Cat not drinking water at all

[Abc12345]

I have a ~1 yr old cat. Up to a month ago, he used to drink plenty of water, drinking from two water fountains every 2 hrs or so. Then a month ago, I forgot to clean the water fountains one week and found them full of gunk the next week (the hot weather made it worse). I think this might have triggered my cat's reluctance to drink. He wouldn't even look at the water fountains so I threw them out and replaced them with ceramic ones that don't harbor bacteria as easily as plastic. I also put out three fresh cups/bowls of water throughout the apartment every morning. My cat still refuses to drink from any of these. I have tried ice cubes, mixing churu/gerber into water, filtered and bottled water, leaving the sink faucet running...NOTHING works. I have not seen him drink since a month ago. Even more worrying is that while I try to feed him wet food, he insists on kibble so two of his four daily meals is kibble.

Then today I read that cancer or liver/kidney problems can cause a cat to stop drinking. Has anyone experienced this? My cat looks healthy but his previous owner fed a strictly dry diet for the first 6 months of his life. Is it possible that a cat so young can still get kidney problems (or other health issues for that matter)? I'm wondering if I should take him to the vet or if I'm being ridiculous.

 

[Abc12345]

Also, if I take him to the vet, what sort of tests do they offer (beyond the regular physical) to check liver and kidney health?

 

[LTS3]

Test your cat's hydration level: pull the skin at the back of the neck all the way up and let go. If it snaps back into place, the cat is hydrated. If the skin slowly sinks back down, the cat is dehydrated and may need to be given fluids by the vet. Is the urine output in the litter box normal? A dehydrated cat will produce very little, if any, urine.

Some cats will drink water from a bowl in private so you're just not going to see it.

Can you feed more canned food and less dry? Canned food helps with hydration. Just slowly decrease the amount of dry food until it's just a few pieces served alongside the canned food.

 

[Natalusky29]

I have a ~1 yr old cat. Up to a month ago, he used to drink plenty of water, drinking from two water fountains every 2 hrs or so. Then a month ago, I forgot to clean the water fountains one week and found them full of gunk the next week (the hot weather made it worse). I think this might have triggered my cat's reluctance to drink. He wouldn't even look at the water fountains so I threw them out and replaced them with ceramic ones that don't harbor bacteria as easily as plastic. I also put out three fresh cups/bowls of water throughout the apartment every morning. My cat still refuses to drink from any of these. I have tried ice cubes, mixing churu/gerber into water, filtered and bottled water, leaving the sink faucet running...NOTHING works. I have not seen him drink since a month ago. Even more worrying is that while I try to feed him wet food, he insists on kibble so two of his four daily meals is kibble.

Then today I read that cancer or liver/kidney problems can cause a cat to stop drinking. Has anyone experienced this? My cat looks healthy but his previous owner fed a strictly dry diet for the first 6 months of his life. Is it possible that a cat so young can still get kidney problems (or other health issues for that matter)? I'm wondering if I should take him to the vet or if I'm being ridiculous.

First of all you should take it to the vet,if there’s no problem found you may need to buy “Feliway Spray” so that the water fountain seems interesting to your cat again

 

[fionasmom]

The first tests they most likely would do would be a blood and urinalysis. From that initial test, the vet will be able to see if numbers are too high or low and can advise you from there if anything else is required.

One of my cats drinks from an 8 cup pyrex measuring container. It seems that the crystal clear depth of the water appeals to him, but I have to fill it up like an infinity pool.

 

[Abc12345]

I'll try getting him tested for both. I just ordered a pyrex bowl. Hope it works and thanks for the suggestion!

 

[ailish]

When I got my cat from the rescue she was on dry food and drank fairly often. I switched her to 3 out of 4 meals wet food and added water to that. Since then I have never seen her drink water and that was four years ago. I give her clean water twice a day. The fact that she happily laps up the water in the food leads me to believe they aren't crazy about plain water. At any rate, there are plenty of pee balls in the litter box each morning, so I assume she is getting enough to drink.