Cats are notorious at being little tinkers and not drinking enough water. This is down to their lack of interest.

Why do cats not drink water?

• Cats can get suspicious of water near food
• If the water is near their toileting area
• Type of bowl
• Underlying health issues
• The water might not be fresh enough
• The location of the bowl ( in a busy or noisy area of the home)

What can this lead to?

The main reason it’s important for cats to drink is to insure they are not getting dehydrated. Cats are prone urinary issues and other medical problems due to their heavily concentrated urine and lack of interest in drinking. Which can turn into a cat becoming very unwell.

How can we help cat drink more water

Giving you cat the right type of water fountain or bowl could be key to insuring your cat stays hydrated. Let’s take a look at the different options.

In the wild cats, will only drink moving water. Drinking from a stream is safer than drinking from a still puddle full of bacteria and other nasty, moving water helps to prevent them from becoming sick. Fresh clean water is critical to the health and happiness of our pets.

Options:

Water fountain - best option

Drinking fountains improve hydration levels by providing clean filtered water around the clock and increased hydration can lead to greater health. Running water is often fresher and better oxygenated than still water

If your cat treats your running tap like a bar then your furry friend might want a water fountain to call their own. A gentle flowing stream takes cats back to the wild and may make your pet more excited to drink. Even if they are not tap obsessed a water fountain is definitely the way forward.

Pros

• Effective at increasing most cats water intake
• Won't collect as much dust or debris
• Constantly fresh filtered water
• Moving water to entice your cat to drink
• Holds a lot of water
• Add ice cubes to keep the water cool in hot months
• Great for a multi cat household
• Doesn’t need to cleaned everyday

Cons

• Cost of the water fountain compared to a simple bowl
• Filters which need to be changed every month
• Don’t get the filters from the company. You can order non branded filters at a much cheaper cost.

Choosing a water fountain

It’s a tad overwhelming with all the types of fountains available, so we’ll make this simple. We don’t recommend plastic water fountains as they carry toxins. Plastic retains microbes (bacteria) because plastic is porous. It can also produce dirt build up which makes the sides of the plastic slimy.

What we recommend

• Stainless steel water fountain
• Glass water fountain
• One that’s quiet when running

Water bowls

With water bowls the concept is the same as the water fountain.

Stainless steel is best
Ceramic is also good but be careful if it gets cracked or is chipped it an harbour bacteria.
No plastic bowls as they carry toxins and can harbour bacteria. Plastic retains microbes (bacteria) because plastic is porous.

What we recommend

Stainless steel water bowls
Ceramic water bowls. Please note if they are cracked or chipped they will harbour bacteria.

Pros

• Cheap to buy

Cons

• Water needs to be changed in the morning and evening
• Collects dust and debris
• Won’t hold enough for a multiple cat households so will require multiple bowls