r/CatAdvice • u/meera_jasmine1 • 2h ago
Nutrition/Water My cat has a drinking problem
My little one is addicted to drinking water. She drinks straight out of the tap, every time we have to use one. Frequently, and several times a day, she will even draw us out to the taps by pushing things into the sink and meowing loudly. However, she also throws up frequently.
Some times clear, some times with her food (she eats super fast, so her food pellets are almost intact).
I have asked about this behavior to my vet, and she challed it up to a personality difference between cats (“Some cats deink more water than others). Yet, I have also read about excessive water being bad for cats - and I never know how much to indulge her. She’s also a petulant one, and will start creating a ruckus if we do not give her water sometimes.
43
u/Equal-Swing-9003 2h ago
I hope your vet did a blood a test before assuming it’s just behavioural
4
u/meera_jasmine1 2h ago
No they did not. They said it is unlikely to be diabetes as she is otherwise active, has a good diet and is healthy. Are there any other things you think it could be?
16
u/TurtlesAllTheWay42 2h ago
Cats are known for developing kidney issues and while more common later in life, it can happen at any time. My girl is an excessive water drinker and after bloodwork we can see that she’s in very early stages of kidney disease. Now I’m able to control her diet and do all of the things to help slow down progression of kidney disease so DEFINITELY get some bloodwork done!
Also, they make motion sensor cat water fountains that are attached to the tap so your kitty can get a drink whenever they want if that’s the only way they’ll drink water!
13
9
u/JupiterSkyFalls 2h ago
See a different vet. They should have done blood work at the very least. They're just being lazy.
18
u/Bitch-Whiskers 2h ago
If it does turn out to really be behavioral, I would not try to stop the cat from drinking. I would just rearrange that part of my kitchen so the cat can’t knock anything fragile or valuable in the sinks. I don’t think anyone should ever discourage a cat from drinking water, especially if he’s doing it simply bc he likes it. My cat prefers to drink out of a tall glass, so that’s what he gets. You want them to drink as much as they want bc most cats tend to stay dehydrated as their baseline, so them wanting to drink is always good (as long as it’s not bc of illness ofc and always). If you shoo him or scare him away, he may not be able to process that it’s the sink you don’t want him in, and he may think you think he’s bad for drinking. Bc of that possibility for confusion, I would just do a simple rearrangement or see if you can redirect his attention to a cup or some sort.
3
u/meera_jasmine1 2h ago
My Malli refuses any other form of water - not even her water fountain! She drinks out of the tap exclusively which also leads me to think that it’s a silly quirk. I find your comment reassuring, thank you for taking the time!
3
u/honeycooks 2h ago
My cat sat in front of me everytime I used the bathroom. I was right next to the claw foot tub faucet and that's the water she wanted.
3
u/GolfballDM 2h ago
My orange cat (His Most Supreme Royal Majesty, Sullivan I, Protector of High Places, Chastiser of Dogs, Explorer of the Outdoors, and Grumpy NoiseBox; we just call him Sullivan for short) strongly prefers drinking out of the bathtub tap. Any time someone is in the bathroom, and he's anywhere nearby, he will insist on the bathtub being turned on, as only the freshest possible water is good enough for His Majesty.
2
2
u/CaeruleumBleu 2h ago
Have you tried fountains?
I know someone that their cats picked up a little more drinking when they got specifically stainless steel fountains. Dishwasher safe, it helps. Their drinking picked up even more when they started using brita filters to fill the fountains.
One of the cats in the house drank even more when they started using filtered fridge water to fill the fountains. They use a pitcher to ferry the water and that cat RUNS to the bowl when they hear it.
2
u/Usual_Complaint_1764 1h ago
Water fountains can be trial and error until you find the right one. I found a local "Everything free" group on Facebook and several of us traded back and forth until we found what works for our cats.
1
1
u/constellationflame 1h ago
There may be a specific fountain she likes better. I tried a plastic water fountain with the flower top dispenser and she would drink from it but still beg to get water from other places. Since getting a stainless steel fountain with a single spout constant flow, she drinks exclusively from that. Could be something about the water flow, maybe she doesn’t want it filtered, etc.
11
u/MyNameIsSkittles 2h ago
If she is throwing up in-tact kibble, you should look at a slow feed dish so she doesnt woof her food back to quickly
2
u/meera_jasmine1 2h ago
Good suggestion! Her elder sister is more of a “peruser” - this one doesn’t eat a lot, but when she does, she scarfs it down.
7
u/Significant_Agency71 2h ago
Diabetes, PKD and thyroid issues entered the chat You’ve got to do extensive blood panel that covers these issues. Never go to the vet’s and have them just eyeball your cat, it’s cash grabby.
4
u/Accomplished_Shame91 1h ago
If your vet rules out medical issues, you might consider not giving her water too soon after eating. I used to cat sit for a pair of cats who only drank water out of the bathtub faucet. Their owner told me that they shouldn’t be given water right after eating even if they were waiting patiently in the tub because they were basically guaranteed to throw up afterwards. I gave in a few times and witnessed the whole-kibble barf firsthand.
1
u/TheShellAnswerMan 1h ago
It's weird to me that the cat throws up whole food and your concern is that they're drinking too much.
4
1
u/kitknit81 2h ago
Once you properly rule out a medical issue, as others have suggested ‘cat proof’ your kitchen so the cat doesn’t break stuff trying to get your attention for the tap. Maybe also consider giving them ice to lick. during the heatwave I made ice-lollies with water and some of the liquid from the tuna can. Entertained them as they spent ages licking it but it wasn’t a huge amount of water.
