Curious cat phenomenon

November 5, 2007 7:28 PM

Curious: I have a come and go as he pleases indoor/outdoor cat who only drinks water in the house once in a blue moon.

He’s the most robust and good natured cat I’ve ever known, so I’m not concerned... just curious. He’s a good hunter and I’ve heard that hawks don’t need to drink water.

posted by Huplescat to Pets & Animals (25 answers total)

What is your question?
posted by ikkyu2 at 7:33 PM on November 5, 2007

Are you asking if he's getting enough water? Seems like that would be a "yes" if he's not interested in the water you provide indoors.
posted by MiaWallace at 7:39 PM on November 5, 2007

He's obviously finding a source of water elsewhere. Rain puddles, run-off from neighbors watering their lawns, backyard ponds, etc.
posted by amyms at 7:43 PM on November 5, 2007

Best answer: Clearly, his question is, if hawks are natural hunters, can I assume my cat drinks very little water because he is a very good hunter, and therefore a hawk?

Some animals don't drink water because they gain enough moisture from their food intake to satisfy their particular metabolic processes, so that they do not require additional hydration. Cats are not among these animals. Your cat is probably finding water sources outside. Cats can be weird about their sources of water.
posted by nanojath at 7:44 PM on November 5, 2007

Your question reminded me of Mr. Lee, a cat in Germany whose owner rigged up a camera to record his trips: http://www.mr-lee-catcam.de/pe_catcam3.htm

Check out the one in the second row: "Thirsty ?! Now I know why the cat sheldom drink at home."

(Also be sure to look at the other trips, they're really cute!)
posted by lhall at 7:48 PM on November 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I live in a wooded cul-de-sac and people here don’t keep lawns, etc. More than that, we’re in a severe extended drought. I have a fair knowledge of the terrain, and I don’t know any springs or creeks within ½ of a mile.
posted by Huplescat at 8:09 PM on November 5, 2007

I have a fair knowledge of the terrain, and I don’t know any springs or creeks within ½ of a mile.

I'll bet your cat does.
posted by amyms at 8:28 PM on November 5, 2007

P.S. That sounded snarky, and I didn't mean it to be. I just meant that cats are very adept at getting their needs met. If he's not drinking much water at home, he's finding it somewhere.
posted by amyms at 8:29 PM on November 5, 2007

It's worth watching water intake for male cats - as far as i know they are a bit prone to bladder infections/kidney problems (maybe that was just mine).

Personally, I'd make sure he has a fresh water source both indoors and outdoors - even though he may be finding water, it may be runoff with pesticides, from people washing cars, etc.
posted by Orrorin at 8:48 PM on November 5, 2007

I have wondered this very thing about my adult male indoor/outdoor camel cat. I even left a gravity waterer outside during our very hot summer here in Mississippi, and as far as I could tell, he never took the smallest sip out of that. But, as the neighborhood is simply teeming with possums, raccoons and other critters, and they certainly aren't being watered by me, so there's obviously a source of fresh water of which I am unaware.

Therefore, I have decided to spend my cat-worrying time on other topics, such as where does my smaller cat keep finding these plumbing parts, and why does he think that I want him to bring them home to me?
posted by thebrokedown at 9:11 PM on November 5, 2007

Best answer: My (indoor) cat never drank much of the water that I put out for her, until I moved the water dish waaaaaay away from the food dish. There's a theory that, in the wild, carnivorous animals would not want to drink water near any food, since the water could have been contaminated by the dead animal. I'm iffy on the theory, but in practice it made a huge difference. Might be worth trying, just in case.
posted by occhiblu at 9:14 PM on November 5, 2007

occhiblu, that makes so much sense! wow! my cat will not ever, ever drink from his water bowl, and i couldn't figure out why. he will happily drink from the toilet, the pot of my egyptian dwarf papyrus (a plant which sits in a few inches of water), the bathtub, or my water glass, though. Huplescat, maybe your cat is sneaking water from the toilet or something when you're not around.
posted by twistofrhyme at 9:32 PM on November 5, 2007

Best answer: Cats don't like water near carrion, or still water in general. But it's important that they have water available! Mine will only drink from an aerating fountain like like this one.
posted by nicwolff at 10:07 PM on November 5, 2007

