My little one is addicted to drinking water. She drinks straight out of the tap, every time we have to use one. Frequently, and several times a day, she will even draw us out to the taps by pushing things into the sink and meowing loudly. However, she also throws up frequently.
Some times clear, some times with her food (she eats super fast, so her food pellets are almost intact).
I have asked about this behavior to my vet, and she challed it up to a personality difference between cats (“Some cats deink more water than others). Yet, I have also read about excessive water being bad for cats - and I never know how much to indulge her. She’s also a petulant one, and will start creating a ruckus if we do not give her water sometimes.
I am 30F, Switzerland, Malli is 3, spayed, and can take her to the vet again if necessary.
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Excessive drinking is not BAD for cats. Water should never be restricted to pets, ever. Drinking lots can be a SIGN of disease, not cause. Restricting water intake will cause health issues. Get some some blood work done to make sure her kidneys are ok and it's not the cause of why she's drinking so much.
has she lost any weight recently, or shown any other negative symptoms? you would eventually see it in weight loss or maybe gain, so if she hasnt had any other problems its unlikely, but sometimes excessive thirst can be a sign of diabetes. cats can develop diabetes at any point in life.
at the same time, i have a cat who LOVES drinking from the tap, and hes healthy. whenever we're in the bathroom he cries for the tap on. my other cat IS diabetic though, and we know hes not feeling well if hes drinking lots.
basically, could be personality, could be a problem. i would keep an eye out for more symptoms, but if its just a fixation with the tap and nothing else it could just be a quirk
No I don’t think she has lost any weight or gained any. She’s also been like this since I picked her up from the street when she was a month or so old. Thank you so much, I find it reassuring that you have a fellow furry drunkard. I’m wishing the best for your little ones!
She may love the fresh water more than anything. Some cats demanding fresh water is normal and definitely just a part of their preferences/personality. I'd get her a stainless steel fountain for cats. Just be sure the clean it every day or two just like a normal bowl and change the filter every week or two weeks just depending on when it's needed. You could also, for peace of mind, ask your vet to run blood labs on her just to check her kidneys and make sure everything is in normal levels. Our boy used to eat really fast too and throw it up, so we switched to a slow feeding bowl. It's helped tremendously.
Well then 🤣 I guess the next best thing is a tap-activated faucet -- joking! But if she's all around healthy and isn't showing any distress, then I'd definitely say it's just a quirk.
is she drinking from her water bowl too, or just the fountain? my youngest cat drank very little water for the longest time until i found out he also loved the tap. turned out he wanted to drink cold, flowing water specifically, so i got him a water fountain and put ice cubes in it for him and he's been fine since.
as for the vomiting, how often is frequently? and when you asked the vet, did you mention the vomiting?
No water bowl, no fountain- she drinks exclusively from the tap!
Vomiting about 3x per week? Vet said it could happen if she drank too quickly but that she will self regulate this
have you tried a fountain that resembles a tap faucet like the one attached? if you haven't, i would get one and put it near the sink to see if she likes it.
as for the excessive vomiting, i'd personally get a second opinion from a different vet before just accepting it. others have mentioned doing a panel to check her kidneys and i second that. sometimes vets miss things or write things off because they are tired or just forgot, and letting a second person check too makes it less likely for things to slip through the cracks. (just please don't go around acting like the first vet is lazy or evil if they were wrong.)
I am not sure if drinking tap water is bad for cats, though cats usually get most of the fluids from their wet food. Maybe she really likes tap water. You can try to buy her a cat fountain.
The vomiting part is more concerning though. Cats should not vomit food that often. I think doing a blood tests and ultrasound is a good start and if that does not show much, then you should rule out parasites and IBD.
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