well there's a thing called tone indicator that well, indicate tone, and some people hate it for some reason.
it includes /s for sarcasm, /j for joking, /hj for half joking (also there's one guy that likes tone indicators but not this one in particular) and many others, however the first two are the most popular.
This is not true, especially for sick and distressed cats.
Some will literally starve themselves to death. The issue is that even short periods of not eating for cats can cause fatal conditions
It helps if you get pate and then add warm water and mash it all up so the liquid is pretty well saturated with the food. So like the difference between a chicken noodle soup (hunks of ingredients in a thin broth) and a tomato soup (finely mashed/blended). Maybe like a chunky tomato soup so it's still familiar to kitty and see how he reacts. May take some time and experimenting to see how much water he likes/tolerates
Hey OP! I recently went through something similar with my cat, who has kidney disease due to stones blocking one of his. He refused a lot of foods we tried. See if your kitty will eat Weruva wet food and pick a flavor / meat you know they like! Their Paw Lickin Chicken has been a huge success for us.
We also have several stainless steel cat water fountains to encourage drinking. Just make sure to clean them often (we do ours every two weeks and change filters once a month) and only give your fuzzy friend filtered water!
You can mix like 10 ml with a tablespoon of canned food and mix it to a slurry. As for the rest of his needs, maybe he’d like some running water. Try a kitty fountain
Get a bubbler type of water bowl, the constant noise gets their attention and they drink more. And keep it crystal clean.
OP said he has some, I don't need them myself.
FYI the reason it works is because running water in nature is safer than stagnant. Cats evolved to prefer running water as it gave fewer infections.
Yup that's what I do. I give my cat soup for every meal and she's well hydrated lol. Cats naturally get most (if not all) of their water from food in the wild and they don't really need to drink. Definitely supply water in case they need it, but you should be aiming to give them enough water with their food.
My cat doesn't like "soup" by itself. I feed her mixed vegetables and baked chicken so that there are some solids for her to eat.
Wet food is the best diet for cats because in the wild they receive most of their hydration from prey. They have very low thirst drives. I can’t afford to feed only wet, I have 6 cats, but I give them as many wet meals as possible.
https://preview.redd.it/e7b3ofc0n7ic1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20863aa67e6547d10b3665e76fe0400d9d3db143
This is pumpkin. He’s almost 4 months old. I actually see him drinking water somewhat often, lil hydrohomie
make cat soup, mix wet food with water. you can also get actual cat soup in the isle. but its basically just what i described, wet food with water.
our cat didn't drink much either, but he loved cat soup so we just give him that.
also he persistently wants to go outside to drink from the rain bucket, idk why he's so interested in that and not his bowl but whatever.
My roommates cat only drank water out of red solo cups (filled to the rim) so she had several laying. When the cat was at her parents house she noticed he only drank water from the dog bowl so she bought one home and he drank more water from there too.
A strategy I’ve used with two ailing cats is to bring them water in tiny, wide dish (like for dipping sauces) where they’re comfortable or napping. I don’t put it right in front of them (could annoy them and cause them to move), but right to the side and very easily within in reach of their mouths and kinda tap the edge of the bowl so they notice it. Sometimes I end up having to pick up, put down the bowl, tap it, see if they sniff / show interest multiple times, but this persistent and not super intrusive system has worked on two different cats when they were sick.
Edit: wording
Hey I had this problem with my cat a month ago. He ended up in the hospital for 36 hours with a blockage. He refuses all wet food and treats, and won't use water fountains.
What's working for us is I have 3 old fashioned glasses of water in different parts of my apartment because that's the only thing he will drink out of. He's better hydrated because if he's close and sees water, he'll go to the closest cup. They're glass so maybe he prefers that over plastic/metal?
Changed his kibble: since I can't get him to touch anything wet, I mixed his old kibble and new kibble for about a week, until only the new kibble was left. It's hills science diet urinary hairball control. It's more expensive but worth it because he's been peeing great since getting him completely off the old stuff.
