# Kitten that won't drink water?



## Crazy_about_cats

We recently brought home an 8 week old kitten. He has been with us for about 5 days now but I have noticed that he hasnt been drinking water.

When we first got him home he was on dry food, but he would only drink cats milk. I tried getting him to lick some water off my finger, but he just didnt seem interested. I got quite worried on the 2nd night, since he was barely doing anything in the litter tray, so decided to swap to wet food and mix a bit of water in. He seems to enjoy it and at least it gives him some hydration but he still doesnt drink. He seems fine and is very playful. Is this normal in kittens? How can I get him to drink?


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## hobbs2004

TBH, now that he is on wet food with added water my hunch is that he is getting all of his moisture needs from the food.

When you pinch the scruff of his neck, how long does it take for the skin to go back down? If it goes down immediately then it looks as though he is hydrated enough. If it hangs there for a wee while then perhaps up the moisture.

If you are worried you can water down some cat milk to see whether he will drink that or perhaps even invest in a cat fountain.


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## Guest

Pop him some kitten milk down and gradually add more water into it.

PS photos please :001_wub: :thumbup:

Em
xx


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## thedeans

none of my cats have ever drunk much - or not that I've seen - As far as I know, cats get alot of their liquid from their food - hence cats are better suited to wet food or a raw food diet
Also remember that its only a kitten so won't need a large volume anyway

Finally years ago when one of my pets was de-hydrated my vet advised to gently lift the skin at scruff of neck (back) and release - it should return instantly - if it is slow this can be a sign of de-hydration - although it might be different in your kitten


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## Guest

I have noticed with my cats that they like to drink when no-one is watching and they hardly ever drink from their bowl, they like cups and mugs placed around the house, but yes I would carry on adding a little water to his food.


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## Guest

GreyHare said:


> I have noticed with my cats that they like to drink when no-one is watching and they hardly ever drink from their bowl, they like cups and mugs placed around the house, but yes I would carry on adding a little water to his food.


:lol: :lol: fun  

Em
xx


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## lorilu

GreyHare said:


> I have noticed with my cats that they like to drink when no-one is watching and they hardly ever drink from their bowl, they like cups and mugs placed around the house, but yes I would carry on adding a little water to his food.


I have a cat like that, too! He's on a canned diet so doesn't drink much anyway, but if he is at the water bowl (I always know it's him because I hear him paw the floor around it, and the edge of the bowl first) I have to be oh-so-careful- not look his way, or he will stop drinking.

I also know cats who prefer to drink from glasses around the house. I tried that for my poor drinker, but she just liked tipping them over. I also tried a fountain for her, and the bathroom sink. Nothing doing. 

I agree with the others, a canned diet with water added, kitten is getting plenty of hydration, but of course always keep the water bowl full and fresh, just in case he is drinking when you aren't looking.

Congratulations on your new baby, and welcome to PF!


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## Guest

lorilu said:


> I have a cat like that, too! He's on a canned diet so doesn't drink much anyway, but if he is at the water bowl (I always know it's him because I hear him paw the floor around it, and the edge of the bowl first) I have to be oh-so-careful- not look his way, or he will stop drinking.
> 
> I also know cats who prefer to drink from glasses around the house. I tried that for my poor drinker, but she just liked tipping them over. I also tried a fountain for her, and the bathroom sink. Nothing doing.
> 
> I agree with the others, a canned diet with water added, kitten is getting plenty of hydration, but of course always keep the water bowl full and fresh, just in case he is drinking when you aren't looking.
> 
> Congratulations on your new baby, and welcome to PF!


I discovered the love of mugs from when I put the heating on, as I have storage heaters and they make the air really dry so I sit a mug of water on it and the cats chose to drink warm stale dusty water from there rather than fresh filtered water in their bowl


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## Shayden

loool i wish my cat would drink out of his bowl.... he prefers my bathroom sink... but ONLY when im actually in there doing my bidness loool  if all else fails he drinks from my toilet like a dog  ..... yum


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## Tylah

Why not just give him milk. I have 3 cats, 2 are 14 and the other is 11. I've always given a bowl of milk (whole milk from the milkman) and a bowl of water. Only rarely do they drink the water, but what i find is that they prefer rain water, so i leave a bowl to fill up outside, oddly enough one likes to drink from the watering can.


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## lorilu

Tylah said:


> Why not just give him milk. I have 3 cats, 2 are 14 and the other is 11. I've always given a bowl of milk (whole milk from the milkman) and a bowl of water. Only rarely do they drink the water, but what i find is that they prefer rain water, so i leave a bowl to fill up outside, oddly enough one likes to drink from the watering can.


Many cats are lactose intolerant, and milk can cause diarrhea and painful gas. I would not recommend giving a cat whole milk.


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## Shayden

Tylah said:


> Why not just give him milk. I have 3 cats, 2 are 14 and the other is 11. I've always given a bowl of milk (whole milk from the milkman) and a bowl of water. Only rarely do they drink the water, but what i find is that they prefer rain water, so i leave a bowl to fill up outside, oddly enough one likes to drink from the watering can.


ur not supposed to give ur cat cows milk... it can seriously harm a cat especially a kitten!

HOWEVER if you dont use kitten milk i can suggest goats milk from your local supermarket


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## Jansheff

My 3 eat wet food only and I rarely see them drink, the amount in the water bowl never seems to go down. I always add a desert spoon or so to their food too.


