How To Get A Cat To Drink Water

Hello everyone, my 1 year old kitty is currently recovering from being sick and he is very dehydrated. He is eating wet food really good but I just can’t get him to drink water. Even when I try to syringe feed him, I feel like I don’t give him enough. I try to add some water in his wet food, but if I add too much he won’t eat it. I’ve also tried adding low sodium chicken broth in his water for some flavor and I’ve even warmed it up but he still won’t drink it. Are there any other ways to get him to drink water on his own or is syringe feeding as much as I can the only way? When I syringe feed him water, it takes me around an hour or so just to get at least 20 mL in him and that’s far from being enough for the day.
Every time I syringe feed him, he always lets the water spill from his mouth so I’m barely getting any in. I try to point the syringe in the side of his mouth while pointing the syringe inward.. if that makes sense.

I have a water fountain for my boys. I think the movement of the water encourages them to drink more, compared to a bowl of still water.

Yes, the fascination of moving water entices them to drink, even Walmart has fountains now. Amazon has many styles. I found that setting small bowls of water around the house seems to getb them to drink more too. They can't resist checking out a bowl sitting in a weird place and then they drink because they are there. I ahve taken several dehydrated cats into teh vets to get them to hydrate them under the skin, sub cutaneous or subQ. . It only takes a few minutes and lasts a lot longer. My vet was inexpensive too. Once your kitty is hydrated and feeling better, he will drink more.

My kitties enjoy a fountain and love drinking out of the sink. I hope your kitty starts drinking soon

I think some of them like to 'find' water similar to wild animals. Oliver, for example, has a lovely clean stainless steel water bowl next to his food but he'll still search the sink for a bit of skanky water in a dish in that period just after our meal and prior to putting stuff in the dishwasher. He'll also visit the dog water bowl just a few feet away from his own dedicated set up.
Just a suggestion to go along with your other measures but maybe you could put some water in a place slightly harder to get to than usual and receptacle other than a normal bowl so he thinks he's found it by being a clever cat. Just a thought.