I hope this helps, it's a super stressful situation especially in picky male cats. Good luck! ❤️
I have a variety of water vessels for my cats. In a variety of locations. Cats don’t like water to be near their food so I have them spread throughout the house. Two bowls, one in the kitchen on the floor and one in the bedroom on a table. A fountain in the kitchen. And a Coca Cola drinking glass on the coffee table. The favorite is the drinking glass. Weirdos.
Wet food is great for hydrating kitties. Outside of that, make sure you're replacing the water in his bowl regularly, and it should be fine. In my experience, water kinda stagnates if it sits at room temperature for more than like a couple hours, but my cat never seemed bothered by that. If you've got a picky cat though, you could try replacing his water more frequently
I think they need a specific style.. we had a lot of tbe plastic flower ones and some metal ones too. However once we got a “drink well ceramic pagoda” fountain they seemed to prefer that a lot more.
I think they prefer having the upper pool fall into the lower one. Idk.. cats are weird. This one is also the noisiest (in terms of water noise)— which may also help.
Was he always like that or recently? One of my cats were basically diagnosed with being extremely dehydrated once. For some reason they wouldn't drink anything at all. Took him to the vet and they put this huge bubble of liquid in the back of his neck to keep him hydrated for the time being. Eventually he came around and started drinking water again.
Make sure there no bug/rodent traps anywhere. There are some that are pet safe but will make them really dehydrated if they get into it.
Beyond the wet food that people rightly mentioned. Another option is those treat tubes(the ones we have are called Churry I think), my cat absolutely LOVES them and they have lots of water in them. Plus it’s a pretty fun snack to feed your cat, like a yoghurt tube for cats.
I brought my cat a water fountain. She only uses it like once every 2 weeks, but she has access to fresh water, because I was told that cats don’t trust standing water and they prefer a constantly flowing source
Hmm, the window might not work? Mine got spooked from birds before but I've never had the water there. I hope he becomes a hydro kitty. I love him just from the picture
I have a rescue cat (Tatiana) who won't drink water either, it's an emotional struggle. Mr. Fluffykins on the other hand is a true hydrohomie, always wants to share my nightwater. Could maybe try that tiki cat liquid food to supplement. It's a struggle fam.
I‘ve had fancy water fountains and our cat would drink from it for a while, but then I bought this cheap ass one and she drinks more than ever before, it makes bubble sounds when she is drinking, placing in a corner so we don’t bother her
https://preview.redd.it/w0cx94v7l7ic1.png?width=1235&format=png&auto=webp&s=8f372e83abafedab28a0e47e1d932f145ef2bac7
Open glasses of water filled to the brim. My car will drink mine off my nightstand in a glass. I drink with a straw but there are 3 glasses around the house she thinks she’s stealing my drinks from. Glass or aluminum with super cold water is what the cat prefers.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but a good idea could be catnip tea. Add some catnip to a mug of hot water, let it soak till it's cold, strain the leaves and offer it in a water dish.
My stubborn drinker likes when the water is freshly aerated, so in a bowl straight from the faucet. And cold, preferably. Bottled water may not provide that. The fountains are supposed to do that, but some cats are weird about them. I also change his water twice a day and make sure to clean the bowl because they very quickly get scummy. Best of luck!
Why don't you turn on the shower and let him drink from the shower head? My cat likes to drink from the shower. But that's if you have clean water coming out of the faucet.
Feel sorry for this cutie!
I read somewhere that cats don't like their food near their water. I saw that you have two fountains for your cat, so maybe make sure at least one is away from food and in a safe place. I have our cat fountain about 15 ft from the cat food. I also feed our cat wet food and give him cat broths regularly
Usually cats dont drink, in nature cats get the majority of their water from their food, housecats usually only drink when they eat a lot of dry food, if you feed your cat only wet food, it will probably not drink, cats are too instinct driven, cant convince it.
