Why do cats drink dirty water? What about chloride and fluoride?

Image: DALLE-E 3

Cats may drink dirty water due to a variety of reasons:

1. Proximity to Food: Cats instinctively avoid water sources that are too close to their food. In the wild, water sources near dead animals can contain bacteria, so cats tend to drink water as far from their feeding area as possible.

2. Plastic Bowls: Plastic containers can get scratched over time, allowing bacteria to build up in the small crevices. Cats have sensitive noses and taste buds, and they may refuse to drink clean water if it’s in a contaminated bowl.

3. Bowl Shape: Cats dislike lapping up water from bowls where their sensitive whiskers touch the brim. The shape of the bowl can therefore be a factor.

4. Preference for Running Water: Some cats prefer running water and may seek out alternate water sources if they’re unhappy with their assigned water bowl.

5. Old Habits: Cats have been living alongside humans for thousands of years, but they still retain some of their wild instincts. This can result in odd habits, like drinking dirty water.

6. Chemicals in tap water - see below.

Remember, it’s important to provide clean, fresh water for your cat to ensure their health and well-being. If your cat continues to drink dirty water despite having clean water available, it may be worth consulting with a veterinarian.

RELATED: Bottled water or tap water for your cat?

Some more reasons:

• Dislike of Bowl Location: If the water bowl is too close to their food, cats might avoid it due to an instinct that tells them water near food could be contaminated, as would be the case in the wild with animal carcasses near water sources.

• Sensitivity to Bowl Material: Cats have sensitive noses and may detect bacteria in scratches of plastic bowls, leading them to avoid the water even if it’s clean.

To encourage your cat to drink clean water, consider providing multiple water sources, using wider and shallower bowls, and keeping the water bowl separate from the food bowl. Additionally, regular cleaning of the bowl to prevent bacterial build up can also help.

Does the chlorine or flouride in tap water put cats off drinking it?

Chlorine and fluoride in tap water can affect cats differently. While most municipal water sources treated with chlorine are safe for cats, some cats may dislike the taste of chlorine and ammonia, which could deter them from drinking tap water. Letting the water stand for a while before serving can help, as chlorine evaporates off over time.

Regarding fluoride, it is generally safe in the levels found in tap water, but high levels of fluoride or other minerals could be harmful if consumed in large quantities. Cats can typically drink any plain water that’s safe for humans, including tap water. However, if you’re concerned about the quality of your tap water or if your cat seems reluctant to drink it, you might consider using filtered water to remove chlorine and other chemical elements.

It’s important to ensure that your cat stays hydrated, as not drinking enough water can contribute to urinary problems in cats. If you notice your cat is avoiding its water bowl, you might want to try providing water from different sources or consider a water fountain that provides running water, which many cats prefer.

How can I tell if my cat is drinking enough water?

To ensure your cat is properly hydrated, you can monitor their water intake and look for signs of good hydration. Here are some tips:

• Monitor Water Intake: A general guideline is that cats should drink about 1–2 millilitres of water per kilogram of body weight per hour. For a 10-pound cat, this translates to roughly one cup of water daily.

• Check the Litter Box: Observe how often your cat uses the litter box. Most adult cats urinate two or three times a day. If you notice a decrease in the frequency or amount, it could indicate insufficient water intake.

• Physical Signs: Look for physical signs of hydration. A well-hydrated cat will have moist gums, and their skin will quickly return to place if gently pinched (known as the ‘skin tent’ test). A dehydrated cat may have dry gums and their skin may not fall back as quickly when pinched.

• Behavioural Signs: A healthy cat will have a good appetite and energy levels. If your cat is lethargic or has a decreased appetite, it could be a sign of dehydration.

If you’re concerned about your cat’s water intake, consider placing multiple water bowls around the house, using a cat water fountain, and ensuring the water is fresh and clean. If you suspect your cat is not drinking enough or shows signs of dehydration, consult your veterinarian for advice tailored to your cat’s specific needs.

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Michelle Pfeiffer has just noticed that her cat uses her right paw to drink water

Hello Magazine tells us that Michelle Pfeiffer was stunned to discover that her cat drinks water using her paw. Specifically her right paw. It is as if the earth has moved off its orbit. The online newspaper paints the event as if it is the most shocking thing that has happened in history of humankind. But it's just something that is very normal. We see a lot of it.

Michelle Pfeiffer has just noticed that her cat uses her paws to drink water. This is her cute cat. She looks like a Ragdoll, perhaps. Her name is Bella .Screenshot from video by Michell Pfeiffer.

And a lot of people have thrown their hat into the ring to try and figure out why domestic cats like to do this. They want to give her their valuable advice. They say that Maine Coons in particular enjoy drinking water with their paw.

I am not sure that that is correct. Individual cats because of their character might use their paw from time to time when drinking water from a bowl. The habit is not necessary breed-specific.

