My baby isn't drinking enough water

[Peaceful]

I've had him to the vet, (5 yr old siamese) because of this twice within the past 3 months. It started with him vomiting up his food almost daily and at that point the vet said he probably had a condition similar to ulcers. Gave him an injection and then a follow-up injection a few weeks later. The vomiting stopped until today. He has vomited up his totally undigested food twice. However, the last time he was at the vet he was dehydrated and the vet injected fluid under his skin which made him look like a camel for several hours. He then became better and filled out.

We purchased an automatic water fountain to try to entice him to drink more water, but that doesn't seem to be working. Once again, he appears dehydrated. I can feel his vertebra and his sides are kinda suck in in front of his hind quarters. His fur has gotten quite course, and when he fluffs his tail, it looks more like a rat's tail than an exited cat's tail.

Both Bandit and his littermate are fed the same food, and Ding-a-Ling appears perfectly healthy. I have had them with the same vet since I purchased them 5 years ago, but I really think I have to find a vet that specializes in Siamese cats and I don't know how to go about finding that out. Living here in central Florida leaves much to be desired in finding specialized help in any field.

Any suggestions anyone has would be greatly appreciated. I want my little boy to get well.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Welcome to Pet Talk. I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. What kind of food are you feeding him? If he's only eating dry food then I'd try mixing in some wet food because this will add more moisture and will rehydrate him. You can also add some chicken broth or more water to his food to increase his water intake. Sometimes my boys eat so fast that they throw up too. Now I feed them 3 smaller meals about 30-45 minutes apart and this seems to be working. I do this 2 times a day and they eat dry and wet food mixed together. I hope he feels better soon. Good luck and please keep us updated when you can.

[Cinder & Smoke]

First ~ WELCOME to Pet Talk, Peaceful!!

Originally posted by Peaceful

... the last time he was at the vet he was dehydrated and
the vet injected fluid under his skin
which made him look like a camel for several hours.
He then became better and filled out.

We purchased an automatic water fountain to
try to entice him to drink more water,
but that doesn't seem to be working.
Once again, he appears dehydrated.

Several of us have had the same problem...
My male cat (Boots) had severe urinary problems including
stones & crystals forming that totally blocked his urinary tract -
he couldn't *pee*!

After "the operation" to remove his thingy and re-plumb him
like a girl cat - he STILL had problems because he didn't drink
enough water to keep things "flowing" properly.

The First Aid Fix was to FORCE him to drink ~
I used an old syringe with the needle removed -
load it up with water;
capture da Kat;
<open> his mouth and
<*SQUIRT*> a syninge full of water down the hatch!
Repeat multiple times per day.

The Long Term Fix was to "flavor" his water -
(Inside Pet Talk 'Joke') - DON'T bother trying Clam Juice!
Boots goes for TUNA Juice - from human tuna inna can...
A Little Tuna Juice added to his water cup gets him REALLY interested
in polishing off a bowl of water!

Before you switch Vets -
ask yous to conside running some urinary "tests" to check for
infections, stones or crystals, pH of the urine, etc.
Keep a SHARP EYE on his litter box - be sure he IS urinating every day!
A cat who can't *pee* on a regular basis is a cat with a
Serious Problem! It's a Red Flag Emergency if he "tries" to *pee*
and can't - He then needs a Rush Trip to see the Vet!

Good Luck - and again - WELCOME to Pet Talk!

/s/ Phred - "Dad" to Boots, da Kat
.

[Corinna]

I was reading this and about to add about the Clam juice
Poor Boots we have had so much fun at his expense. He is so loved.
I hope You can find the answer to this problem. I have heard before to mix a broth in a canned food and make it runny for them to slurp it up. But I would as the vet first. I haven't had this problem with my kats.

[AbbyMom]

I was also worried about my little one because she did not drink enough. It's not as bad as your siamese, but I was still concerned because it's important for her health.

On a hunch, I put a bowl of water and food in the bathroom. She now comes in and drinks water regularly if I'm in there with the door shut.

I think she was unhappy drinking and eating near the other cat.

Perhaps your little boy feels the same way?

Good luck.

PS, you can learn to do the fluid injections at home yourself. Some of us done so for our kitties with renal problems. They are actually pretty OK with it...it's not like a pill.

[Scooby4]

I've been overly concerned about my cat Ms. Thang. She has never drank out of her plain water supply. I couldn't figure out the issue and still haven't. However I can offer you solutions that may help.
I discovered that Ms. Thang only wanted her water OVER her dry food! So now what I do is I put fresh dry food in and then put in luke warm water over it. She dranks the water BEFORE the food soaks it in. I may have to repeat this process a few times and get left with lots of soggy food to toss out later in the day. She likes her food dry .
She was drinking out to the toilet but not regularly and not every place we lived. However, now she likes to drink out of the bathtub. With or without me in it! What I do now is I leave just enough water in the tub for her to drink from but not get her paws wet. This is where she will drink plain water.
My suggestion is to change up your typical water routine and be flexible. I never thought I would use a bathtub to give water to my cat but it works. You just have to work with your cat to see what oddball habit he/she may have and work with it.
Cats are finicky creatures. Sometimes we have to bow to them!

[Peaceful]

Appreciate all the feedback. Am trying all the various suggestions, but now have an additional problem. The baby doesn't even want to eat anything except his treats which I limit to no more than 4 per day, usually only 2. I took up the dry food entirely thinking he would only eat his wet food, but he just sniffs at that and walks away. Tried putting one of his treats in the middle of his food dish and he immediately picked up the scent of the treat, but wouldn't eat it out of the bowl. Took is out of the bowl and tried to give it directly to him as usually and he stuck his nose up at it. Gave him a fresh one out of the container and he gobbled it down.

I've been able to get a little bit of water into him with the syringe, but he doesn't like that a bit and gives me a run for the money.

I will try making a small dish of his dry food tomorrow and put warm water in it to see if he'll eat that.

In any event I will call Bandit's vet on Monday.

Thanks again.