How to interest cats in water fountain?

david68

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I ordered a Petkit water fountain to encourage my cats to drink more water. I have six cats in the household due to a couple of foster failures. I figured that maybe one of them would use it and the others would copy that behavior, but, to my surprise, they all just kind of sniffed at it and then ignored it. I have it placed near their food bowls with the old plain water bowl on one side and the fountain on the other. They just keep drinking from the plain water bowl. They also have a backup water source in the bathtub where I keep a bucket filled. A couple of them like to drink from that.

Any tips on how to get them interested?
 

Furballsmom

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Hi, try putting both non bathtub water sources elsewhere, well away from the food. Experiment over a couple weeks with different locations, even unique ones like on a sturdy level of a cat tree, stair steps etc.
 

Caspers Human

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We keep the bathtub faucet dripping, just a little bit, for Casper to drink from.

It's especially fun when you're dozing off, in bed, when the cat comes up to be with you. You roll over to pet the cat and you suddenly discover that its head is all wet!

But, at least, we know that Casper is drinking enough water. Right? ;)
 

LTS3

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Some cats just don't care to use a water fountain and there isn't anything you can do to change their mind :dunno: Some cats don't like the pump noise or the splashing or movement or whatever. If they want to drink out of a bowl, then just provide that and refill with fresh water daily. Leave the fountain out for a few weeks to see if any cat decides to give it a try. Water fountains tend to get gross so be sure to take it apart and clean it weekly to prevent scum and bacteria from building up.
 

louisstools

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I would make sure it's good and clean as that can turn them off. Use same soap on fountain you use for the other vessels. And different locations like Furballsmom Furballsmom said. Maybe close to a prime nap spot that way it's easy access.

I did that with my extremely skittish, picky, and fussy girl and after a week she was drinking out of it. I have the pet kit fountain too and run it in half bubble mode and she does well with her fountains.

I will add we tried this years ago and she wouldn't have anything to do with the fountain.
 

Purr-fect

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Get rid of their back up water supply and the bowl of water.....for now.

There is no reason for them to try the fountain if the old water sources are still there.

Also make sure the fountain uses a charcoal filter and has a stainless steel bowl. Plastic bowls can smell unpleasant/unnatural to a cat. I also use filtered brita water in our cat fountain.

We only supply water for our cats thru a fountain and they use it all the time.
 

BellaBlue82

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I agree with the above about removing the alternative water sources for a while. I had luck with that strategy when I migrated my cats over to a water fountain. I also added ice cubes to the fountain, something about the noise and such fascinated them lol.
Good luck!!
 

BellaBlue82

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You’re going to think I’m nuts, but I had let my cat see me “drink” from the fountain - I was pretending. Soon after, she stared using it. Coincidence? Maybe, but it seemed to work 🤣
Lol hey, whatever works!! She might have thought hey, mama is drinking from that thing, must not be that bad. 😁😜
 

Novus888

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I ordered a Petkit water fountain to encourage my cats to drink more water. I have six cats in the household due to a couple of foster failures. I figured that maybe one of them would use it and the others would copy that behavior, but, to my surprise, they all just kind of sniffed at it and then ignored it. I have it placed near their food bowls with the old plain water bowl on one side and the fountain on the other. They just keep drinking from the plain water bowl. They also have a backup water source in the bathtub where I keep a bucket filled. A couple of them like to drink from that.

Any tips on how to get them interested?
[/QUOTE

I have a Petsafe Seaside fountain that I'll be giving to the SPCA when I take Buddy in for his monthly claw clipping. It's near silent, stainless steel, with easy replacement parts, yet he won't touch it when it's on, and only sniffs it when unplugged. Just be glad they do drink from the bowl. Buddy won't even do that. I have to remember to dose each meal with three tablespoons water or he wouldn't be getting any at all, and with struvite crystals he needs all the water he can get
 

daftcat75

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You’re going to think I’m nuts, but I had let my cat see me “drink” from the fountain - I was pretending. Soon after, she stared using it. Coincidence? Maybe, but it seemed to work 🤣
No judgement here. I have mocked eat my cat's food to model the behavior for her on her fussier days. 🤦‍♂️
:whiskers:

I had a cat who only wanted to drink out of my water glass. She would climb the nightstand to stick her face into my water glass. So I got her her own nightstand at her level and her own water glass and made sure I changed each glass each night or morning. This worked about half the time with the other half the time she would still climb my nightstand. This just goes to show that cat's are creatures of habit. OP's cats may not consider alternatives until their preferred water sources dry up and disappear.

It is also possible that they just don't like THAT fountain. I went through several with nightstand kitty and the one she sorta liked is the one my new kitty will drink from occasionally. But she's eating entirely wet food. I'm less concerned if I don't see her at the fountain because she's getting at least 78% moisture in every meal.
 

daftcat75

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with struvite crystals he needs all the water he can get
Not to sidetrack this thread, but have you tried a tall human glass filled to the brim with fresh water daily?
I like to use pint mason jars for glasses. That's what Krista liked to drink from. That and the toilet. But that's where I drew the line. No toilet water kisses from my kitties. Thank you very much!
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