My cat won't drink water from his bowl. Vet found nothing. What can I do?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Maine Coon | Male | neutered | 17 years and 10 months old | 11 lbs
My cat suddenly cannot seem to lap water from his bowl that he's had for his whole life. He eats his wet food just fine and loves licking the sauce up first. I've tried bigger, smaller, deeper, tilted, gravity bottles (for rabbits etc) with no luck. He just scratches the floor by his dish and meows. I've resorted to using a syringe to get water into him, but this is not a solution either of us like. Our vet looked at his mouth and finds nothing wrong. What can we do???
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on May 7th, 2019
Try adding water to his canned food, and that will get more hydration into Tweak. You can try a cat water fountain. It provides a continual source of fresh water, and encourages cats to drink. I have one for my cats, and they love it. You can get them online or at a pet store. I hope this helps!
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on August 28th, 2017
Great question! Typically cats are not really big drinkers, but I'm a big fan of the cat water fountains. It provides a continual source of fresh water, and it actually encourages cats to drink more. I have one for my four cats, and they happily drink from it daily. It's a good idea to mix some water in with Milo's food to get some more water into him, and you can also give him canned food. That has a higher moisture content than dry food. If you are interested in getting him a water fountain, you can find them in pet stores and online. I hope this helps!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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