Is my cat drinking enough?

ailish

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Ailish drank when I got her, but she came eating dry food. The minute I switched her to wet she quit drinking, and in the 6 years I've had her I've never seen her drink after that first week. I add a fair amount of water the her food and she has clean water available, but the food seems to do it. There are plenty of pee balls in the litter box in the morning
 

daftcat75

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Fountain came today. They haven't used it. Any tips to get them using it? I have it where their regular bowl is.
Move it away from their food. Cats instinctually prefer water sources that are away from food sources. Perhaps, in the wild, a food source could contaminate a water source as the animal decomposes/picked apart by other scavengers. Additionally, because watering holes can be places where smaller animals can be preyed upon by larger predators, you may want to consider a quiet, private spot for the fountain--but not so quiet and private that you forget to keep up with its maintenance. I have one fountain on top of the "cat bench" (a cube storage unit that connects a couple of cat trees and holds supplies like fountain filters and toys. Both Betty and Krista before her climb up on top of this bench on their way to meet me on their food prep counter. It's not near her food and it's up off the floor. I have a second fountain on the floor in the home office because she does spend time in there overnight. The best fountains are the ones they will use and the ones you can keep up with their cleaning and filters (which largely influences whether they will continue to use it.)

I know a lot of people discourage plastic fountains. But the stainless steel and porcelain ones I've seen are usually too awkward to tear down and clean every week, and my cat won't use them. We're currently using the Home Run Pet Fountain. Betty likes it because it's quiet and the water flow is gentle and manageable--no splashing like some of the other fountains. I like it because the pump works wirelessly meaning I can lift the fountain with the pump out of the base, and take all the pieces to the sink to clean without ever having to unplug the unit or having to reach into the water to awkwardly unthread a cable or remove the pump or whatever dumb way they make these fountains more difficult than they need to be.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CYMXC2F/?tag=thecatsite
 

verna davies

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Give them time to get used to it, some cats take to a fountain straight away others take longer. Put an ice cube in it, that sometimes works. Sit by it when they are near it and tap the water with a spoon or something to make it ripple.
 

NoChicken

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Moats have never worked for my cat — he just ate around the water. And I got the “you ruined it!” face when I added water only kind of mixed in.

At this point we just mash his food up completely with water, creating a loose stew-like consistency, almost like a thick blended soup. The downside is that he doesn’t have to chew his meals, so we’re working on finding treats he will chew. He hates chewing, but at least he’s hydrated.
 
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shebaa

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i exchanged it for a different one. my 2nd cat likes it. the 1st cat who this thread is about, im noticing he IS drinking from the regular water bowl. the 2nd cat not so much, so i started focusing on him and since he likes the fountain, im keeping it. and as long the 1st cat is drinking from the regular bowl, thats enough for me. also they are tolerating me adding water to their wet food too
 
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