WEIRD.....or what??!!

[Jasmine]

Impressed with Korkers, suppose this might be worth a try with M!

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

   I saw Korky drinking from his new wide, clear glass bowl this morning.  Mind you, I suspect its instead of rather than as well his usual bowl but its a start.

[Kucinta]

I've always kept my boys' water bowls separate from their feeding bowls, and found they like wide, quite deep bowls.

 However Milo used to drive me nuts pawing the water bowl and spilling water everywhere, until he managed to get the water bowl off the mat.

In the end I surrendered and got rid of the mat and he was quite happy with the same old bowls, same positions, just no mat! He's also one for 'pawing over' food and drink bowls when he's finsihed eating/drinking.

[Janeyk]

I give her several mini-meals a day instead, with water added.

I add water to Korky's food but I can't add much , otherwise he leaves it.  He used to have several mini-meals but now he seems to prefer just 2 larger meals a day.

Mark -super piccie of Kylie.  My bridge baby Tiny would drink from my glass (it was a regular bedtime routine) but Korky just isn't interested   

Byron will go straight for a glass of water if it's on the floor and if I dose off you can guarantee when I wake up it will be tipped over or I will have to get a fresh one in case she's been in there our Smokey was water mad and he would walk up to a glass and tip it over he was a bit of a clown and would look to check you were watching he was a real comedian.

[Mark]

Mark -super piccie of Kylie. 

Thanks Carol - that tap could have done with a bit of Limlite though 

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

I give her several mini-meals a day instead, with water added.

I add water to Korky's food but I can't add much , otherwise he leaves it.  He used to have several mini-meals but now he seems to prefer just 2 larger meals a day.

Mark -super piccie of Kylie.  My bridge baby Tiny would drink from my glass (it was a regular bedtime routine) but Korky just isn't interested   

[Mark]

One of the reason we got a fountain in the first place 

This was at OHs old house about 5 years ago. Kylie aslo used to put her paw in a bowl of water, keep it there and lick her paw to have a drink 

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Korky and the large glass bowl of water - 24 hours on.    I decided I would have to put it out in addition to his existing bowl so that he didn't give up drinking altogether if he didn't like it so, I placed it well away from his food and kept an eye on it.   He's seen it, he's sniffed at it, and ....................   he's refused to drink it   Oh, and I've kicked it over twice because I forgot it was there.  We will persevere for a few more days

[Jasmine]

Great pics of Avalo & Korky.

Funnily enough, I mentioned on another thread recently about my Martha - 23 and CRF, who refuses to drink water too!
She has been diagnosed for over 2 years now, and the only time I have ever seen her drink was when she had flu last Spring (and that was a Lectade mix).

I give her several mini-meals a day instead, with water added.

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Thats a great piccie - the water stream looks like a glass bead necklace

[Mitramonday]

Here's a similar one of Avalo.....

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Easier than I thought to find - must have posted it before 

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Re Korky not drinking - I had them same with my beloved Avalo (rainbow puss) - as soon as he was diagnosed with CRF, he stopped doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing more of (i.e. drinking!). 

Prior to his CRF I never saw adult Korky drink - at all.  He will drink now but not enough.  As a kitten he too loved running water - but not any more.  I have a piccie somewhere of him in the kitchen sink - will post it if I can find it.

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Will he drink bottled water or have you tried catching rain for him.........its rain that my lot like the best 

I've settled on flitered water (Brita filter) as that seems to be acceptable.  He doesn't refuse it as he does with tap water but just doesn't drink enough of it.  All my previous cats have preferred rainwater, preferably with a few old leaves or bits of soil in it   but Korky is no more likely to drink that than he is to drink any other.  He will drink bottled water (inasmuch as he drinks anything) but I avoid it because it has generally has a high sodium content.

[Mitramonday]

WOW!  This thread has taken off way more than I thought it would!  So many thanks to all you wonderful fur-babe-mums out there!  I'll certainly try a glass bowl and see what happens.  Re Korky not drinking - I had them same with my beloved Avalo (rainbow puss) - as soon as he was diagnosed with CRF, he stopped doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing more of (i.e. drinking!).  Until then, it hadn't been an issue - he was quite happy with both the bowl AND the siting of it!  However, after I was told he needed to drink more, he wouldn't touch anything I gave him - he would drink from filthy dirty puddles on the odd occasion that he went out so I went and scooped some from his favourite puddle into his water bowl - at which point he turned his nose up at it  !  The only thing he would do was drink from a running tap (at which point I tried two sorts of indoor water fountains with no success) but, again, being on a water meter meant that I couldn't leave it running all day while I was out.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Will he drink bottled water or have you tried catching rain for him.........its rain that my lot like the best 

[Dark Moon]

good luck.

It worked for us.

But I have been around way long enough to know that what works for some won't work for all.

But it worked for us.

The best thing???  A dripping tap.

Though I can't give that to them constantly. Only when we are all in the same room together, and I can turn it off. Cost, don't ya know.

But the clear glass bowl has been wondrous. I still do NOT understand why............

[Rosella moggy]

My neighbours have a clear glass jug on the sideboard which they keep topped up for their 3 

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

........So, try a largish clear glass bowl, and keep it well 'topped' up.

