Thread: End of our rope.

I appreciate all the advice. Antonia: They aren't really throwing up. They just get Diarrhea.

Snoozy: We went to the pet store today to get some food and litter, and those exact bowls were right there in plain sight. The price was decent so we decided to give that a go.

I like that the don't hold a whole lot of water. Less to be spilled.

I'm not claiming it to be a success immediately, but so far so good.

Is it wrong that I got a giggle out of watching James try his hardest to get water out of the bowl, but fail completely at it?

We laughed at ours too to be honest and they weren't impressed by our fits of giggles but it was a kind of revenge is sweet moment for us if you know what I mean lol...as for the diarrhoea, it's only a suggestion but T.Foetus could be a strong possibility, it's a parasite that gives recurring diarrhoea and is mistaken for Giardia in nearly 90 % of all cases. Wormers etc don't cure it unless it was Giardia in which case liquid panacur does, but if it is T.Foetus, a vet will sort you out with Metronidazole/Ronidazole for a few weeks which would pretty much cure it. Hope it helps. Snoozy

I would be really worried if I had a MC that didn't treat their water sources as a paddling pool that is also great fun to push around the room & cause as much mess as possible be it from their feet or putting their head full under the cold water tap & proceed to shake it all over you & anything else close by,MC's are recognised for their luv of water & part of the joy for us is knowing full well that we will forever be their mopper uppers,hence no carpets now in our household & six furries doing their best to keep me on my knees clearing up........

Update:

The Road Refresher has met it's match. They can't turn it over, but James quickly learned that more water shows up if he pushes the thing in the center down, and has managed to empty probably half of it on occasion. The water gets dirty pretty quick still, as they are now finding it "fun" to drop food kibble into it.

Need a little more advice if anyone is willing to share.

James & Penny seem to be putting their paws in the water dish because they don't like to put their heads down into the dish to drink (we got the dog-sized one). Also, due to their paws and playing with the food, we are changing the water out around twice a day.

Is there a way to tell if they are getting enough water? I'm worried they aren't drinking because they don't want to put their faces into the dish, and then also because of the stuff they put into the water.

Cats are not big drinkers by nature. They evolved as desert predators who get most of their moisture from prey (which is 70% water).
They don't take in fluids so much by lapping up water, but by eating meat. So, if you feed a predominantly wet food diet, or raw, it is perfectly normal that they drink very little water. As long as you find nice big pees in the litter tray it's OK. It means they get sufficient fluids from their food. That's why it is so important to feed wet food... much more effective than buying fancy fountains.

Also, "stuff in the water" should not be harmful. If it was, there wouldn't be anymore cats around.

Do they use a litter tray still? If they are soiling that then the chances are they are getting enough water. Less in = less out (by and large)

MC s and water

One of my MCs Floyd washes in water if he can

If the bowl is normal size he turns it over
I tried a much larger bowl with the same result so I sunk it in a large wooden box so even I struggled to tip it over - He approved of this and just sat in the water bowl and washed himself . Had to stop this it was just to messy.

We have now "agreed " that he uses a large very heavy cut crystal vase which he "discovered" while I was throwing away some flowers . he cant actually get in it so puts his front legs in completely and wash them seperately..

forntunately the two kittens have not copied him.

wow i would love to see a self bathing cat ... would make showing so much easier

Originally Posted by Neural

Is there a way to tell if they are getting enough water? I'm worried they aren't drinking because they don't want to put their faces into the dish, and then also because of the stuff they put into the water.

There is a simple test to see if they are dehydrated or not. Lift the loose skin at the back of the neck (The scruff, where vets usually give cats injections). Gently lift it up as far as it will go then let go, if it quickly springs back down to normal position they are fine, if it's quite slow it means they are dehydrated. The amount of time depends upon the severity of dehydration.
Hope this helps,
Mick