Drinking out of the bathroom faucet *Update 8/9*

[Medusa]

Ok, you all know the trials and tribulations that my Puddy girl has had so I won't go into that but this drinking out of the faucet has me stumped. If it was just a little quirk, I could deal w/it but she absolutely refuses to drink out of her fountain or water dish. She'll wait for hours until I come home, then is frantic to drink out of the faucet. I bought a drip bottle for gerbils yesterday and attached it to her carrier thinking that she might like it. I tried to teach her how to drink out of it, which she should be able to do w/no problem, because she likes to lick the faucet but either she doesn't understand what I'm trying to teach her or she's being stubborn because she won't go near it and turns her head away when I try to teach her. She's keeping me up most of the night because she can't reach the faucet on her own, can't jump up on a small step ladder any more because she's too weak. Any suggestions? Have you had this experience w/any of your CRF cats?

[moosmom]

I know it sounds insane, but alot of cats won't drink from anything but a dripping faucet. Have you tried a cat fountain?? I have a PetMate I can send you. I wound up getting my cats a Drinkwell fountain and they love it. I'll be happy to send it to you. Let me know.

[Medusa]

Thanx, Donna. I have two Petmate fountains; Puddy has her own but it's just since the anemia that she's decided that she'll only drink from the bathroom faucet. I'm hoping that she may drink from my feng shui fountain because it drips more and sounds somewhat like a running faucet. (I moved it to the enclosed patio because the sound made me want to go to the bathroom all the time. LOL) I just this morning moved it to her room, hopeful that she'll drink out of it and stop the crying to be lifted to the bathroom faucet.

[Emeraldgreen]

I'm wondering if there is a connection to her anemia and if she is seeking out 'iron'. Maybe from minerals in the water itself or from the faucet metal? It could be the combination of the water coming right from the tap that smells more like iron than when it's sitting in her bowl or in the gerbil water dispenser. I've heard of cats licking certain things when they are depleted of something in their bodies and maybe this is what it's about. This may not help one bit but you could try and find an iron cooking pot or pan and fill it with the tap water and place it near her.

If that doesn't work, could you create a ramp up to the sink? It might not be as challenging as a step ladder for her as long as it's not too steep.

Praying that Puddy begins to get better.

[Medusa]

I'm wondering if there is a connection to her anemia and if she is seeking out 'iron'. Maybe from minerals in the water itself or from the faucet metal? It could be the combination of the water coming right from the tap that smells more like iron than when it's sitting in her bowl or in the gerbil water dispenser. I've heard of cats licking certain things when they are depleted of something in their bodies and maybe this is what it's about. This may not help one bit but you could try and find an iron cooking pot or pan and fill it with the tap water and place it near her.

If that doesn't work, could you create a ramp up to the sink? It might not be as challenging as a step ladder for her as long as it's not too steep.

Praying that Puddy begins to get better.

She got an iron shot when she was at the vet's a week ago and Dr. Lee said to give her one every 3 weeks. He's of the opinion that iron supplements are a waste of time, so I figure the shots should do the trick for her.

I'm going to go to the pet store and see if they have those carpeted steps that I see advertised on TV. She's just not sure-footed any more and she has no confidence in herself to jump up at all plus I think the anemia has weakened her so that she just doesn't have the energy but maybe the steps will help.

[Medusa]

Just got home from Pet Supplies Plus; put the steps in the bathroom and put her on them. She was kinda shaky but she went up the steps and into the sink. Let's hope she can do it tonight when it really counts.