# How long can a cat go without water?



## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Everything is great with Miu's new kennel digs however, she's started to tip over her water bowl. I'm very hesitant to put her in there overnight (from 11:30pm - 6:45am) without water. I've resorted to putting a very minimal amount in the bowl but she still spills it all over the place. Would a cat take to using one of those 'rodent' water bottles very well?


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

We wire on our water bowls to wire sides of kennels so cats cant tip them over.


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

You could either
A: get a really heavy water bowl
B: put a heavy rock in the existing bowl
C: if it fits, get a running water bowl so there isn't any actual sitting water out


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

It depends on what she's eating. If it's primarily wet food, I wouldn't be very concerned at all. If it's mostly dry, then having water available is more important. But a cat certainly isn't going to dehydrate and get ill if it doesn't get water for 7-8 hours. Think about it...when they're having surgery, the water bowl gets removed about 12 hours before.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Cats get most of the water they need from their food (unless they're eating kibble, of course). They can go days without water, as they are adjusted to the desert where they're originally from. When Prince is not in one of his kibble-only crises, he almost doesn't drink or doesn't drink at all.

That said, the above idea of placing a rock sounds great.


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## SpellQ (Dec 12, 2010)

Apple doesn't pay much attention to it, but Pedro LOVES his giant rodent water bottle. I've got it attached to the side of their crate.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Ah...forehead slap. You're right! I forgot about the water/food ban before a surgery. However, that's like a one time thing, would it be okay for this to be a daily occurrence? 

<---- read, overprotective mom

She's on a wet/raw diet so she gets a fair bit of water. Plus I've seen her drink during the day sometimes. She has a small 0.3 oz dry snack before bed though.

I'm debating to either use a rodent bottle or just to let her out overnight now. It's been roughly 2 months and looks like her poops outside the box prob may be fixed. Recently, I accidentally let her out once without seeing a pile. She followed me down to the basement, I tinkered with some stuff. Then when I visited the basement box, I saw a fresh pile there instead of on the carpet like I used to! So...she may be cured.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I think she'd be fine overnight with no water. But, as an alternative, how about letting her out of the kennel at night, but still confining her to one room for now (whichever room her kennel is in). You could then leave some water out for her in another part of the room, and hopefully she wouldn't keep knocking it over.

You could also leave the kennel in the room, open, so she could sleep there if she wanted.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

I had a cat growing up that would ONLY drink from a rabbit water bottle. They are pretty cheap, its worth a shot.


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## JBerotte (Feb 4, 2011)

My 8 month kitten, Buffy, drinks from a small dog water bottle that's attached to her 4 level cat playpen / nightly sleeping quarters. I hand raised her from a day old. Buffy learned how to drink from the water bottle by mimicking my shih tzu, Raven, who also has one on her kennel door.


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## Nora B (Nov 6, 2010)

Oh man I feel like an idiot - I never once thought of one of those water bottles...what an awesome idea, sort of like water and entertainement in one.

For our dog we use a coop cup, I actually attach it to the wire door so it is easy to rinse and refill - no more spills.


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## jen4423 (May 1, 2011)

my cats rarely drink the water from their bowls (even though i clean them and refill them with fresh water twice daily!) but i ALWAYS catch them lapping up the water from my tubs faucet that has a slight drip. i read somewhere that cats prefer drinking water that hasn't been sitting collecting dust and stray cat hairs and such anyway. i say go for the rodent drip feeder! it might not be a bad idea!


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

I thought about that. However, Miu is such a mischievous little child...I think she would play with the rodent bottle more than drink out of it. Sigh. I tried a heavier bowl last night. Put it along the center of one side of the kennel. To my chagrin, this morning I find the bowl (with spilled water) at one corner of the kennel almost under her bed and the mat in the opposite corner! ARGH!

I can't keep the cat room closed. Jack's litterbox is in there. It would mean confining Jack too which is unfair. I don't want to screw up his routine. That's the only box he'll go in (or he'll sneak some into Miu's kennel litterbox if it's open)

I thought about using one of those metal parrot food cups, but I think she'll actually like the clang of the metal and end up dislodging the cup from the metal ring. I'll probably find the metal ring attached to the kennel and the cup thrown in some corner the next morning. Bleh....!

I also tried not confining her at all to see if she learnt her lesson...nopes. I found a nice pile of turd on the carpet in the cat room the next day. @#$^@#[email protected] She will ONLY poop properly in the box if she's confined. I think it's because she's too distracted to pay attention and focus on changing her habit. It's nice that every morning, I see a nice pile in the box. Just the spilled water that's the hassle.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Would something like this work? PETCO Deep Two-Toned No-Tip Stainless Steel Bowl at PETCO

To put it in a corner where she couldn't push it around and the most she could do is splash the water out of it...maybe?


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Mowmow, that's the one I bought for Prince, and I thought that was what everyone had, so I didn't understand how it could be tipped... Prince managed to tip it a little only, one day he dashed past it, but he's 14 lbs and veeery big, and still it took a lot of force from him in run. And it's not even "deep two-toned".


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

jen4423 said:


> my cats rarely drink the water from their bowls (even though i clean them and refill them with fresh water twice daily!) but i ALWAYS catch them lapping up the water from my tubs faucet that has a slight drip. i read somewhere that cats prefer drinking water that hasn't been sitting collecting dust and stray cat hairs and such anyway.


fftopicYep, the plumber is one of the cats' worst enemies. His arrival signals the end of fun. The strays' colony I manage formed around a leak in a pipe in the public garden downstairs here (many years ago). Then the city plumber came and the poor cats never felt the same. Recently, a neighbor (because he is the country's most famous soccer star) started letting garbage clog his draining pipe from his terrace, so when there's rain, my strays feast for days afterwards. The super threatened to call a plumber, thankfully nothing has been done yet. Every evening I pour fresh water in my strays' bowl, and I spill the old water on the grass. I announce to the cats that fresh water is on, only for them to rush and drink from the muddy puddles formed by the old water.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions. Miu is a tiny thing at 7 pounds but man, I don't know how she can move around stuff with those small paws of hers. 

Yesterday I put TWO ceramic bowls, one into another. This morning, I found she had bat it into the corner overnight. It wasn't spilled (so that solves the spilling prob) but I don't know if she even drank from it. Reason is, she bat it into the corner where the litterbox is and some litter got into it.

Sooo...yeah, I think I'll be purchasing something similar to this:

Snap'y Stainless Steel Bowls, Midwest Snap'y Fit Bowls

Given how she seems to have some mystical powers, I think those metal spill proof ones won't work with her. She'll likely bat it clear across the kennel.

I guess I might also look into a metal parrot bowl that's one-piece so she can't bat it around.

Off to Petsmart I go tonight! I'm weird, I love shopping at pet stores more than for myself.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

You're not weird. My life's dream is to shop at a Petco or Petsmart. And I much prefer shopping for my cats than for myself.


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