My non-diabetic cat won’t drink

[Jenn C + Henry]

My non diabetic cat Remy had a liver problem and was very sick, 1week after my sugar baby Henry was diagnosed. When it rains it pours!
Remy would not eat or drink. We tried everything, eventually resorting to “tuna water” to get him to drink.
Remy is now much better, almost back to normal. Eating his regular food. Problem is he won’t drink plain water. He loved his water, Poland Spring, before his illness, was a great drinker.
Any ideas to break his tuna water addiction???
There is always plain water out for both cats as Henry drinks a lot.
Remy won’t touch it now. You put it in front of him he sniffs and walks away. Wants his tuna water.
Help!

 

[Tracey&Jones (GA)]

I have a CKD kitty, I give her a bit of tuna water to get her thirsty and encourage drinking. Also, I use canned ham...just a little touch - make sure it doesn't have onions or garlic seasoning. It is salty and encourages her to drink as well.

Are you using a fountain? Sometimes that helps. I also have bowls everywhere! The bathroom, the spare room on top of the fountain. She changes her mind on what bowl to use every few days.

 

[Peter Moore]

Is Remy eating wet or dry food? My understanding is that a cat on a wet food diet would normally not drink much if any additional plain water. For instance as my Zelda approaches remission she barely touches the stuff anymore; in fact if she does then I know her BG is high. She does however love extra tap water added to her wet food and will often lap up the "au jus" excitedly, much like Remy's tuna water. I think she just likes it.

Point being I'm not sure there's necessarily a problem. He may have just figured out that tuna water is a lot tastier than Poland Spring and now is holding out for it. They are smart little beasts. Wheher the cat NEEDS extra water is the question.

If you think he's getting dehydrated there's always the option of subcutaneous fluids. My cat gets a "spa treatment" every month or so as needed and always comes home reinvigorated.

 

[flyingduster]

I add water to the wet food, so its quite soupy! I don’t think Jazz drinks much water at all now since doing that as she gets so much water in her food.

 

[Amina&M'row]

I put a bit of water in M'row's food (ff classic), and monitor his water intake daily. He drinks from 1 to 3 oz water a day. So maybe the tuna water is just what your cat is enjoying these days. Or you could try gradually diluting the tuna water, if you wanted. When M'row was first diagnosed, he was drinking more than 10 ounces of water a day, but he was still pretty sick thet. If you really are concerned about dehydration, you could consider measuring kitty's urine output. People post about doing this by substituting aquarium gravel for litter, then collecting and measuring the urine from the gravel.

 

[Dusty Bones]

When Dusty went into remission he stopped drinking water, he doesn't touch it all. My civie on the other hand has always loved his water and was still drinking but after switching to Weruva which contains a lot of natural juices he pretty much stopped drinking it.

 

[Diana&Tom]

Is Remy eating wet or dry food? My understanding is that a cat on a wet food diet would normally not drink much if any additional plain water. For instance as my Zelda approaches remission she barely touches the stuff anymore; in fact if she does then I know her BG is high. She does however love extra tap water added to her wet food and will often lap up the "au jus" excitedly, much like Remy's tuna water. I think she just likes it.

Point being I'm not sure there's necessarily a problem. He may have just figured out that tuna water is a lot tastier than Poland Spring and now is holding out for it. They are smart little beasts. Wheher the cat NEEDS extra water is the question.

If you think he's getting dehydrated there's always the option of subcutaneous fluids. My cat gets a "spa treatment" every month or so as needed and always comes home reinvigorated.

I tend to agree - there may not be a problem. Cats do not have a high thirst drive and if they are getting sufficient moisture from their wet food diet, they may not look for water. Maybe it's more of a habit if a cat likes tuna water? If he was actually thirsty he would drink plain water.