How do I get my cat to drink more water?

by Dr. Wendy A Shiao, VMD
March 31, 2016

The vast majority of cats do not drink enough water, particularly cats that eat dry kibbles. This can lead to kidney and other problems later on. Or maybe your cat has already been diagnosed with a problem such as urinary crystals and your vet told you to increase his water intake. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to encourage them to drink more. Here are 8 of them for you to try!

1. Filter the Drinking Water

I filter my cats' drinking water for the same reason I filter the the humans' (and plants'!) drinking water. It removes most of the chlorine and other problematic chemicals and minerals from the water. If even humans can taste the chlorine sometimes, you can bet that cats can taste it too!

Though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the safety of tap water through the Safe Drinking Water Act¹ and does a good job of it, it does not in fact prevent all contaminants from reaching your tap. Even if the water was safe to drink when it left your town or city's water treatment facility, it must travel through many miles of underground pipes before it reaches your tap. Depending on how old those pipes are and what kind of pipes they are, many chemicals and minerals can leach into the water before it gets to you. Not to mention the fact that sometimes the water is already unsafe when it leaves the water treatment facility. The EPA cannot guarantee that the water being distributed to the public is free of contaminants. It only regulates what level of each contaminant it considers safe, and requires the water company to notify the public if any of those levels go over the threshold. I've received notices in the mail from my water company listing the levels of all those contaminants, from multiple cities/towns I've lived in. I imagine that most people throw these papers away without looking at them. I've actually read them, and found that many of the contaminant levels listed are above what EPA considers safe.

Filtering water is arguably even more important for our four-legged friends than for ourselves because, one, if they're eating dry kibbles, they need to drink a lot more water than someone who gets water from wet food, so the impurities in the water will accumulate in their bodies much faster. And two, even if they're not eating dry kibbles, they can taste the chlorine and other chemicals in the water and will therefore drink less water because of it. So now they're not getting enough water, on top of getting the chemicals in what water they do drink.

I used to give my cats just tap water, but when I switched over to filtered water, I immediately saw an increase in the amount of water they drank. If you don't believe me, you can try it for yourself and see if you notice a difference. I didn't actually measure their water consumption, but they were emptying their bowls faster than they used to.

2. Try Different Types of Water Dishes

Certain types of water dishes, such as plastic ones, will impart a taste to the water it's holding. Some cats may not notice or mind, but others will. It's worth trying different types of dishes to see if one will be preferred by your cat. At one point I was using plastic water dishes for my cat, but stainless steel dishes for my dog. I noticed that the cat would sneak over to drink out of the dog's water dish whenever it had clean water in it (he didn't like it anymore once the dog drank out of it and made it slimy). I switched the cat's water dishes to stainless steel, and he was much happier with them and stopped stealing the dog's water.

Glass bowls are great for holding water too in that they are inert and do not affect the taste of the water. But they do present a breakage risk if you have small children or rambunctious dogs (or both), or elderly family members who might not see the glass bowls on the ground and might trip over them. If you can take proper precautions they could be perfect for some cats who prefer them.

Ceramic bowls should be good also, but you must make sure the glazing used does not contain lead. More lead will leach into the water the longer it's been sitting in the bowl. Ceramic bowls or cups made for humans to hold food or water (rather than for decorative or other use) and made recently in the USA by a reliable manufacturer are most likely safe to use.² Some cats like drinking out of ceramic coffee mugs - or playing with the water in them!

Another thing you might want to try is a shallow dish. Some cats do not like their whiskers touching the side of the bowl when they're eating or drinking. The shallow dishes won't hold as much water, so you'd need to remember to refill it more frequently, but as long as you don't forget, it's actually better to wash and refill the dish with fresh water more often. Or you can buy more dishes and leave multiple out if you work long hours and can't refill them enough times during the day.

3. Try Different and/or More Locations

Having multiple water dishes placed strategically around your cat's living space can also help. Particularly if your house/apartment is big or multi-leveled or if your cat is elderly and/or has arthritis or other reasons for not wanting to go far to find water.