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## amszephyr

I have a cat who was reluctant to drink until I bought a water fountain. It was such a hit that now my mother, sister and two friends all have them for their cats, too.


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## Crazy_about_cats

Thanks for all of the advice, I will try and see if he likes water in mugs and glasses. He currently has a shallow saucer that I fill up to a mark and can see if it goes down by the end of the day, so I know he isn't touching it.
I tried getting him to drink some out of the sink tap (that was so cute to watch since he is so small) but no joy. In all fairness, Water in our area tastes a bit funny out of the tap. We use water filters at home for drinking water, we also use filters for the cats so I know it isn't the taste. 

Last night, I tried to mix some water in with the milk but he took one lick, looked at me as if to say 'What have you done to my milk?', walked away and didn't touch it again...he is a picky one! I seemed to of picked a kitten who is a expert in milk tasting! I am happy for him to continue to have water mixed in with his food but it worries me when it starts to get hotter and the only intake he has is when it eats. Do kittens tend to grow in to drinking water? I am taking him to the vets on Saturday for vaccination and his first check over, is it worth asking the vet?


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## Shayden

so long as the cat is healthy and is eating well i shouldnt worry too much! check the scruff of his neck to see if hes hydrated and if so leave kitty to it!... if he is thirsty he will drink, even if you dont notice it


as ur at the vet u might as well ask him!  then again when hes having a check the vet might notice something else that we dont yet know


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## Melly

we were the same with Poppy, you never saw her drink water, she'd have a little bit of kitten/cat milk if it was available tho.

she would regularly have wet paws when picked up, and we used to think she was being naughty playing in the water bowl, and often it would be in the middle of the floor.

Well it turns out, daft cat doesnt like drinking normally, cos she ends up sniffing it up and making herself sneeze, so she puts a paw in, and lick it off the her paw, and then licks the drops shes caused on the floor! :blink: she's an odd one!

definatly check kitties scruff of the neck, as long as it springs back its fine


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## Ren

Kazuki never drinks much. The only time I ever saw him drink was when he was on a bland diet of plain chicken to help his tummy. My friend Jo has two cats that love drinking water. Every night they get a pint glass full of water each on the table to drink from and if they don't get it they meow their heads off :lol:


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## lorilu

Melly said:


> we were the same with Poppy, you never saw her drink water, she'd have a little bit of kitten/cat milk if it was available tho.
> 
> she would regularly have wet paws when picked up, and we used to think she was being naughty playing in the water bowl, and often it would be in the middle of the floor.
> 
> Well it turns out, daft cat doesnt like drinking normally, cos she ends up sniffing it up and making herself sneeze, so she puts a paw in, and lick it off the her paw, and then licks the drops shes caused on the floor! :blink: she's an odd one!
> 
> definatly check kitties scruff of the neck, as long as it springs back its fine


Not so daft, is she, since she figured out a way to drink that didn't cause her to sneeze!

I had a little girly, now a Bridge Angel, who drank that way. Paw dipping/licking and splashing, to drink off the floor. One of the reasons I always wear slippers.

She also enjoyed drinking out of the bathroom sink faucet, but I had to monitor and limit that as she would swallow a lot of air and/or too much water then vomit it right back up.


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## tyrole

Max drinks from the tap.
I can hear him banging the tap with his face to get water to drip out of it :lol:


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## NEW2CATS

i have a secret water drinker here too - if billy thinks he is being watched he will stop drinking.
but i know he must drink when i am not looking cos he does giant wees lol


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## Taylorbaby

kittens / cats get about 90% of water from their wet meat, cats that eat biscuits tend to drink a little more, maybe try as water fountain? my cats all love to drink out of the taps, if he is showing signs of deydration or illness Id pop him along to the vets, but I dont normally see any of my cats drinking only the odd time :001_smile:

you can also mix in water with his wet meat as a 'gravy' they tend to lap that up! Or a chicken breast with water on it to make it more moist :001_smile:


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## Cloudygirl

Chicken broth is what I used to get some water in mine when he had the bad bum and I was worried about him being dehydrated. They both luuurrrrvvvveed it. 

Now they are fine I have 3 bowls of water. 1 is old (I change it once a week they like drinking stale water sometimes for some reason), 1 is fresh every day and by their food and 1 is in the hallway. Mine drink about 300ml of water a day between them and I mix a bit of water in their pate food which I think is quite a lot and unfortunately means I have to change their litter a lot  but if it keeps them healthy...


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## Crazy_about_cats

Well, we went to the vets on Saturday and the vet gave him his vaccinations and checked him over. It is good news, she says that Stitch is well hydrated and appears in perfect health. 

The vet suggested most of the things that had been suggested on here. She mentioned the cat's milk is fine as a treat for kittens, however to much can lead to weight gain and tummy problems, because of this get him on to water. She said the best approach was adding water in to the wet food (which I have been doing) and his cat's milk, slowly getting the kitten used to the taste and slowly replacing the amount of milk with water. If the kitten doesn't drink the milky water, it may be down to the fact that water in the area might taste funny. If this happens Stitch may prefer running fresh water, in which case, she suggested getting a fountain. 

She said she was fairly confident that he will drink in his own time, since he is drinking cat's milk. If he wasn't drinking full stop, that would be a concern but some kittens just need time to adjust. Most kittens have gotten used to being given milk from day one and need a bit of time to adjust from cat's milk to water. I went home and tried Stitch on Milky water, putting less water in then the first time and he lapped it up!


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## lorilu

Thanks for the update!


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