shes been like that sence I got her at 7 weeks old (now 5 months old). I guess I am lucky.


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

My cats eat wet (occasional raw but hoping to go back on a raw feeding when I find more sources) I just mix a spoon of water into their dish along with the vitamin supplement I give my seniors. They also have this thing for the dog's water bucket which I end up filling twice a day but never seem to see the cat's water dish get low.


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## princessbear (May 19, 2011)

October said:


> I don't have a fountain for Murphy, but I do stash a couple extra water bowls around the house. He never wants to drink the water from the food area in the kitchen, but he does drink water in other locations. That may be worth a try, just putting a couple extra bowls around the house, as long as you think you'll remember to change the water every day.


This is just what I started doing - Mimi would NOT drink water out of her water bowl near her food. I thought it was because she got plenty of water in her canned food (I add water to her food at every feeding). Then I read somewhere that some cats don't like to have their water near their food. So I put a bowl in the living room and one upstairs. Lo and behold - she is drinking from them - not alot (still adding water to food) but she is drinking! She's never been dehydrated and her amount of peeing is normal in my opinion ... but I always felt like she should be drinking water, even though I know cats don't have that natural thirst drive.


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