Kitty Won’t Drink From Fancy Fountain

Cat Grrl

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My 16 year old girl, Petal, is going to the vet for a checkup soon. She is a little constipated so, you guys suggested I get a plug in fountain to encourage her to drink more water. I spent the money, assembled the fountain and she does not use it! It is situated beside a large glass salad bowl filled with water, (her favourite), and a lower ceramic oval dish filled with water. The type of fountain I bought was a stainless steel teardrop style “Pioneer Pet”. The water station is less than 6 feet from her sleeping spot. Does anyone have any ideas on how to encourage her to drink? I have been picking up the bowls and bringing them to her sleeping spot, and she will occasionally drink. She also does drink on her own, but usually from the large glass bowl. She also has 2 stainless steel bowls in the next room over.
 

neely

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I'm sorry to hear your cat is not drinking from the water fountain you purchased recently. Can you return it if she won't use it? Since you mentioned she likes to drink from a large glass salad bowl, i.e. her favorite, could you set up another glass salad bowl in a different room?
 

LAL

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How long have you had the fountain? It took my cat at least a month before she started using hers. I think she had to establish in her head it wasn't a threat and that it was useful.
 

di and bob

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Yes, at first they are afraid of them. It takes a while. Then they become more and more facinated with the running water and finally get brave enough to drink. Then IT becomes their favorite. If she prefers a big ceramic bowl, then by all means get her several set around. My 16 year old became constipated too, Ask your vet about giving 1/4 teaspoon of Miralax mixed in a small amount of treat or Burt's favorite, a beaten egg yolk. It worked like a charm!
 
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Cat Grrl

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Thanks for your thoughtful replies! You guys/gals are the best! She does seem a little timid around the fountain, so perhaps I need to be patient. I will try to get some other bowls that are the same as her favourite, as well. I don’t think I can return the fountain, though.
 

IronHippo

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It took Radish time to adjust to the water fountain, too--I want to say like a month? We got it for him because he had crystals. Marple took to it right away, in comparison, and ʻUlu also started drinking from it within a week of exposure.

I would say to give it time. You might also want to try nudging her familiar water bowls to slightly different places while keeping the fountain in the same place. It's good to have several drinking water options anyway, too! If you make drinking water available throughout your place it'll make it easier for her to remember to drink!
 

Purr-fect

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Greg loves his pioneer fountain.....except its a bit small for his head.

Perhaps remove the other water dishes for a day and dont plug in the pioneer fountain for a few days. The pump flow is adjustable. Once she is drinking from the unplugged fountain, then try turning it on, with the flow rate turned right down.
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catlover73

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You mentioned the fountain is near where Petal sleeps. Is it possible the sound is startling her when she is asleep? Have you tried putting the fountain in a different area of the house. I have 2 of the same exact fountains. One is ceramic and one is metal. Everyone started using the metal one down stairs in my powder room. I bought the ceramic one because I have 4 cats. I moved the metal one to my up stairs bathroom. The newer ceramic one went into the powder room. It took a couple of weeks for them to use the new one in the powder room. Both fountains are the same exact model and were set exactly the same. I also have a rock fountain that my cats love to drink out of. The rock fountain is the quietest. It is not a cat fountain but it provides running water. Perhaps you could try a rock fountain. I will say that the rock fountain requires more cleaning because it is not designed to be used as cat fountain. The rock fountain has to be filled at least once a day. Perhaps this is something you could try because it is much quieter than any cat fountain I have ever owned. We got our rock fountain on Amazon.
 
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