wont drink water

[TIGS]

hi my kitten tigs will not drink water at all he just puts his paws in and plays with it. does he really need to have water to drink? if so has anyone got any ideas?

[Fran]

If he has dried biscuits then yes he does need to drink. Wet food has a higher moisture content so often cats that are fed wet food alone rarely drink much. You could try adding a little water to wet food to ensure he is getting adequate amounts of water. Some of the members on here have bought the cat water fountains that recycle the water to keep it fresh. You may find that he plays with this too but members who have them do claim that their cats have drunk more water since switching to the fountains. I know some cats don't like tap water. I have one cat who simply refuses to drink from a fresh bowl of water but will then go into the garden and find the muddiest puddle to drink out of :?

[Mags]

Tigs, I used to have this problem with Cassie until a member on here (Kazz) gave a an excellent tip....... she told me to add a few spoonfuls of water to her food. Cassie really loves it now and laps the water up like gravy.

By the way, there is also a hight water content in wet cat food ;)

[dinahsmum]

He may be having a sneaky drink when you're not looking!
Cats seem to find tapwater disgusting - have you tried a bottled or filtered water? or even catch rainwater

[Kazz]

Just a point my Oz always hit his bowlof water before drinking I was led to believe that cats can't judge the distance to still water and tap it to assess the distance. And it never did him any harm.

[yola]

Balie usually taps the surface of the water also prior to drinking.

I have recently got a water fountain-thingy. It's excellent as the cats love watching the water trickle down the spout and it seems to have increased their water consumption.

Having said that, they are on a dry-only diet and are quite heavy drinkers anyway ;)

[TIGS]

thanks for all the tips :) tigs has wet & dry food. i forgot to mention that :?