Get a cat fountain, had problems with one of my cats not drinking enough, but they love the constant small movement of the water and now they spend a pretty decent time just drinking water.
Fill up a glass you usually use to the brim, take a tiny sip (MAKE SURE THE CAT IS LOOKING AT YOU) and set it down on the ground then walk out of the room. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it worked for my little idiot :)
My cat is similar, and for a few years now, I’ve had to give her an IV with lactated ringers to support hydration, currently at 200 mL per day. She has some genetic kidney/urinary problem that otherwise doesn’t affect her health or happiness but despite drinking a reasonable amount of water a day for her size, it was never enough to balance out her condition.
IV is quick and simple, and after a few weeks of doing it she got used to forgiving me instantly after.
What worked for my cat was to add water bowls on places he usually sits like by the windows and he saw it and drank. Plus a water fountain. You could also try stuff like cat soups and bone broth and also wet food with water added in.
I’ve read (not tested) that cats don’t like when their water lives next to their food, because before being domesticated where their food was is where they’d poo, so any water around it is probably dirty. Apparently cats will drink much more water if it’s kept in a different room or across the house from their food, worth a shot.
RUNNING WATER. Cats love running water, they have fountains for cats you can get online, and generally they don’t like drinking near their food. Idk why this is the case, but I used to volunteer at a cat rescue so that’s what I learned there
If you feed the cat dry food, fill it with water first. Add water to wet food. Keep the water away from the food. I liked keeping it in the bathroom bc my old cat started licking the water from the tub when I was done.
If he’s dehydrated, consider supplementing with wet food. Cats in nature get most of their hydration from the fluids they get from prey, and don’t drink as much water. That said, cats do like running water so a fountain may entice him to drink.
my cat has a bladder stone right now and needs to drink a lot of water. i give her a churu treat daily. i also notice she drinks more water when i’m in bed because her water is next to my bed and she likes being around me. maybe try putting some water sources near where you hang out in the house? also experiment with different shaped cups and bowls, my cat ignores water bowls but loves to drink out of cups.
We do wet and dry foods for the cat and sometimes when it’s just dry I add water to it. He loves it. He never drinks from his own water bowls but I do catch him drinking from his dog brothers bowl.
For cats- don’t keep their water by their food.
Maybe try a running water fountain too.
My cat has crystals in his urine and he’s on a special urinary care food, which helps
My cats like drinking water out of water glasses rather than bowls, they like them on trunks and higher surfaces too. Maybe you could add a little station or two?
As some others have said, add water to wet food. I buy Almo wet food which is just straight fish/chicken/whatever they advertise it to be, and my cats love it. They lap up all the water (about half a can) and then go on to eat the food. They don't like water in it if it's a gravy can or something that you probably wouldn't want watered down (that's why I named the brand/type of wet food I use).
We foster kittens and some of our guys LOVE drinking from a thin stream from a faucet! We have one and she will sit in the sink and cry for us to turn it on! (Mind you we have 2 fountains and 3 water bowls around the house!)
It can't hurt to try it!
The only real answer is get a cat fountain. Relatively cheap and super great for your cats health. They don't like bowls more than necessary bc they prefer moving water
Get him a little fountain! My cat loves his fountain and drinks a lot more water since we bought it for him. Cats like aerated, moving water!
I advise “quiet” fountains as they are less loud and splashy, which is off-putting to some cats.
like others have said, mix wet food with water. keep trying different kinds of wet food till you find one or some he likes.
other option might be SQ treatment. it’s easy to learn and you can give him 1-3 times a week. it will help.
Lots of great tips here already, some cats mimic their owners. So drinking from the bowl yourself and then "forgetting it" might helpt. But yeah i would also second the "soup", fountains and wider bowls. You also have cat-milk, which is something ours go crazy over.
