I have an update

[She's a witch]

Did it help prevent flinging and splashing with paws specifically? Those are my main issues. I also don't think she actually drinks water ever. If it doesn't make her actually drink it may not be worth buying.

This bowl can’t be flinged as it really stays still and can’t be moved at all. My cat tried and tried and had to give up, the suction element is really good in this particular one. Mine doesn’t use paws to play in the bowl, he enjoys catching water being splash, so if your girl paws on the surface I imagine she would still be able to do this, but if you won’t fill the bowl completely, I imagine the mess will be considerably smaller.
If she does it regularly she still gets some water from cleaning herself after playing with it and that may be her main water source now. So taking water from her may be dangerous even if she only drinks the minimal amount. Some wet food are really salty making them thirsty despite water being added (my cats are on wet only too, one still drinks some water occasionally, the other almost never, but on the rare occasions when he does, he needs to have access to it).

 

[She's a witch]

But anyway, your girl needs much more stimulation as she’s clearly looking for new ways to keep herself entertained. You either need to play with her more, get her some self entertainment (interactive toys?) or get another cat so that she has a playmate (risky as she’s 5yo, it might be too late for her to accept another cat). She needs you not to be bored.

 

[Anajana]

She needs you not to be bored.

I kinda figured. Thing is it's December and I have to work. I won't be abke to do mich until mid January when everyone's schedules are back to normal. People keep trading days at the last second, so I'm not sure which days I'll have off next week. Just really bad timing.

 

[maggie101]

When I rescued Peaches 5 weeks old I had Josie she was 10. It took a few days for her to accept Peaches. She was tiny!

 

[Willowy]

You can offer a very small and shallow water dish on a towel to reduce the mess. Although cats who eat only canned food don't drink a lot of water, I don't recommend going without water entirely.

Cats are weird, and they do crazy things. That's just what living with a cat is like.

 

[Anajana]

I just placed this order: an odoscope so I can see inside kitty's little ears when I clean them, a puzzle dish for kibble, a play tree also for kibble, and the special dish for water. I got the kibble toys so she has something to do when I'm at work.

 

[Furballsmom]

You rock!

 

[Twylasmom]

I have that puzzle dish. Putting the food in while the cat watches helps to get them interested at first. That looks like a great water dish. I have a "tipper" too.

 

[Anajana]

I didn't want to post on Christmas eve, but I have a review of the special kitty bowl. Meowcat didn't care. She still pawed at the water and eventually gave up for a drink. I purposely kept the level low for two reasons. First it's easier for cats to see the water level when it's low. And second I didn't trust her to just examine the bowl, sniff it a bit, and drink. I was right.

The dish itself is pretty great. I like how it is impossible to tip or dump out. The rubber is durable and doesn't employ traditional suction cups. It sits flat and doesn't adhere to surfaces. I've only cleaned it ince, but it dries fast and washes off easily. But...it only takes a single misplaced paw to turn water into a toy. So it didn't work completely. I still need to figure out a permanent place for it. I just stuck it on the kitchen counter to test if kitty would actually use it. Anyway, I'd give it 4 stars and a neutral review. And I need a dish that doesn't let her paw at it.

 

[dragonlady2]

I have a cat that likes to play with the water bowl and what we did was put the bowl on a boot tray. She still plays with the water,but it stays in the boot tray. It sounds like you are really frustrated with the behaviour of your cat. Would it be better for you and the cat to find another place for it? Sometimes it just is a matter of not being an appropriate match.

 

[Twylasmom]

I do a tray under my fountain. I have wood floors and it really helps.

 

[Anajana]

I have a cat that likes to play with the water bowl and what we did was put the bowl on a boot tray. She still plays with the water,but it stays in the boot tray. It sounds like you are really frustrated with the behaviour of your cat. Would it be better for you and the cat to find another place for it? Sometimes it just is a matter of not being an appropriate match.

Mostly it's just the season. I work in retail, so I haven't had much free time. In fact, I'm off today and tomorrow, then 6 days in a row after. Things are rough at work and when I get home I don't want to have to spend over an hour sometimes cleaning. Every day this month I've gone home exhausted and irritable. The only problem she ever had was chronic ear infections, and I fixed it. So I'm just looking for better ways to control it until I have a regular schedule again.

I've also spent A LOT of money on this cat. Her ear surgery alone was around $5,000. So I'm not inclined to give her away or abandon her. She really does mean a lot to me and we get along fine normally. I just don't have much time to spend with her at the moment.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have put Feeby's inside water dish in a metal cooking tray lined with paper towels. The size of the tray does not allow her to move the dish much, the paper towels also help to stop it from moving a lot - and since it has been in the tray, she has stopped messing with it as much. But, if she does decide to put a paw in it, the paper towels collect the water and that is the only thing I have to clean up, as the water stays mostly in the tray.

 

[Purr-fect]

It took a few attempts to find the right size container for my ginormus cat. I ended up using a 30 gallon bin. Looks like the right size with her in it, plus it has really high walls, so cool.

The one time she has used this huge box she seemed much less inclined to dump all her litter out over the side. Which has me convinced she was doing it on purpose. She loves to play in litter--I filled this huge thing with a whole container of Lucy Pet litter, and added the litter from the smaller box on top (yes, I sifted it forst, obviously). As I was pouring the bew litter she jumped in under it, and I ended up pouring litter all over her! I tried picking her up and she was leaning over like she wanted to roll in it but I'm like hell no. I had to dust off her fur for a while and kicked her out of the bathroom until I finished. So yes, she has most likely been playing with and in her litter, and yes, intentionally making messes with it. This was her only use so far, so this might just be fluke. It's a new box that she hasn't seen before, so I'm not confident she'll stop incessantly digging.

Anyway, when I let her back in to inspect it the very first thing she did was dig a hole and poop in it. She was a bit puzzled with her digging and stopped after it was covered, then looked around a bit and started digging again. So the bigger box hasn't changed her behavior for the long term. I need to put a hole in the lid and all that, but in general it looks okay.

This box has only been out for a day. I had a couple others I was looking at that were either too big or too small. So I don't really know what will happen long term. It's contained at least. Now I have to figure out how to actually make her less obsessive with her litter. The noise is annoying during the day and after 10-15 minutes it gets on my nerves when I'm trying to sleep. Keeping the mess under control helps, But I need to see how she modifies her potty ritual. So I'll have another update eventually. I hope I covered everything important that was mentioned in the other post.

I dont know if this was suggested in the thread, but perhaps you could put a step up to the box, so your cat can look in and see what she will be landing on when she jumps into the box....lol

My cats are very particular and dont want to step in their waste.