Sunday, March 11, 2018

Josie and the Water-bowls



Josie likes to see the water-bowls filled. She will drink from them immediately they are recharged. When I initially noticed this propensity on her part, I was mildly worried that it represented an increased consumption of water. But, in fact, my Chubs does not drink an inordinate amount, from what I can determine. She merely likes freshness.

When she sees me filling a bowl, especially the big one kept in the bedroom by the door, she will come over to its spot and await its descent, often with one of her little scratchy cries. She then helps herself to some of the cold, clean liquid. She almost always drinks from a newly charged bowl, though she rarely consumes much at such a time. She does now and then take a long, satisfying draught, but usually after meals. Other instances are just for the taste.

As are other cat-owners, I am continually concerned with my beasts’ drinking habits; cats never drink enough water. I don’t want to see them take in too much – a possible sign of physical issues – nor do I wish them to imbibe too little, as cats chronically cheat themselves of what they need. So I am pleased to watch the Great White drink whenever she likes. Small quantities add up, and drinking a few swallows just for the enjoyment of it is fine with me.

22 comments:

  1. The ancestors of today's cats were desert animals, so cats typically don't consume a lot of water. However, you are wise to monitor Josie's fluid intake. As you mentioned, a cat whose fluid intake suddenly increases, may be developing a physical illness.

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    1. I've read that cats are also inefficient drinkers when they do imbibe. I keep six water-bowls in a small apartment to encourage them. With two diabetics and a third cat on the verge of kidney problems, I keep a close eye on their drinking.

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  2. It's good she's drinking water! I so seldom see Derry drink any, but Nicki has been at the water bowl umpteen times a day through this winter. I'll be having blood work done when he goes in next month for his anal glands; so far he's not shown any indication of kidney problems (in previous blood work results), so if this is something beyond a very dry winter house, it will have come on suddenly.

    I find, though, that he prefers "stale" water (not dirty). I use both filtered tap water and also spring water, so maybe he prefers water after it's warmed up to room temp?

    Anyway, I was thinking that your 6 water bowls is a lot, but I suppose not when you have 5 cats!

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  3. Cats are as particular about their water as they are about their food. Freshly drawn water, with them observing the draw, will frequently be an incentive to drink. It piques a cats natural curiosity and that works in our favourite. Water temperature is also very important we find. Some of mine like room temperature , some like their water rather more chilled.
    If you’re encouraging fluid intake, tap water may be unappealing. My cats seem to find Vittel bottled water to their liking although now it is almost impossible to find where I live.

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    1. For the time being, all my beasts are satisfied with tap-water, but I have considered filtered water, in case.

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  4. I notice that Lucy and Ozzy will drink water immediately if they see me filling there water dish. My new stray that I adopted, TomTom, drinks it at room temp. Regardless, I wish they would drink more!

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    1. More bowls? I have six, placed around the apartment.

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  5. Oops, forgot to add that Josie looks beautiful posing for the camera!

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  6. We've tried different shaped bowls, glass bowls, ceramic, metal, cat fountain, tuna juice, cat nip, and still rarely see a cat drinking. So, I mix water into their canned food!

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    1. I've tried making a soup for them, but none of them will have it. I'm glad mine will drink.

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  7. josie...eye like me fresh waterz two !!! N tho eye due like ta drink, eye will onlee due sew if eye noe de FSG iz KNOT watchin me....if eye see her watchin me; I quit !!!!!

    tuna of moon ☺☺♥♥

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    1. That's funny, Tuna. You get a little self-conscious, do you?

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  8. Eric and Flynn always drank a lot. Their favourite was rain water in a granite trough. If it dried up in the summer I would put tap water in it. That was not good enough for them, so they would go into the bathroom where I left a tap slowly trickling and would drink...tap water!

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    1. This made me laugh. It's like new wine in old bottles; it's all in the marketing. Tap-water from a tap, yes; tap-water in the rain-water trough? Of course not!

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  9. Holly prefers her water room temperature. I fill it up throughout the day with cold water after letting the tap run for a bit. On occasion I have heard her lapping up quite a bit but no health issues have been found so far. A vet told me she prefers wet food for cats as they get moisture from this source.

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    1. Oh yes, wet-food for preference, always. It contains something like 73 per cent moisture. In the wild, much of a cat's moisture comes from fresh kills. Unfortunately here, only Parker eats more soft-food than hard.

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  10. Katie goes to her two bathroom bowls as soon as they are filled. Then she has her breakfast and ignores the kitchen bowl newly filled. After breakfast she goes back to the bathroom bowls and drinks. I watch the pee production. 3 pees a day, sometimes 4 is her always normal. I pay close attention to that and the poo. Now that she takes probiotics, her poo is always normal..not hard and constipated looking.

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    1. Wow, that's a detailed scrutiny. Katie is lucky to have you so watchful. I can tell whose poop is whose here, and, with her new food change, Cammie's came under examination. She is pooping and wetting well, regularly, wetting in the front of the box, pooping in the rear.

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  11. I watch closely so as to see if she starts drinking too much water. I want to be vigilant about CKF as well as other age related problems. She is going on 11 now. Back in the 90's I wasn't educated to signs. I learned the very hard way.

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  12. Yes, the cats like clean, fresh water. Since I'm a pet sitter, I always give the kitties I watch fresh water each time I go visit them. And sometimes the water bowls are slimy so I scrub them when I'm there.
    So you have foster kitties as well. Yes, that is what happens at our house. We end up keeping them. Such is life.
    Thank you so much for your kind words about Smokey crossing over. He is truly missed here at Forty Paws.

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  13. Yes, my cats are also drink too little I think. Since I changed feeding type for BARF, they have stopped to drinking! Well, BARF I make has a lot of water (I usually add even more than in the recipe) and I'm also adding more water to each meal I give them during the day. And they like to drink unsalted broth for time to time. So I think everything I make to force them to drinking more is good for them.
    I'm thinking of the cat fountain, but I'm not sure if they like it... Do you have any experience with the cat fountain?

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    1. I tried a fountain, but when my cats did drink from it, then simply used the basin, and not the moving water. Other people have found fountains useful for their pets. I use just still water in bowls.

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