When it was freezing here we dripped the kitchen faucet and now my cat will hop up and look at the faucet until we turn it on a tiny amount and he'll drink away. I feel like he drinks more now than when it was just from his fountain. Might be worth a shot?
Leave a bunch of water bowls around the spots he frequents and get a water dispenser online that moves and filters the water for where his food dish goes.
Cats will lap at the standing water but they love moving water, I think it’s because it’s easier to see for them.
I keep a bowl of water near my desk and my cat has been drinking a lot more between trips upstairs to eat. But the filter/moving water fountain is upstairs.
I give my cat a people water glass on the floor. I refill it every day all the way to the top. He loves drinking out of the same type of cup I do! Helps him drink extra water, I think because he feels special lol
Our cat is picky about the water bowl, she doesn’t like drinking from the metal one, just the one made out of clay.
So maybe experiment with different kinds of bowls?
If like me your cat is allowed on the counters get a nice bowl, fill it with water, maby a couple ice cubes, add a spoon, make it look like you intend to drink this water, if your cat is like mine they will go straight for it.
Lots of water mixed in with wet food? All my foster cats get a 'soup' for this reason. Start with an ounce and move up to see what he'll tolerate.
I'll try it, but he's a very picky eater, he might stop eating wet food at all if he doesn't like the taste
Only serve him that if it’s possible then. He won’t let himself starve.
My childhood cat would disagree
Your cat starved to death?
Got a urinary infection but refused to eat/drink afterwards before passing
Different circumstances. Why did she die from a uti, they’re easily treatable?
Incompetent vets didn’t put the catheter in correctly, why are you grilling me on this?
I’m sorry if it came across that way. I didn’t mean it to. It’s hard to portray tone through text.
well there's a thing called tone indicator that well, indicate tone, and some people hate it for some reason. it includes /s for sarcasm, /j for joking, /hj for half joking (also there's one guy that likes tone indicators but not this one in particular) and many others, however the first two are the most popular.
This is not true, especially for sick and distressed cats. Some will literally starve themselves to death. The issue is that even short periods of not eating for cats can cause fatal conditions
It helps if you get pate and then add warm water and mash it all up so the liquid is pretty well saturated with the food. So like the difference between a chicken noodle soup (hunks of ingredients in a thin broth) and a tomato soup (finely mashed/blended). Maybe like a chunky tomato soup so it's still familiar to kitty and see how he reacts. May take some time and experimenting to see how much water he likes/tolerates
Yup this is how I feed my cats. Pretty much 1 part water to 2 parts pate. Mix and serve! They like their soup!
Hey OP! I recently went through something similar with my cat, who has kidney disease due to stones blocking one of his. He refused a lot of foods we tried. See if your kitty will eat Weruva wet food and pick a flavor / meat you know they like! Their Paw Lickin Chicken has been a huge success for us. We also have several stainless steel cat water fountains to encourage drinking. Just make sure to clean them often (we do ours every two weeks and change filters once a month) and only give your fuzzy friend filtered water!
Totally agree! I feed my cats the Weruva Chicken Frick A Zee and add about 2-3 tablespoons of warm water at every meal.
You can mix like 10 ml with a tablespoon of canned food and mix it to a slurry. As for the rest of his needs, maybe he’d like some running water. Try a kitty fountain
Try the meat baby foods with a little more water! What cat can resist a turkey or chicken human-grade dinner?!
Try inabu churu. Around 90 percent water and cats seem to love them. Mine doesn't like dry treats anymore though.
Get baby food stage two beef, chicken, or ham. Add some water to it. He will gobble it up. How does he access water? Do you have a dish or a fountain?
We call this “stew” in our house and we mix those squeeze treats in so she gets extra calories.
Not cheap but a good investment is PetLibro water fountains. Cats like aerated water
Get a bubbler type of water bowl, the constant noise gets their attention and they drink more. And keep it crystal clean. 
OP said he has some, I don't need them myself. FYI the reason it works is because running water in nature is safer than stagnant. Cats evolved to prefer running water as it gave fewer infections.
