Friday, June 17, 2016

In a Land of Sweet Water

Those who have been following the fortunes of my Siamese princess will be pleased to know that she is doing very well. Her health appears good, her litter-box visits are regular and give good results, and her behaviour is back to normal.

However, the episode of Cammie’s discomfort has taught me something. In the old house, I had four bowls of water (one downstairs) for the beasts’ refreshment; in the new apartment, there are three: one by the food dish, one in the library, and a small one in the bathroom. Each cat seems to have a favourite and each seems never to drink from at least one. In any case, I thought that there were enough sources of water.

During the course of Cammie’s illness, I tried to supplement her diminished water intake by bringing the fluid to her. I have continued to do this, as I have found that more often than not, she drinks when the bowl is offered. This made me realise that there were probably numerous occasions when she was thirsty enough to drink, but not thirsty enough to go through the effort of climbing down from her cat-tree and finding a bowl herself.


(I read an interesting explanation of why cats instinctively do not drink enough water. When all cats were feral, or at least found their own food, they obtained much of their moisture from eating freshly killed prey. They didn’t know they were sating their body’s demand for water as they did so, however, so when the erstwhile nutrition was replaced by human-supplied food, especially hard food, cats were deprived of a great deal of their water supply, yet they didn’t feel any thirstier for it.)

After my discovery, I felt that Cammie’s reluctance to go for water much of the time (ie. laziness) was both a reason and an opportunity to provide more water to the animals. The solution is simple: another water-bowl. I purchased three at a second-hand shop.


This one is in the bedroom, along the ledge that runs around the room’s exterior wall. (Why so many ground-level apartments are given these ledges I know not; considering the result, it may be to catch the dust that blows in through even closed windows.) I have tried this already and have seen Cammie climb down from a perch to drink, then return to her comfortable reclination. This distance, much shorter than that from the cat-tree to the other, far away, water-bowls, seems to be worth covering for a drink.



So, provided the cats do not continually knock the bowl onto the floor, I will keep a small dish of water in the bedroom, half-way between floor and cat-tree-top. It may produce positive change, especially in Cammie; at the least, it will give some of them another excuse for moving even less than they do.


13 comments:

  1. You're quite correct when you said that cats don't drink enough water, and you've certainly tried to encourage them to drink by placing bowls in various rooms round the apartment. I purchased a water fountain a few years ago, and my cats seem to like it. I also have a regular cat dish that I keep filled with water, just incase someone doesn't feel like walking to the fountain. (My cats obviously have me well trained!)

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    1. I've tried a fountain but my cats would just drin from the basin from which the water for the fountain was taken. It turned out to be nothing more than an electric water dish.

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  2. I bet Cammie enjoyed having you bring the water dish to her. I also understand that cats got their water through their fresh killed meals in the wild. I find adding water to the wet food helps keep up fluid intake. I added water to Jessie's wet food when she was ill and still find myself doing this with Holly's meals.

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    1. I've tried that with mine, especially Tungsten when she needed extra water, but it seemed to turn all of them off their food. No one ate as much soft-food with the bit of water added. Mine are far too fussy.

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  3. Annabelle isn't one who I see drinking much no matter how much I offer up water. That is a good idea and I'm so glad Cammie is taking advantage of it!

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  4. Cammie IS a princess indeed! We're glad this is working. Maybe our biped needs to add more bowls...the water fountain, bowl upstairs, bowl outside and pail in the basement aren't enough, apparently!

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    1. I get the feeling that cats' needs are like gas: they expand to fill whatever we do for them. And then beyond it.

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  5. I've tried fountains and water bowls but generally Saku is the only one who will drink from them. Sasha has a bowl in the sink of my bathroom, but he and Sami both drink most often from the toilet bowl. As a result I keep my toilet clean all the time!

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  6. Miss Pops would spend all day knocking those to the ground. Something I read was that to have the water sources away from food bowls, as in the wild cats would never eat their prey near water.

    Good to see that she is enjoying your new bowls.

    Julie q

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  7. You have come up with a great solution. What we won't do for our pet kids! Now as you say, if they don't knock the bowls over. Both of our cats would have sent the bowls flying.

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  8. That is a great idea to have more water sources for Cammie. I am glad she is doing better.

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  9. Excellent news, Cammie's health! From your writings, we know you have a keen eye for observation. It was simply a matter of time before you deduced what was needed for Cammie to increase her fluid intake, on her own and on her own terms.
    And if there is s little spilt water, it's not the end of the world Is it now. Bless you, John.

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  10. high paws two ewe cammie !!!! N we iz buzzed happee ta heer yur drinkin again....well, ewe noe....waterz.....de bowl izza purrfect fit for de ledge....purrhaps if de bowl DOEZ get knocked over { by de naybor catz } yur dad could apply velcro to de shelf & bowl bottom ta keep it frum slipping ?? !! ♥♥♥

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