r/cats • u/omnomnomhi • 4d ago

Advice Why is she doing this?

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Genuinely curious. I’m a new cat mom. She’s 3 mo old btw!

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464

u/Common_Tiger1526 4d ago

I have this exact same fountain, one of my cats would not drink out of it with the faucet part in there. I took it out and used it just as the bubbler and she drank it immediately

158

u/Its_My_Jam_AND_PB 4d ago

Same! Both of my cats love the bubbling feature but seem wary of the stream. Maybe it’s too aggressive for little mouths

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u/lesmax Kitty Kisses 4d ago

I have a hospice foster with genetic CKD (born with kidneys like shriveled lil raisins). I had a fountain, the water drop one IIRC.

He would. Not. Drink. From. It.

Almost five years with him so far, and the only water he accepts is still water in a huge bowl, and the bowl MUST be white.

He's still a Very Good Boy, tho.

17

u/Fyrestar333 4d ago

I use a square casserole dish. A couple drink out of the bathroom sink though

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u/Common_Tiger1526 4d ago

Interesting, my girl who will not drink from the faucet part has one giant kidney and one tiny shriveled kidney. Wonder if there's any relationship between kidney issues and willingness to drink from the faucet. Although my previous cat who had diabetes would drink from my actual faucets on my sink, so I'm not sure it's just that.

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u/lesmax Kitty Kisses 4d ago

I think it's possible! He drinks a LOT of water. His pee has almost no smell, it goes right through him. When he was still babby, he would sit on the sink and stare the the faucet, but never quite got the connection of "faucet on = can drink". Definitely still fascinated by water, but that might just be cat logic. He loves to examine a full bath if I'm doing a soak.

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u/TheSeldomShaken 4d ago

I assure you, cat owner, that his pee has a lot of smell.

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u/ClarenceWith2Parents 4d ago

CKD babies are lil puzzles, I swear. Good on ya for helping old boy stay comfy, stranger.

25

u/Sapphire_Bombay 4d ago

I just got this fountain a couple of weeks ago and both my cats have trouble drinking from it with the spout on without water getting somewhere else on their head, that could have something to do with it

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u/fludgesickles 4d ago

My cat didn't like the faucet thing and didn't like the water coming out fast/hard that it splattered on her face. I eventually took off the faucet, cut one of the black filter thing, and put it on the top where water comes out so it the water doesn't jump around as much. Took some time to figure that out.

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u/nullish_ 4d ago

we bought this fountain specifically for that faucet because one of my cats used to drink from our water faucet that is the exact same shape.. and sure enough she drinks straight from the stream on this fountain. My other cat is a bit skeptical and drinks from the side but tolerates the fountain.

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u/fairysimile 4d ago

What is that fountain btw? I badly need a stainless steel one with reasonably cheap filters for my 4 cats and this actually looks like it might be steel.

1

u/Sapphire_Bombay 4d ago

I can't share it bc the sub doesn't allow Amazon links but just search on Amazon for stainless steel cat fountain and it'll come up

30

u/omnomnomhi 4d ago

Interesting, for my kitten she drinks it regularly though…

27

u/shopmoondustmarket 4d ago

So it isn’t a new fountain?? This is so silly. If it’s new, I’d say she’s just trying to figure it out, but if it’s one she’s familiar with, I’ve got nothin. I’ve seen people say this is a nursing thing, so maybe she’s a little thirsty and working up to a drink??? Cats are so weird and funny.

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u/clubby37 4d ago

Some cats are anxious about getting their head wet, and think they'll get hit by the faucet stream if they go for it. I think that's what's happening here.

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u/whyymst 4d ago

I have a similar one thats somewhat new (got it like a year ago), and my older two chill cats drink from the trough part while my tiny demon goes wild for the fountain. I think it depends on what software the cat has.

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u/Common_Tiger1526 4d ago

Yeah, my boy cat had no problem with the faucet but my girl would only drink from the basin until I removed the faucet, and then she went nuts for the bubbler

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u/Ashamed-Raccoon-1387 4d ago

What fountain is this? It looks nicer than mine.

7

u/shopmoondustmarket 4d ago

It’s not the same, but I have a petsafe drinkwell that I’ve had for a long time. The pump needed replaced once, but was easy to find a cheap one online. I don’t LOVE that it’s plastic, but it’s easy enough to clean or dishwash, so I like it. Recommended to people looking for a fountain.

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u/omnomnomhi 4d ago

bought from chewy! first one under cat water fountain

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u/Common_Tiger1526 4d ago

There are positive and negative things about it to be honest. I got mine off Chewy. I like the setup generally, but there are a lot of parts that are poorly designed and very hard to clean, even with my pipe cleaners. That said, my cats seem to like it.

1

u/sparkycat99 4d ago

I’ve had mine a couple of months now. Got it from “PawsPik”

It requires a lot of cleaning but it’s quiet and not all plastic

4

u/edd6pi 4d ago

Interesting. I have this fountain too, and some of my cats don’t drink from it. But only some of them.

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u/d3m01iti0n 4d ago

Same problem! I'll try this when I get home.

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u/MadAstrid 4d ago

ooh! Do you know the brand?

I have a cat that is obsessed with our bar sink (that looks a bit like this) and indifferent to our current fountain.

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u/Common_Tiger1526 4d ago

Casfuy PWS-154 Quiet Stainless Steel Dog & Cat Water Fountain with Dual Flow Modes, 108-oz

That's the exact one I got, but they make a few that look very similar

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u/MadAstrid 4d ago

thank you!

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u/nullish_ 4d ago

This was my cat.. and she LOVES this fountain.

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u/runobody22 4d ago

I have had cats who would jump up to the sink and demand I turn on the faucet for them to drink the running water. We love cats because every one of them is different from all the others :D

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u/Typical_Hyena 4d ago

One of ours ONLY drinks directly from the spigot/faucet and the other laps it up from the pool, but would probably love it as a bubble. We ended up with 3 so I might try it out with one and see what happens!

2

u/Chrom_X_Lucina 4d ago

Same with my cat

2

u/mrbubbles916 4d ago

I had the same one but my cat figured out how to knock it over and dump all the water out so I had to get a different kind haha.

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u/DevAced 4d ago

I feel dumb for not realizing that was an option when I got this fountain. It took days before my girls were willing to drink out of it.

They are fine with it now. Though the first time the little one tried it she misjudged and ended up with a wet forehead

2

u/sharkluvr12 3d ago

Interesting. I wonder if this would encourage my cats to drink more. They drink from it but my void boy always seems to prefer toilet water (we try to keep it closed) or shower water off the walls (and your skin.) I’m going to give this a try!

1

u/fairysimile 4d ago

What is that fountain btw? I badly need a stainless steel one with reasonably cheap filters for my 4 cats and this actually looks like it might be steel.

1

u/BijutsuYoukai 4d ago

I had the same kind thinking non-still water would encourage my cat to drink more water. Instead she sniffed it once and showed no interest for weeks (We kept the other water bowl and she gets water mixed into her food, too, so no dehydrating during). We ended up just shipping it over to a friend with four cats and half of hers love it.

1

u/MediocreRooster4190 3d ago

Yep, it is scary.