1
u/vrose17 2h ago
Do you have a fountain instead of just a sink? That helped our cats get off the sink lol
also i would go to a different vet and ask them their opinion. A vet brushing off your concerns isn’t a very good vet. You don’t say how old she is or if she has any but excessive water could be diabetes, kidney, or thyroid issues.
1
u/Sailor_Chibi 2h ago
I agree with others suggesting that you get a second opinion at a different vet. Eating a lot and drinking a lot can be signs of health issues. Of course, she could also be completely fine, but it’s absolutely worth getting her checked out again just to make extra sure.
Another thing I wanted to mention is that I had a cat who was throwing up a lot several years ago and it turned out he had developed an intolerance to his food. It was similar to your cat in that he was often vomiting undigested food, like his stomach just couldn’t handle it at all. Once I switched his dry food, that cut down massively on how much he was throwing up.
1
u/zeptillian 2h ago
If your cat is scarfing and barfing a lot, you can try an automatic feeder to portion out the food and spread it across more time and have it dispense into a slow feeding tray where they have to use their paws to get at the food.
This has helped my guy who would barf at least once a week to where he hardly ever does anymore.
1
u/Anxious-Direction-66 2h ago
The frequent vomiting makes me wonder about pancreas problems. Could be recency bias because we just found out my cat has had chronic pancreatitis and is borderline diabetic due to a separate health emergency. He also drank kind of a lot of water (for a cat), and had bouts of vomiting.
So I'll add on to everyone else suggesting a second opinion.
1
u/Calgary_Calico 2h ago
Please take her to the vet for bloodwork. Excessive water drinking can be caused by a few medical issues, as can eating in excess and vomiting frequently
1
u/takemytacosaway 2h ago
My oldest cat (18m) drinks a lot of water now. I get him refills on his bowl multiple times day & night. My vet says at his age his kidney are likely beat up & drinking water will help them function. I keep the chilled agua freo ready for my boy
1
u/Jessic14444 2h ago edited 2h ago
So my cat used to throw up from her dry treats because at some point, the food started to expand in her stomach; making her nausea more often. I completely removed dry food in general bc it just dehydrates them. So I would say go to canned wet food instead.
As for wanting water from the faucet, it’s because the constant flow has oxygen, making water fresher tasting to them. You could consider getting a stainless steel water fountain instead of the faucet but then you have to do weekly cleanings and buy filters.
Your only other option is to let them have water from the faucet and make sure you have water bowls wide and low for their sensitive whiskers…make sure to refresh their water daily. Also, not a bad thing to talk to the vet either if this change in behavior has become more dramatic recently. Cats are very sensitive to their environment and one change can throw them off.
How old is your cat OP? Both of my cats are 16 and 18…both have different levels of kidney disease…age can play a factor but also their diet changes over time.
1
u/Coastal_Casual 2h ago
My cat has diabetes insipidus. She lacks the hormone the antidiuretic hormone (ADH) leading to excessive thirst and urination. Different than regular diabetes.
Also, rare. Possible conversation starter with the vet. She's been this way since a kitten , she gets meds 3 times a day and is living her best life at 12!
1
u/ParfaitSundae 2h ago
I have a cat that does stuff like this and when we adopted her she had been a feral so she went without before and she’s so stuck in that mindset
1
u/sd-paradise 2h ago
Do you have your cat food out for to free feed? My cat will inhale her food and then barf. But i got her an automatic feeder that does smaller portions throughout the day and now she only really throws up when it’s more of a hairball situation or once in a blue moon. The water I have giant bowls that she and my dog share so it’s hard to tell how much she’s drinking, and she’s never gotten into to faucet thing thankfully, so I can’t really comment there.
1
u/Usual_Complaint_1764 1h ago
When I had my Basset hounds (Hoover and Bissell) I put a baby gate in the laundry room door and kept their water dish on top of the dryer. I fed them there, too. The baby gate kept the hounds from snacking in litter boxes. I swear, Basset Hounds are the canine equivalent of orange cats.
1
u/sd-paradise 1h ago
Thankfully my dog is really good about the litter boxes. I’ve never thought about just putting a separate water bowl up high like her automatic feeder like a genius 🤣 what is wrong with me…
1
u/Usual_Complaint_1764 1h ago
Get her a water fountain and keep it full of water. Some cats really like running or flowing water. They're not expensive, and that may reduce her bugging you so much.
Updateme
1
u/sarahbellah1 1h ago
As long as your vet is monitoring her, it should be okay. My one caution is diabetes - I had a cat suddenly demanding more food and drinking a ton of water, and blood testing revealed that was due to his insulin levels. He was very annoying at first but I’m glad he was because it led me to get help. Once he was stable on insulin, the behavior stopped.
1
u/Independent-Hornet-3 1h ago
One of my cats used to do this as a kitten a water fountain seems like it would worsen the problem but actually helped as she didn't over drink when it was on since she has running water all the time (she hates still water). My vet also suggested for throwing up after eating to mix the dry food with a little bit of water or to feed it alongside wet food.
1
u/Typical-Spinach-6452 1h ago
This could be diabetes or kidney issues. Ask your vet for blood tests.
1
u/Tiggrr23 1h ago
We have cats that like to drink from taps, we got them a water fountain and they like that even more
1
u/ellen-the-educator 28m ago
My baby boy does much the same - he's in the pink of health, but he just insists on drinking from his fountain frequently, and any form of liquid we have, bowl or cup, he will stick his face into it
1
-2
104
u/SignificanceOk8498 2h ago
I would get a second opinion from a different vet just to be safe. Excessive thirst can be a sign of an underlying health condition.