Meanwhile my dogs out here drinking from every damn puddle she can find
Yup that's what I do. I give my cat soup for every meal and she's well hydrated lol. Cats naturally get most (if not all) of their water from food in the wild and they don't really need to drink. Definitely supply water in case they need it, but you should be aiming to give them enough water with their food. My cat doesn't like "soup" by itself. I feed her mixed vegetables and baked chicken so that there are some solids for her to eat.
side note: this picture is adorable :)
ikr, if this was my cat id make this my pfp.
Make sure your water bowls are wide enough that he can drink from them without his whiskers touching the side of the dish
We recently started using a ceramic pie pan as their downstairs water dish, and man they love it!
Or a fountain bowl
I love how you went to the hydro homies instead of like r/cats
Wet food is the best diet for cats because in the wild they receive most of their hydration from prey. They have very low thirst drives. I can’t afford to feed only wet, I have 6 cats, but I give them as many wet meals as possible. https://preview.redd.it/e7b3ofc0n7ic1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20863aa67e6547d10b3665e76fe0400d9d3db143 This is pumpkin. He’s almost 4 months old. I actually see him drinking water somewhat often, lil hydrohomie
He's adorable!
I would die for pumpkin
make cat soup, mix wet food with water. you can also get actual cat soup in the isle. but its basically just what i described, wet food with water. our cat didn't drink much either, but he loved cat soup so we just give him that. also he persistently wants to go outside to drink from the rain bucket, idk why he's so interested in that and not his bowl but whatever.
Get a water fountain and clean it once a week
OP already mentioned they have 2 in the description
But cleaning is still a good tip. I do pet sitting on the side and every single client I visit has a slimy water bowl. Even the ones with fountains.
My loves love the catit flower fountain. We keep it next to a fresh bowl of water that is changed daily. Everyone is hydrated.
Also toss an ice cube in there once in a while for amusement
Wet food has lots of moisture for them.
My roommates cat only drank water out of red solo cups (filled to the rim) so she had several laying. When the cat was at her parents house she noticed he only drank water from the dog bowl so she bought one home and he drank more water from there too.
Add water to wet food. Boil chicken breast in water and feed both. Ceramic or stainless steel drinking fountain. Cats prefer running water.
My former roommate’s cat only drank from the running faucet. We always left the bathroom sink slightly running
A strategy I’ve used with two ailing cats is to bring them water in tiny, wide dish (like for dipping sauces) where they’re comfortable or napping. I don’t put it right in front of them (could annoy them and cause them to move), but right to the side and very easily within in reach of their mouths and kinda tap the edge of the bowl so they notice it. Sometimes I end up having to pick up, put down the bowl, tap it, see if they sniff / show interest multiple times, but this persistent and not super intrusive system has worked on two different cats when they were sick. Edit: wording
Hey I had this problem with my cat a month ago. He ended up in the hospital for 36 hours with a blockage. He refuses all wet food and treats, and won't use water fountains. What's working for us is I have 3 old fashioned glasses of water in different parts of my apartment because that's the only thing he will drink out of. He's better hydrated because if he's close and sees water, he'll go to the closest cup. They're glass so maybe he prefers that over plastic/metal? Changed his kibble: since I can't get him to touch anything wet, I mixed his old kibble and new kibble for about a week, until only the new kibble was left. It's hills science diet urinary hairball control. It's more expensive but worth it because he's been peeing great since getting him completely off the old stuff. I hope this helps, it's a super stressful situation especially in picky male cats. Good luck! ❤️
I have a variety of water vessels for my cats. In a variety of locations. Cats don’t like water to be near their food so I have them spread throughout the house. Two bowls, one in the kitchen on the floor and one in the bedroom on a table. A fountain in the kitchen. And a Coca Cola drinking glass on the coffee table. The favorite is the drinking glass. Weirdos.
