Conference misery::feline_v1

    My cats water bowl is on the opposite side of the room from the
    food.  But only because they used to drop their dry food in it when
    it was next to the food bowl.
    
    purrs
    cin
    

    I had a "foster cat" when I lived in Colorado that would *only*
    drink fresh water from a bowl that had to be placed on the counter
    next to the sink.  He would never touch the water next to his food.
    He would let you know he wanted water by sitting in the sink and
    screaming his Siamese head off (at 3:00 a.m....).
    
    My guys bowls are next to each other.  I never thought of it...

    My cat, Dazdee never drinks from his 
    bowl..... mmmmmmm.......  I just might
    try setting it across the room, thanks
    for the idea!
    
    Katie_who_is_tired_of_cleaning_out_the_kitty_prints_in_the_sink  

    
    	Yes, there might be some truth to that.  I've noticed that my
    cats rarely drink out of their water dishes.  They each have a double
    dish with water on one side, crunchies on the other.  And both cats
    will eat their dry food, then walk over to the other cat's dish
    and drink the water on the other side of the room!  I'm going to
    try separating the water...
    
    	I wonder if cats think the water in the shower, toilet, or gutter
    outside is tastier?  :^)      
    
    	-Nancy
    

    All three of my cats drink from the water pan I have in my room
    (their private watering hole I call it).  Although fresh water is
    put in the bowl next to their dishes in the kitchen every morning,
    they will not drink from it.  I originally kept the pan of water
    in my room after someone said it was good for my sinus problem.
    However, since I'm not sure that is helpful to my sinus condition
    I've continued to have the pan of fresh water in my room just for
    the "kids".
    
    Holly (my female) likes to dunk her paws in and lick the water off
    them sometimes.  She also likes to drink from the bathtub faucet.
    I'd never let them drink from the toilet though due to chemicals
    in the bowl cleaners.  This has caused many cats and dogs to become
    seriously ill according to my vet.
    
    Pat, Holly, Buffy, and D.P. Gremlin
    

    None of the cats I've had have ever deigned to drink out of their
    water bowl ... much more fun, I think, to make Mommy turn on the
    bathroom sink faucet ... or to fill the 2-cup measuring cup that now
    lives next to the bathroom sink ... or, yes, to drink from the toilet
    bowl (especially right after flushing).
    
    I've just given up on water bowls in the kitchen ... and am resigned
    to being owned by my cats and doing what they seem to want (it's
    kinda fun, anyway!)
    --Janet

    All my kittys drink form the toilet bowl.  In fact Justa, my bedroom
    kitty, is absolutly fascinated with this miricle device.  When it
    is flushed, she will stop whatever she is doing, and rush in to
    the master bathroom, jump up on the seat and watch it flush.  She
    is a riot to see.  She sticks her head into the bowl as she watches
    and you can see her little head go round and round in circles as
    she watches the swirling water.  She is also amazed to see her
    reflection when the water is still.  In fact, she fell in the other
    day trying to "get that kitty" who lives in the bottom of the bowl.
    
    Marion

    I haven't had a problem yet with my cat not drinking.  Her water
    bowl is near her food dish, however I notice that she is more inclined
    to drink if I have just filled the bowl with fresh water than if
    it has been sitting there for a few hours.  She also loves to drink
    from the bathroom faucet (which is angled slightly upward so the
    water forms an arc) after she has placed her paw over the opening
    causing the water to spray all over the place (she thinks it's
    amusing!).  

 I've always had difficulty getting my cats to drink water and when I saw
some suggestions to moving the dish from their food dishes -- I did -- and
has it worked!! I had read in one of the magazines at the Vet's not to
worry too much about cats not drinking water as they're body can obsorb
the smallest amount even from their food, that will sufficient.  Especially,
as mine are outdoor cats, I thought they must have been getting somewhere.

Thanks for the nice idea -- 

BTW - the kittens (Boo Boo, and Bow Bow) have learned to climb the stairs
to the main part of the house, so their horizons have extended tremendously
in one week. Bow Bow has learned to come up to me and tickle her with his
whiskers, then hit me with his paw and if all else fails, walk across my
face (I open my eyes and there are all five cats watching and hoping I'll
get out of bed to get their breakfast (3:45 no less!) oh no, I don't -- I
pull the blankets up and go back to sleep.  Don't tell me to close the
door -- Midnight knows a way to get in, therefore, there is a little 
parade!!

		Marian

    RE: .7
    
    I can no longer use the self waterer becauase Alex thinks that there
    is no greater form of entertainment than to keep hitting the water
    with her paw until the whole darn thing is empty (I think that she
    likes to see it refilling itself). Luckily, she only seems to do this
    to the self waterer; she doesn't do it to water in a bowl.

    Deb

       Little Chanel starts to have more fun with the wather bowl every
       day. First she would only hit the water with her paw (until the 
       bowl was almost empty and the floor all wet).
       
       Just a few days ago, I noticed one of the ever-present cat toys
       in my home, a fake mouse with apparently real mouse-fur (very
       nice toy indeed, according to cats) being totally soaked. At first
       I thought it fell into the bowl by accident, but in the meantime
       I discovered Chanel puts it into the water-bowl until fully soaked,
       then starts peeling the hide off the mouse. The glue apparantly
       isn't water-resistent and she managed to tear half of the mouse
       apart. When the mouse dries up again, he's in for another "swim".
       
       Since I'm not perfectly sure about non-toxicity of the glue, and
       the mouse's inners is made of soft plastic, I take it away now
       when I'm not there. But I'm still puzzling about this new "game".
       
       ????
       
       Ad

    Last night, I happened across Chauncey sitting beside his water
    bowl.  I know he has some strange bowl habits, like splashing the
    water with his paw, dropping his toys in, etc., but last night was
    a new one to me.  He was dipping his paw in the bowl, and then using
    his wet paw to wash his face!  I've never seen anything like it!
    I had been assuming that his usually wet face was the result of
    Honey giving him a cat-washing, but that was something else.  He
    sat there for several minutes, grooming away.  I wondered how their
    bowl always came to have so much fur floating around...now I know.
    
    I also saw him staring into the toilet....maybe I should encourage
    that!!
    
    Mary

       RE.-1
       
       Hi Mary ;-)
       
       Chanel does about the same thing, but only when she sees me wash
       my face. Really beautiful to see, because it seems she doesn't like
       the water so much, so while washing she makes all kind of "protesting"
       sounds (sounds like 'do I HAVE to do this?'). Copycats?
       
       Ad
       

My Lucky used to ignore her water bowl in the pantry, preferring 
instead to drink from the bowl of water on the baseboard heater in
my parents bedroom.  After they moved, she began drinking from the 
faucet in the bathroom sink or, towards the end, :-( from puddles of
water on the back deck when my father would wash it down with the 
hose.

Mary-Michael (who used to be Lucky's Mommy)