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Cats & Habits--HALP! Nadishikii
My cat, Sophie, refuses to drink out of her waterdish. She seems to love the taste of the gross rainwater gathered in dishes outside, or the toilet (ew) or even, (worst of all!), the fish tank. Despite all the chemicals in the water, she keeps trying to drink out of it.

And she won't stop, no matter how much clapping, loud noises, or other things we make / try.

HALP?!
>> Anonymous
Are you giving her filtered water?
I read somewhere that if cats have a mineral deficiency in their diet, they will tend to drink tap water, rain water, or otherwise impure water that does contain the minerals they need.
>> Anonymous
Keeping the waterdish clean? No trace of detergent left in it from washing? Other than that, I dunno.
>> Anonymous
Cats usually like their water better if it's been sitting out for awhile, especially if it's tap water. Tap water has cholorine in it, and if you leave it out, most of it oxidizes out of the water. Or whatever that processis called. I'm not a chemistry major...
>> tigerfeather !CrwtTbFNxQ
You should try getting a pet fountain. Sounds dumb, but most cats like water better when it's been recently changed or has moved a lot (i.e. drains, fish tanks, toilets, etc!). You can get one for about $40, it will filter the water and keep it moving for your kitty.

You may also want to try changing your cat's water twice a day and putting one ice cube in it when you change it to keep it cold.
>> Nadishikii
>>82804
Nope, just tap water. ^ ^

>>82804
Hrm. I'll have to check on that. Thank you for pointing that out.

>>82810
No, no, that sounds about right. I change it every morning...

>>82815

Sounds like a great suggestion! I'll look in the pet stores locally. ^ ^

thank you all for your help.
>> INVALID
mine INSISTS on fresh running faucet water.. she'll stand there meowing her fool head off till you get so annoyed you turn the tap on just to shut her up
>> Anonymous
>>82800
1) let the water stand in a open dish for a while before being served (so that added chemicals in it can disperse, cats smell them easily and don't like them (and i don't remember was the time hours or like 1 day, i got this trick from one book))

2) cats smell easily traces from detergents, so when you wash the serving dish, flush it extremely good
>> Anonymous
>>82958
FUCK!
Don't go and do that, thats just horrible when you know why cat does that :/
>> Anonymous
>>82965

It's not horrible when you're preventing your cat from killing itself by ingesting things that potentially toxic. Besides, most of us have probably seen Zippocat or Crushcat floating around -- I think a spray bottle is much more humane.

Also, I don't advocate leaving a dirty, disgusting dish or anything. Just that you don't have to spend $40+ on a drinking fountain to get your cat(s) to consume the one substance they need to stay alive, is all.
>> Anonymous
>>82967
thet potentially toxic water is a good point, but.. errr..i don't see the connection between: theres pictures of cat killing in internet, THEREFORE i can bully my cat with a smaller tricks..
>> Anonymous
>>82970

First off, it's not bullying. It's discipline, the same kind you got when you were a kid.

Secondly, I wasn't necessarily equating the two acts -- just saying that spraying one's cat should not be considered "horrible" in light of serious animal cruelty.
>> Anonymous
If your cat doesnt eat alot of bugs and stuff they get a real hankering for the minerals and enzymes lacking in catfood. Usually cats eat grass and bugs and mice and they actually get more minerals and enzymes than people do. What was recommended to me by my dog trainer is working well for the pets and myself. Trace Minerals Research and Tyme Zyne... google em if youre interested.