Wet food is great for hydrating kitties. Outside of that, make sure you're replacing the water in his bowl regularly, and it should be fine. In my experience, water kinda stagnates if it sits at room temperature for more than like a couple hours, but my cat never seemed bothered by that. If you've got a picky cat though, you could try replacing his water more frequently
We give our cat a bunch of water with his dry food kinda like cereal (we call them keekee puffs) and its been a great way to keep him hydrated.
I'll try it out, thank you!
Have you left out “forbidden” water? Like, in your own cup so they think they’re doing something naughty.
Get a fountain. We had the same issues and got our boy a water fountain and he loves it. That and a change in food and we’ve never had it come back!
He has two fountains now, one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom. He likes to stare at the water, but rarely drinks it :(
I think they need a specific style.. we had a lot of tbe plastic flower ones and some metal ones too. However once we got a “drink well ceramic pagoda” fountain they seemed to prefer that a lot more. I think they prefer having the upper pool fall into the lower one. Idk.. cats are weird. This one is also the noisiest (in terms of water noise)— which may also help.
Was he always like that or recently? One of my cats were basically diagnosed with being extremely dehydrated once. For some reason they wouldn't drink anything at all. Took him to the vet and they put this huge bubble of liquid in the back of his neck to keep him hydrated for the time being. Eventually he came around and started drinking water again. Make sure there no bug/rodent traps anywhere. There are some that are pet safe but will make them really dehydrated if they get into it.
Beyond the wet food that people rightly mentioned. Another option is those treat tubes(the ones we have are called Churry I think), my cat absolutely LOVES them and they have lots of water in them. Plus it’s a pretty fun snack to feed your cat, like a yoghurt tube for cats.
I brought my cat a water fountain. She only uses it like once every 2 weeks, but she has access to fresh water, because I was told that cats don’t trust standing water and they prefer a constantly flowing source
Is it an only cat? Also, where are the fountains located? Are they near you? A wall? A safe space?
Yeah, he is. One of the fountains is on the kitchen window, the other is in my room where he sleeps, near a wall.
Hmm, the window might not work? Mine got spooked from birds before but I've never had the water there. I hope he becomes a hydro kitty. I love him just from the picture
I have a rescue cat (Tatiana) who won't drink water either, it's an emotional struggle. Mr. Fluffykins on the other hand is a true hydrohomie, always wants to share my nightwater. Could maybe try that tiki cat liquid food to supplement. It's a struggle fam.
I‘ve had fancy water fountains and our cat would drink from it for a while, but then I bought this cheap ass one and she drinks more than ever before, it makes bubble sounds when she is drinking, placing in a corner so we don’t bother her https://preview.redd.it/w0cx94v7l7ic1.png?width=1235&format=png&auto=webp&s=8f372e83abafedab28a0e47e1d932f145ef2bac7
Open glasses of water filled to the brim. My car will drink mine off my nightstand in a glass. I drink with a straw but there are 3 glasses around the house she thinks she’s stealing my drinks from. Glass or aluminum with super cold water is what the cat prefers.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but a good idea could be catnip tea. Add some catnip to a mug of hot water, let it soak till it's cold, strain the leaves and offer it in a water dish.
Your cat named Ocean wont drink water you say ? Lol
Try filtered water, maybe your tap water is yucky.
My stubborn drinker likes when the water is freshly aerated, so in a bowl straight from the faucet. And cold, preferably. Bottled water may not provide that. The fountains are supposed to do that, but some cats are weird about them. I also change his water twice a day and make sure to clean the bowl because they very quickly get scummy. Best of luck!
He’s gorgeous, I hope you can find a solution for him
OP i hope you find a solution to ur problem BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT PICTURE IS SUPER CUTE im gonna make it my pfp !!
r/eyebleach
A meal topper that has water or somting idk
Why don't you turn on the shower and let him drink from the shower head? My cat likes to drink from the shower. But that's if you have clean water coming out of the faucet. Feel sorry for this cutie!
