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Our 16-year-old cat (beautiful ragdoll named Leonard) has been knocking over glasses of water to drink out of and turn his nose to water in the bowl. If I fill it with fresh water he get excited and will drink. Usually he drinks so much water it doesn't get more than 2 days old. We even have water bowls on on 3 levels.
We moved to a new state about 2 months ago. This is very different for him. I ordered some canned cat food for him, for more water in his diet.
He is an amazingly wonderful kitty, best we have ever had. Has mOved states before and has been with us his entire life. He is our only pet.
He's 16, that's pretty old. Increased thirst can be a sign of hyperthyroidism in cats, or some other problem, and hyperthyroidism is not unusual in cats of that age. Even though there is water in the bowl, somehow, the water in the glass is better. Plus, the amount of drinking you are describing is quite a lot.
My old guy had it, and I pretty much set out cups for him everywhere, as the medication alone was not enough, and moved to buying covered mugs and cups with lids for myself, since there was no safe liquid filled container in the house.
See your vet, this sounds like a possible early warning symptom.
Okay well the first most obvious thing is: 2 days old? Nasty as heck quite probably. He doesn't want that. Maybe he tolerated it before and has become more picky, but regardless you really need to be dumping a standard bowl a couple times a day or so, and quite possbily washing bowls more often (yes even though the only thing in them is water). The cleaning is achieved more easily perhaps if you have spare bowls, but with water bowls on 3 levels it's probably okay for one to be out of commission here and there. You also want stainless or ceramic and not plastic, ideally, although this may be less critical for water. If he is excited and drinks when you freshen the bowl, this is certainly the place to start.
Assuming that is not the only problem, though, your cat could be a water connoisseur and find something unappealing about the new water.
Seriously, let's see, is his water from the tap and yours from a bottle? That might actually create the difference, especially if your move was to, say, Florida, where the tap water is pretty nasty smelling/tasting. But your location says Chicago so I assume that's where you are now. Still, it could be this, something about the new water.
I use a PUR filter on the faucet for our water now. You could also use one of the pitcher gadgets for some filtering. You could test this theory before spending on new filters by just putting some bottled water in his bowl and see if that works better.
And finally if you want to go all out you can try a recirculating pet fountain which may appeal to him. The one I use is the Drinkwell Platinum, though there are several other types which may be more or less appealing. My cat drinks right from the stream of this gadget. These have a charcoal filter which may help the taste of the water, but the filter is optional. Since I filter the water at the tap, I've stopped buying refills for the fountain. The filter isn't really key in my thinking for suggesting this; I think it's just the circulation of the water which may help.
He's 16, that's pretty old. Increased thirst can be a sign of hyperthyroidism in cats, or some other problem, and hyperthyroidism is not unusual in cats of that age. Even though there is water in the bowl, somehow, the water in the glass is better. Plus, the amount of drinking you are describing is quite a lot.
My old guy had it, and I pretty much set out cups for him everywhere, as the medication alone was not enough, and moved to buying covered mugs and cups with lids for myself, since there was no safe liquid filled container in the house.
This is good point too, hyperthyroid and kidney disease are fairly common in old cats and sometimes are first discovered by increased drinking. Hyperthyroid you would typically also notice a pronounced weight loss. It would never be a bad idea to have a new test workup if you haven't had one done in the last few months.
That's pretty funny about all the cups. Amber has hyperthyroid and drinks a fair bit from that fountain, but she's never been one to go after the cups in thirst. She might be curious, and sometimes we eat ice cream out of mugs and she definitely wants (and typically gets) a chance to lick those at the end.
She also has for many years licked the condensation off a cold beverage container, usually an aluminum can but sometimes a glass or plastic bottle. Not usually a drinking glass so much, but maybe if prompted. She doesn't really seek this out on her own anymore, but she will still do it occasionally if I offer her the can. Never associated that with thirst exactly and I'm certain it started well before the hyperthyroid. But funny for sure.
Just a side note, you are supposed to give fresh water daily. My vet recommended the water fountain as well has providing water in different types of dishes. Cats can be particular about those kinds of things. My cat also likes to drink out of our cups. I just let him do it. I'd rather he get the water that way than just not drink at all. If you are concerned by the increased water intake I would consider calling your vet to see if you need to take him in for evaluation.
Agree with the others...give fresh water in his bowl everyday. I also have a Ragdoll who does the same thing. He gets fresh water daily in the bowl but demands to drink from a water glass. I leave a glass for him on the bathroom counter. Crazy, I know! Like jifwittle, I let him do it as dehydration is bad on the kidneys.
Another thing is the fullness of the bowl sometimes, or else the width of it. Some/many/most (not really sure) cats don't like to have their whiskers touching the side of the bowl, particularly for water where they might get wet. So a half-full fairly narrow water bowl may already be unappealing to the cat because he'd have to put his head in there too far. A big wide dog bowl might be better in that case. Or something like the fountain where he wouldn't have to put his head in there. Or just keep them really topped up.
My cats have a bowl, have a fountain and they STILL choose to drink out of cups. It's they lay of the land in kitty world - sometimes they just up and change their minds about what they like They wouldn't stop drinking out of our glasses, so now they get their own - and YES if there are three water glasses on my night stand they know which one is the kitty cup.
There is a glass for them in my bed room and now there is one on my hubbys computer desk. Wouldn't want those spoiled little monkeys walking too far now would we LOL. My girl , Lexie prefers bottled water. So I refill the empty deer park bottle from the tap and refill the glass. If she sees me fill the cup from the sink directly she gives me attitude. She's such a monster LOL.
Wanting to drink out of glasses or cups instead of the water bowl is very common for cats.
As has been said, water bowls should be refreshed several times a day, not every two days. Dust and fur float around and land in the water on a continuous basis.
Last thing I do before I go to bed is change out the water bowl, and it's also the first thing I do when I get up in the morning. I've watched my cat approach the water bowl after it's been sitting overnight, if I haven't changed it right away. She sniffs it, wrinkles her nose and backs away.
However, if this is new behavior, what you are describing is a cat possibly showing symptoms of kidney failure. The first thing you need to do, as has been said, is take him to the vet for a check up and blood work up (senior profile PLUS thyroid)
Kidney failure, if caught early enough, is not a death sentence. There is no cure, but with proper treatment and a canned diet, the cat can be maintained with excellent quality of life for a long time. Early detection is the key.
Keep us posted on Leonard.
Last edited by catsmom21; 02-03-2012 at 03:24 PM..
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