Having the water dishes in different locations gives your cats the option of finding a preferred location. I have at least 4 water dishes placed around my house for my cat, but 90% of the time he drinks out of the same dish in his favorite spot. Even though he has water right next to his food bowl, when he's done eating he will jump down from the table (he's fed on a table so the dog doesn't steal his food) and go all the way over to that favorite spot for water instead of drinking the water that was right next to him on the table. That favorite spot is by the sliding glass door he uses to go outside. When he doesn't want to go outside he often likes to hang out near the door to look out the glass, and he will sometimes drink water just because it happens to there and he has nothing better to do. I wouldn't have found out he liked that spot if I hadn't placed water dishes all around the house to give him more choices. If you can find such a spot for your cat's water dish it can help increase their water intake.

If you have multiple pets it would be helpful to place the water somewhere safe where they can drink without the danger of being ambushed (playfully or not) by other animals. It can be tucked behind furniture or plants or whatever in a quiet corner. Cats are typically hyperalert and easily distracted and will stop drinking water before they've had enough if there's too much commotion nearby.

Never put your cat's water or food bowls too close to a litter box. Dust and smell from the litter will end up in the food or water and it's just not very appetizing for anyone, human or animal.

If your cat spends a lot of time out in the yard, you might want to leave a bowl of water outside too. If you do, you should make sure the water is kept clean and away from wildlife.

4. Change the Water Frequently

The water dishes should be washed and filled with fresh water frequently. I do it at least two to three times a day. Some cats may require even more frequent water changes if they tend to get their water dirty more quickly.

My cat spends some time in an outdoor enclosure we built for him, and we have potted plants within the enclosure which he'll sometimes dig in when we're not looking. He then comes inside with his paws dirty and puts them in his water dish. That might be his way of cleaning his paws. Whatever his reason for doing this, it does mean that we'll need to wash his bowl an extra time.

5. Use Water Fountains

Many cats instinctively prefer drinking running water. In the wild running water would typically be safer to drink than stagnant water, due to more microorganisms growing and thriving in standing water.

There are water fountains made for pets for this reason. They run on electricity and need to be plugged into an outlet. The motor moves the water through a filter that cleans the water. There is usually some amount of noise involved due to the motor running, so you'd need to find one with a noise level everyone in your household can tolerate.

I would personally stay away from plastic water fountains, even if it says BPA free. Stainless steel and lead-free ceramic are both better options than plastic. And you must clean the water fountain and change the filter regularly. The filter might need to be changed every month or so depending on how many pets you have and how quickly the water gets dirty. The water fountain needs to be taken apart and washed thoroughly at least once a week, but more often if it gets slimy more quickly.

Some cats love these water fountains, and if yours does, it will be well worth the cost and effort!

6. Add Ice Cubes to the Water

Some cats prefer icy cold water, even when it's not a particularly hot day. My cat comes running over whenever he hears me coming with a mug full of jingling ice cubes. He loves to stick his paw in my ice water to try to fish out the ice cubes! When he gets one out he'll play with it and lick it until it turns into a puddle of water. (If you let your cat play with your water, don't drink it anymore after that, especially if you are pregnant! Better yet, give them their own ice cubes to play with so they don't take yours.)

You can even try adding ice cubes to your cat's food. They pick up the flavor from the food and become a treat.

7. Turn On the Faucet

You'll be amazed how many cats like to drink from the faucet!

In order not to waste water, you can leave it dripping or running very slightly, and leave a tub under the faucet to catch the water for watering your plants or whatever else you could do to use the water later.

You can even make a routine of leaving the faucet on twice a day at the same time. For example, every morning at 8 am and every evening at 7 pm, for five minutes or so. Some cats will learn the schedule and go get the water at those times. This way you don't need to waste water leaving the faucet on all the time.

Don't do this, obviously, if you live in California or somewhere else in the middle of a drought with severe water restrictions!

8. Give Them Chicken Broth or Tuna Water

Many cats will drink chicken broth or tuna water either plain or poured over their food. This gives them additional nutrients, including the much-needed taurine, besides providing hydration.

You must make sure the chicken broth or tuna water is unsalted/unseasoned. Most commercial chicken broth has been heavily seasoned and contains way, way, way too much sodium for a cat. Instead, make your own homemade broth by boiling chicken in water and removing some of the broth for your furry friends before you season the rest of the pot to make chicken soup for yourself.


With all these strategies you can try, you'll be sure to find at least two or three that work for your cat and double his water intake in no time!


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References

1.	Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, June 1, 2004
2.	Questions and Answers on Lead-Glazed Traditional Pottery, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, November 1, 2010