Cats are desert animals by ancestry. Their thirst drive is weak, they got most of their water from prey, and a bowl of still water next to their food does not register as something worth drinking. That matters because chronic low water intake is linked to urinary crystals, cystitis and, in older cats, kidney disease. None of that is a reason to panic. It is a reason to make water more appealing, which is easier than it sounds.
Talk to your vet if your cat suddenly drinks far more or far less than usual, strains in the litter box, or stops eating. This guide is for healthy cats that could simply drink a bit more.
1. Move the water away from the food
This is the cheapest fix and it works surprisingly often. In the wild, cats do not drink next to a kill because the water may be contaminated. Put the water bowl in a different room from the food bowl and see if intake changes over a week.
2. Use a wide, shallow bowl
Whiskers are sensitive. A deep, narrow bowl presses them against the sides, which some cats find unpleasant enough to avoid. A wide ceramic or steel dish, filled almost to the brim, removes that problem. Plastic bowls scratch and hold smells, so skip those.
3. Add more water stations
One bowl per cat plus one spare, spread around the house, is the standard advice from feline vets. A cat that walks past water three times a day drinks more than a cat that has to go looking for it.
4. Try moving water
Many cats prefer running water because moving water reads as fresh. If your cat drinks from the tap or the shower floor, this is your cat. A fountain keeps water circulating and filtered, and the sound alone draws some cats in. The main thing to check is noise: a loud pump in a quiet room is a reason for the cat to avoid it. Our Quiet Cat Water Fountain is 2.5 litres, USB powered and comes apart for cleaning, which matters because a fountain that is a pain to clean ends up unplugged.
5. Add water to food
If your cat eats wet food, add a tablespoon of water to each meal. If your cat eats dry food, consider swapping one meal a day for wet. Wet food is around 75 percent water, kibble is around 10 percent. This single change usually moves intake more than any bowl or fountain.
6. Keep it clean and cold
Change water daily, wash the bowl with hot water every couple of days, and in summer drop an ice cube in. Cats notice stale water long before you do.
How do I know it is working?
You will not see a cat drink much more. Instead, watch the litter box. Bigger, more frequent urine clumps mean more water in. Litter that is easier to scoop and a box that smells less strongly are both good signs. Our Stainless Steel High-Sided Litter Box makes this easier to judge because clumps do not stick to the pan.
Order of operations
Move the bowl away from the food, swap to a wide dish, add a second station. That costs nothing and takes a week. If your cat is still not interested, add wet food or a fountain. Most cats respond to one of those six changes, and a lot of them respond to the first three.
Questions? Email hello@tailfriends.co and a real person will reply within a business day.