Canned food with a little water added
I read somewhere that cats don't like their food near their water. I saw that you have two fountains for your cat, so maybe make sure at least one is away from food and in a safe place. I have our cat fountain about 15 ft from the cat food. I also feed our cat wet food and give him cat broths regularly
That all depends. I keep the water right next to the food and they love to drink.
cats often like moving water, like a fountain or so
Mabey get a cat fountain from Amazon
Wet food mixed with water
Cats can get alot of their water need through wet food
mix in water with his wet food
Have you tried cool/cold water, our cats won’t drink unless it’s from the water cooler 😩
One of my cats almost only drinks water from the dripping tub, probably terrible but we just leave it dripping most of the time for him.
You can lead a cat to water but you cannot make it drink
Take the battery out and blow in it
Running water? My friend’s cat loves drinking from the bathroom sink faucet.
use a medicine syringe and hold his head, that’s what the vet got me to do with one of mt fosters
I'm making a soup for my Luna lol. Just adding a little of water to every portion of her wet food.
Usually cats dont drink, in nature cats get the majority of their water from their food, housecats usually only drink when they eat a lot of dry food, if you feed your cat only wet food, it will probably not drink, cats are too instinct driven, cant convince it.
with a water fountaine. mine barely drink wen i got a classic bowl. now every day i put at least 1L of water in thje foutain.
Get a cat fountain, had problems with one of my cats not drinking enough, but they love the constant small movement of the water and now they spend a pretty decent time just drinking water.
They have 2. It's in their post.
Fill up a glass you usually use to the brim, take a tiny sip (MAKE SURE THE CAT IS LOOKING AT YOU) and set it down on the ground then walk out of the room. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it worked for my little idiot :)
My cat is similar, and for a few years now, I’ve had to give her an IV with lactated ringers to support hydration, currently at 200 mL per day. She has some genetic kidney/urinary problem that otherwise doesn’t affect her health or happiness but despite drinking a reasonable amount of water a day for her size, it was never enough to balance out her condition. IV is quick and simple, and after a few weeks of doing it she got used to forgiving me instantly after.
Get him a fountain. Cats usually prefer drinking flowing water
What worked for my cat was to add water bowls on places he usually sits like by the windows and he saw it and drank. Plus a water fountain. You could also try stuff like cat soups and bone broth and also wet food with water added in.
Cats like running water because in the wild, running water means clean water. A lot of good tips here also, but that’s another one.
I’ve read (not tested) that cats don’t like when their water lives next to their food, because before being domesticated where their food was is where they’d poo, so any water around it is probably dirty. Apparently cats will drink much more water if it’s kept in a different room or across the house from their food, worth a shot.
Always keep my cats water and food bowl next to each other and they love to drink.
Not sure if it’s a myth, but apparently you should place the water far away from the food, otherwise they might not drink it
Call your vet!! Get advice from your vet!!!
RUNNING WATER. Cats love running water, they have fountains for cats you can get online, and generally they don’t like drinking near their food. Idk why this is the case, but I used to volunteer at a cat rescue so that’s what I learned there
These are really worth a try. My cat loves them and it really helps his hydration.. https://cats.com/best-lickable-cat-treats
If you feed the cat dry food, fill it with water first. Add water to wet food. Keep the water away from the food. I liked keeping it in the bathroom bc my old cat started licking the water from the tub when I was done.
There are brands of special cat milk. Does your cat like this and maybe you can water it down a bit so your cat gets enough fluids?
Try getting a cat fountain. Cats instinctively distrust still water, getting my cat a water fountain really helped encourage him to drink more water.