Enjoy doing it - inquisitive

There might be a specific reason but often times I believe that they do it because they simply prefer to drink water that way. And why not? Humans do it. When humans drink from a stream they use their hands. Admittedly humans don't have feline tongues. The tongue of a cat is designed to "pick" water up using surface tension and inertia. They don't actually scoop up the water with their cupped tongue but employ some fancy physics to get it into their mouths.

When I've seen cats drink water with their paw, I've seen a cat that is entirely healthy and normal. There is no apparent reason why they're doing it. In that case, I would say they do it because they simply want to do it. It's a variation on the usual method. This may be borne out of boredom. It makes drinking water a bit more interesting.

Other reasons

You could theorise on a range of possibilities such as the domestic cat's wildcat ancestor occasionally drinks water this way in order to test it or to be cautious about a potential predator under the water. I've heard that said before.

The classic reason is that the bowl is too small and cats don't like their whiskers brushing against the side of the bowl because they are super-sensitive. Therefore they are forced to use their paw instead. This may, indeed, be a reason.

RELATED: Why is my cat not drinking?

Stimulation

Another thing that you might notice when you see a cat using their paw like this is that they look at the water falling off it. They look at what is going on inquisitively. They seem to be interested in the way the water falls off their paw. There may be something in that. It may provide us with a hint as to what is going on in their mind.

To me, it hints at a need for stimulation. They are injecting something different into their lives and trying to stimulate their brains. They make the world more interesting around them. This is the reason why cats knock an item off a mantelpiece or a table. This is not vandalism 😉. I think drinking water with their paw has the same underlying reason as knocking objects of tables and mantelpieces.

When they knock something of a mantelpiece they watch as the item falls to the floor and bounces. They are creating something which is animated and therefore interests them. I'm driven to conclude once again that this activity originates in boredom and a lack of stimulation.

Play

My message to Michelle Pfeiffer is to test out that theory by playing with her cat more if she has the time; to see whether her cat stops drinking water with her right paw.

Cat refuses to drink water except from cupped hands. Why?

This is about a feline drinking problem and a cat whose owner posted a request for help on the Reddit.com website. He said that his cat would not drink water except when he cupped the water in his hands and presented it to him. He's tried everything possible including changing the water receptacle and using different kinds of water including bottled water. He could not go on doing this because he wasn't at home all the time and his cat was becoming dehydrated. 

I'm not sure how the story ended because it's about six years old but he received some good answers mainly about changing the receptacle. One person thought that the cat could not recognise the water and suggested that he put a ping-pong ball in it.

Cupped hands holding water. Photo: Pixabay.

I would suggest that the problem might be to do with the odour of the water. When it is cupped in the hands of the cat's owner the water would smell of the body odour of the person. Cats are very much into the scent of their owner. They recognise their owner by their scent. It is possible that this cat is very anxious and timid and needs the reassurance of his 'surrogate mother' (owner) to drink and he achieves this by drinking from the hands of his owner. He will even lick fragments of water from his owner's hands rather than drink in the normal way.

If I am correct and it is about the smell of the water through the person's hands then the problem may be resolved by using a water which is as near as possible without smell, such as bottled water, pouring it into a receptacle, ideally a glass receptacle, and dipping his hands into that receptacle and aerating the water with his hands for about 20 seconds. 

That should deposit some of his scent into the water to make it smell a bit like his hands. That is quite a big guess but I have a feeling that the problem is not about recognising the water but about the bond between the cat and the person which in this instance is very strong. The cat needs to feel that he is being nursed by his owner. I think it's an act of nursing, a throwback to when he was a newborn kitten.

In fact, this cat may have been weaned too early and this may be an example of behavioural problems due to early weaning - not uncommon. That's my best guess and I think it is worth a try. Unfortunately, the problem was discussed about six years ago, as mentioned, and therefore my thoughts cannot be relayed to him in comments on the Reddit.com website because comments have been archived.

Thirsty cat adopts bizarre posture to drink from water basin - NO!

The title to this post is the title given to the video on YouTube but it is inaccurate. This is not a bizarre posture but a very clever and natural posture which allows the cat to stretch over to this large receptacle of water and drink from it. 

Skinny tabby cat uses his athleticism to drink from a large receptacle. Screenshot.

I love the athleticism that this skinny little tabby stray cat demonstrates. It is another example on video of the extraordinary athleticism of the domestic and feral cat. 

You probably know that domestic cats prefer to drink from what appears to us to be dirty puddles and polluted water but which in fact is pure from the cat's perspective than tap water. Tap water contains chemicals to keep it pure and to protect the health of people but domestic cats can smell this, they can smell the chlorine and fluoride that is in it and prefer rainwater although it might have collected some pollutants in the air as it falls to the ground. 

They don't mind these perhaps because they can't smell them. I believe that cats pick up the unnatural smells of tap water which puts them off. They overcome it because they often drink tap water but sometimes they shun it for muddy puddles.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it. I actually expect this video to disappear within quite a short space of time because I do not think that the person uploading it is genuine. I have a suspicion that he or she is downloading the videos of other people and then uploading them to his YouTube channel. I could be wrong and if I am I apologise.