This is an interesting thread.  I don't have a behaviour issue with Korky and water - he just doesn't like it   He has CRF so its important that he drinks and I thought I'd tried everything:- different types of water, different positions for bowls, different types of bowl, even a water fountain (that found its way onto the Purrs auction) . Success has been minimal, other than confirming that hell will freeze over before he will drink tap water.  However, I have never tried the large clear glass bowl so I'll give that a go - wish me luck.

[Leanne]

We've had real issue with Milo doing the same thing.

Their water bowls are no where near food and are kept on rubber mats but somehow Milo manages to drag them across the kitchen when we're at work spilling water everywhere and its all soaked into our wooden flooring and raised it up 

I've tried a selection of bowls and the best one was a really heavy one from Zoo Plus. If Milo starts it again I am going to get heavy dog bowls for the water.

I should add we too have a water fountain, Milo adores it we turn it off at night and he sits waiting for it to be turned on in the mornings. Jess would needs more water (bladder issues) I've never seen drink so he gets water poured onto his food which he laps up.

Both ours get filtered water.

[Janeyk]

our Smokey pulled his water dish around, he was water mad so we bought him a water fountain and he just loved it  he'd fall asleep with his head resting on the side (couldn't drag it round either  )

[Dark Moon]

Several years ago I had troubles with one of my kitties and was told I had to get him to drink more.  Yeah, right.... how do you get a cat to do anything he doesn't want to? Tips she gave me included the use of a clear glass bowl. And, since they love moving water, one of those automatic, continuous recycling ones. I got both and both worked. Their absolute favourite is the clear glass bowl. It is the size of a large baking mixing bowl, and I have to refill it several times a week. (I actually got a smaller one too and they liked that as well. It just got emptied so quickly!). The 'moving' water is good too - though, to be honest, most of mine are just as happy sitting by the sink (either kitchen or bath) waiting for the water to magically appear from the taps, and then lapping while the water drips.

And the whiskers thing mentioned by Gill is excellent too as (so I have since read) cats generally don't like having to put their heads down into things (like feeders). So, try a largish clear glass bowl, and keep it well 'topped' up.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

i use the cereal bowls that are about 5/6 inches across, so they are heavier, deeper and they can get their whiskers and face closer to the water. i also have three for 4 cats and one outside!

not to mention two orange buckets that collect rain water off the greenhouse roof  which is first port of call for 3 when weather is warmer. 

[Rosella moggy]

Also suggest more than one water bowl. We have 4 but then we now have 6 puds.  Have noticed they all use all of them but favourite is one in lounge by the fire, of course 

[Sonnie]

I know through Felix doing this when he was a kitten, that some cats cant get on with stainless steel water bowls!   
strange i know!!!  give it a try with a different bowl maybe?   

[Mitramonday]

  Theresa!  I knew I would get some answers on this wonderful site!!  And it's amazing what you pick up - I knew about keeping food/bed etc away from the litter tray, but I had never heard of keeping the water away from the food?!  I'll try that and see what happens..... again!

[Teresa Pawcats]

Cats prefer their water to be well away from their food, maybe the very clever boy is trying to tell you this.

[Mitramonday]

   Percy is settling down really well - still a timid cat, but becoming braver by the day.  Here's the 'weird' behaviour that I'm wondering if anyone can shed any light on.  I first noticed it one morning after he had been with me about 3 weeks, then nothing until a repeat performance last night - and this morning, I have sat here and actually watched him do it (so I now know his method!!).  He has a mat in the hall where he has his food and water bowls (he is SUCH a messy eater) - but, on these 3 occasions,  he has dragged his (full) stainless steel water bowl off the mat and across the hall.  While I was watching this morning, he puts his front paw into the bowl, then walks backwards dragging it towards him, all across the carpet (yes, spilling water as he goes) for about 6 feet until it was in the middle of the lounge, where he proceeded to drink a little before leaving it??! The bowl is 5" in diameter with (supposedly) a non-slip rubber ring around the base.  It was actually very funny to watch, but I am totally bemused as to why he might want to do this?! 
Other than that, Percy is settling down well, although he has a slightly raised temperature at the mo, and is not quite as keen on his food....(had an a.b. jab at the vets the other day).  I tried to gradually move him onto the Nature's Menu stuff but a) I didn't like the texture of it - no lumps for him to chew on and b) more importantly, Percy doesn't seem that keen on it either. I'm trying to get him interested in the wider outdoors (I have an enclosed patio garden that I have made reasonably safe from the marauding moggie neighbours) and he will use the cat flap - IF I prop it open for him  - although he only stays out for 5 or 10 minutes before tearing back in.  He is a VERY vocal puss and sometimes I feel like I need a translator - I've picked up the happy 'chirrup' sounds and the hungry 'mmmmews' but he has other quite plaintive crying sounds that, as yet, I haven't got the gist of.  He's obviously quicker on the up-take than I am - all I have to do is a couple of 'Tchsch' and he stops his devilish  behaviour!  Already he is the light of my life and I love him just as much as I loved my  rainbow Avalo - though his character is so totally different!
So, back to the original point of this thread - does anyone have any  about the water bowl behaviour?!