Cats, like camels, were originally desert animals, and over time evolution has caused the cat to require less water than most other mammals. In fact, some cats don’t drink until they’ve begun to dehydrate. In addition, cat owners will notice that Fluffy often will shun her water dish and drink out of a muddy puddle instead. Most tap water contains a variety of chemicals that are somewhat offensive to the sensitive feline nose. Furthermore, truly finicky cats can smell the detergent used to wash their dish and find it unappealing. This is also why cat urine has such a strong aroma - it is very highly concentrated.
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:22 PM on November 5, 2007

You may think you own that cat, but the cat may not agree. It's not unknown for a cat to have two or three homes, none of which know about the others.

Someone else may be feeding it -- and giving it water.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:48 PM on November 5, 2007

I agree with the comments that Huplescat's cat has found an ideal source for water and doesn't need/want it when he goes to Huplescat's house. Still, please leave some water indoors and outdoors. Since I started filling a water bowl outside, I've been amazed by the number of stray pets and wild animals that visit and fill up.

Still, I have the opposite situation:

My kitty is a strictly-indoor beastie who perches upon the bathroom sink and frequently barks requests for faucet water. Since she had UTI infections in the long-ago past, shuns all varieties of still-water bowls, and I'm a college student with a weird schedule, I worried that she wouldn't get enough water.

I bought a "pet fountain." She doesn't fear it...she just prefers to drink from the tap or the left-over water in the tub. She barks, I respond. Yes, she trained me.

Anyone want to buy a "pet fountain?"
posted by bonobo at 12:22 AM on November 6, 2007

When his water bowl was on the floor near the food dish, my indoor/outdoor cat also never seemed to drink. But since I put water bowls on both the bathroom counters, he drinks all the time.

I'm sure he has ways of finding water outside, but I think it's better for him not to have to. If I had to go across the street every time I wanted a drink of water, I imagine I'd get pretty dehydrated.
posted by ottereroticist at 12:27 AM on November 6, 2007

Best answer: We had a come and go as you please cat for 20 years. I never once saw him drink out of the water dish we kept for him in the house. He only liked to drink out of slightly dirty things that were outside - puddles, gutters, the umbrella stand on our deck. He lived a long, happy life. Cats are weird.
posted by meerkatty at 2:18 AM on November 6, 2007

My cats appear to almost never drink water I put out for them unless it's ectremely fresh. One day, to our horror, we discovered one of them drinking out of the toilet bowl. We've since noted that at least two out of our three cats do likewise!
posted by AngryVICTIM at 2:24 AM on November 6, 2007

He's probably drinking from bird baths, if not your's, then your neighbor's. The only problem I see is that you need to make sure he's on a regular de-worming schedule.
posted by anaelith at 6:49 AM on November 6, 2007

One thing I notice my (100% indoor) cats do (with no necessity since they have a super little recirculating fountain in their food area that I keep scrupulously clean because it is my destiny to tend to the needs of tiny beasts of the two and four footed variety) is like condensation moisture off the windows. The little one (the cat, not the baby) also sneaks into the bathroom and licks shower water off the tub floor if I leave the door open. Mmm, dirty soapy luke-warm shower water. Like I say, cats are weird.
posted by nanojath at 1:36 PM on November 6, 2007

(lick not like. Though I assume they like it)
posted by nanojath at 1:37 PM on November 6, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks to everyone for all the nice input. For the record my cat gets the same drinking water that I do... tap water run thru a Brita pitcher filter.

Anyone who can’t have goats or kangaroos could suavely minimize their disappointment with a cat.
posted by Huplescat at 4:54 PM on November 6, 2007

Oops, coming in a little late, but I just remembered that I read somewhere about cats not liking straight-from-the-tap water, because they can smell the chemicals in it, so it's best to let it sit for a while before giving it to them.
posted by lhall at 4:09 PM on November 7, 2007

i moved my cat's water glass across the room from his food bowl and yesterday, i saw him drink from the glass for the very first time in 2 years.
posted by twistofrhyme at 3:28 PM on November 17, 2007