Water Fountains To Stimulate Drinking

[Kelise]

Hi all, I'm back for another question.

My 8 year old female cat has been peeing on my stuff, so I took her to the vet. Her urinalysis revealed a very high specific gravity (>1.050) and a small number of red and white blood cells in her urine. The vet said she may have a minor infection or it could be more of a chronic cystitis (she has had this problem before). Went home on antibiotics.

I'm thinking with the specific gravity being so high, it's pretty safe to assume she is not drinking enough water in general, which may be one reason for cystitis. She already eats a 100% wet food diet, but I honestly never see her drink water.

I know cats prefer moving water, so I'd like to try a water fountain. I've looked at a few but they are quite expensive for being unsure if she will use it/if it will last a long time. I wondered if you guys had any recommendations for me? Does anyone have one their cats like and that stays pretty clean and has worked well for you?

 

[silkenpaw]

No water fountain will stay clean for more than a week or so. At that point you will have to disassemble it and give it a good scrub (mine goes in the dishwasher, except the pump motor).

I have the Drinkwell Zen and the Drinkwell Pagoda. You can see both here. Both work well. I prefer the Pagoda because it has fewer plastic parts (just the pump). Some of my cats drink from the reservoir, more drink from the moving water part of the fountain. If your cat is of the latter kind, that may be the reason she won’t drink much from a bowl.

Good luck, I hope your kitty feels better soon.

 

[Azazel]

How about just adding more water to her wet food?

It’s really not natural for cats to go to a fountain or water hole to drink. Although some cats seem to enjoy fountains, it can be hard to force most cats to drink water.

 

[neely]

It just so happens TCS has an Article about how to choose the best water fountain. I hope you find this helpful:
How To Choose The Best Water Fountain For Your Cat

 

[Kelise]

Thanks for your replies!

silkenpaw This is exactly the sort of feedback I was looking for. Can I ask if the Pagoda is quiet? It will be located in my bedroom. How long have you had it and have you had any problems with it?

A Azazel I guess I could do that, but she only gets fed 2x a day so I don't really feel like 2 doses of water in 24 hours is enough, regardless of volume. She should be taking in water all day. I work long shifts, so feeding more than twice a day is not an option for me.

neely Thank you for the article! I did read it, and have read a few others like it. I've already narrowed down my options to a few different kinds but I just hate dropping $60+ on something without hearing about other people's experiences.

 

[silkenpaw]

The Pagoda is quiet in that you can’t hear the motor noise but you can hear the running water. It’s not loud but it’s definitely audible. The Zen is pretty quiet when it’s full but you can hear it when the water is low.

 

[Willowy]

If you can find a small filtered fish tank for cheap, that works too (without a lid). Or a decorative fountain, as long as you know it's not painted with something harmful. Or you can buy a fish tank filter and make your own. Lots of options really.

They do need to be washed/changed once a week, no matter what kind you get. So I've found that the simpler, the better. Otherwise you won't want to wash it and it'll go to waste.

 

[betsygee]

I took in some elder kitties with health issues—kidney and IBD—and the vet suggested fountains as a way to get them to drink more water. I ended up with seven kitties and three water fountains. The cats used all of them.

I have two stainless steel and one ceramic one.









They do need regular cleaning, as others have mentioned, about once a week. I found the quietest one to be the raindrop fountain, I suppose because the water in that one doesn’t ‘drop’ into the bowl but slides down the chute.

They all make more motor noise when the water is low.

 

[VinceL]

The Catit Flower fountain has been great for our 2 girls. I posted a comment that explains how I modified it for our cats here:
How To Choose The Best Water Fountain For Your Cat

 

[Kelise]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

I actually have a spare filter reptile just lying around. I think I will go ahead and use it to find out if she will even be interested in drinking moving water.

If it's a success I'll probably be going with the Pioneer Pet Raindrop one. That's the one I was leaning most towards and now that someone has said it's nice and quiet, sounds like a good deal to me.

I'm going to get the test one set up today. I have a feeling she will be afraid of it. Very sensitive cat.

 

[She's a witch]

I would just make sure you buy from the place you can return if she doesn't drink from it. I myself bought three different kinds and ended up returning all of them, as none of my cats used it for drinking. But it was excellent water toy!

 

[Kelise]

Good point! I'll be buying from Chewy, so no problems returning things there. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't drink from it. She's afraid of the running water in the sink. I'm just hoping she will like it because I don't want her to be dehydrated all the time. I always figured I was fine since she eats wet food but I guess not!

 

[She's a witch]

her problems may also be caused by stress; and if you say she's rather skittish, it's rather possible. I'd add some natural destressors, like music for cats, or pheromones. I'm sure you'll find some more ideas browsing through this forum.

 

[Kelise]

I got my preferred fountain (with option to return if it doesn't work out). I just set it up this evening. So far she really couldn't care less. Is there anything I can do to encourage her to try drinking from it, or do I really just need to wait it out and she'll use it if she wants to or won't if she doesn't?

 

[lindsey.design]

I also am looking into a fountain for my crew as I never see them drink either. Here’s to hoping it works!

 

[Kelise]

I wish you luck! I didn't realize how difficult it was going to be to even tell if my cat is using it. I work full time so don't have a lot of opportunity to see her drink. I haven't seen her do it yet. But I haven't seen my dog drink out of it either and I figure he must be doing so when he's closed in my room for the day.