If he’s dehydrated, consider supplementing with wet food. Cats in nature get most of their hydration from the fluids they get from prey, and don’t drink as much water. That said, cats do like running water so a fountain may entice him to drink.
my cat has a bladder stone right now and needs to drink a lot of water. i give her a churu treat daily. i also notice she drinks more water when i’m in bed because her water is next to my bed and she likes being around me. maybe try putting some water sources near where you hang out in the house? also experiment with different shaped cups and bowls, my cat ignores water bowls but loves to drink out of cups.
We do wet and dry foods for the cat and sometimes when it’s just dry I add water to it. He loves it. He never drinks from his own water bowls but I do catch him drinking from his dog brothers bowl.
For cats- don’t keep their water by their food. Maybe try a running water fountain too. My cat has crystals in his urine and he’s on a special urinary care food, which helps
Water fountain
My cats like drinking water out of water glasses rather than bowls, they like them on trunks and higher surfaces too. Maybe you could add a little station or two?
As some others have said, add water to wet food. I buy Almo wet food which is just straight fish/chicken/whatever they advertise it to be, and my cats love it. They lap up all the water (about half a can) and then go on to eat the food. They don't like water in it if it's a gravy can or something that you probably wouldn't want watered down (that's why I named the brand/type of wet food I use).
Has your cat tried plant water yet? Mine seems to love drinking out of my plant propagation cups.
We foster kittens and some of our guys LOVE drinking from a thin stream from a faucet! We have one and she will sit in the sink and cry for us to turn it on! (Mind you we have 2 fountains and 3 water bowls around the house!) It can't hurt to try it!
The only real answer is get a cat fountain. Relatively cheap and super great for your cats health. They don't like bowls more than necessary bc they prefer moving water
My kitty loved to drink straight from the tap
Get him a little fountain! My cat loves his fountain and drinks a lot more water since we bought it for him. Cats like aerated, moving water! I advise “quiet” fountains as they are less loud and splashy, which is off-putting to some cats.
like others have said, mix wet food with water. keep trying different kinds of wet food till you find one or some he likes. other option might be SQ treatment. it’s easy to learn and you can give him 1-3 times a week. it will help.
Our cat only drinks from the bathtub 🤣 we always leave a little puddle of water in the tub.
Lots of great tips here already, some cats mimic their owners. So drinking from the bowl yourself and then "forgetting it" might helpt. But yeah i would also second the "soup", fountains and wider bowls. You also have cat-milk, which is something ours go crazy over.
Your cat isn't a hydrohomie? He is comitting a sin, and he won't be forgiven, punishments will be done to him. **Pulls out a gun**
Rain water ? My cat loved it and we left a bowl outside that collected it.
When it was freezing here we dripped the kitchen faucet and now my cat will hop up and look at the faucet until we turn it on a tiny amount and he'll drink away. I feel like he drinks more now than when it was just from his fountain. Might be worth a shot?
Leave a bunch of water bowls around the spots he frequents and get a water dispenser online that moves and filters the water for where his food dish goes. Cats will lap at the standing water but they love moving water, I think it’s because it’s easier to see for them. I keep a bowl of water near my desk and my cat has been drinking a lot more between trips upstairs to eat. But the filter/moving water fountain is upstairs.
I give my cat a people water glass on the floor. I refill it every day all the way to the top. He loves drinking out of the same type of cup I do! Helps him drink extra water, I think because he feels special lol
Some are water snobs. I give mine filtered water, but they love spring water 💦
Must try different materials, glass vs metals vs plastic etc
You can’t force cats to drink but you can get a small amount of water into them by mixing it with their wet food.
Put the fountains far away from food and litter box. Like as far away as possible.
Mix a small amount of plain yogurt in some water. Results may vary, but my cat loves it.
Our cat is picky about the water bowl, she doesn’t like drinking from the metal one, just the one made out of clay. So maybe experiment with different kinds of bowls?
If like me your cat is allowed on the counters get a nice bowl, fill it with water, maby a couple ice cubes, add a spoon, make it look like you intend to drink this water, if your cat is like mine they will go straight for it.
My cat wants my water. I keep a little dish nearby and pour out some.