Hi everyone, why does my cat prefer drinking from the toilet, or as soon as I take a bottle out of the fridge, he wants a drink? I give him some in the bottle cap, but he drinks much less of his room-temperature water. Is it okay to give it to him or not, as he has urinary issues? I'm just not sure if cold water is good for him. Thanks in advance for your help!
Translated from French
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Hi,
If you were worried that cold water would make their urinary issues worse because of the temperature, please don't be – that won't be the case as the water will have time to warm up to their body temperature.
Fresh water won't do your cat any harm, and if they prefer it, then just try to refresh their water bowl regularly.
When a cat has urinary problems, it’s important to encourage them to drink more. Cats like running water because, as @Blue Cat mentioned, stagnant water in the wild can be a source of disease. To encourage them to drink, you could try buying a pet water fountain, for example.
Your vet might have already mentioned this, but to increase their water intake, you can also give them wet food as well as dry food.
Have a nice day,
Best regards,
Solène
Most cats love really fresh, cold water. Their instinct tells them that lukewarm water in the wild (which means it’s stagnant) is more likely to carry germs, and is therefore more dangerous than fresh running water, like a stream or a brook, for example.
My cats also prefer cold water; I put spring water straight from the fridge into the fountain. As for their bowls, if I use tap water (which I change three times a day), I often add some ice cubes. If he prefers it that way, just let him get on with it—if he didn't like it, he wouldn't be drinking it, simple as that. With his little urinary issue, he really needs to be drinking as much as possible.
