My Cat insists on drinking from the toilet!

I have created this blog post in response to the question that cat owners most often ask me  – why does my cat prefer to drink from the toilet or the muddy puddle outside, rather than from their water bowl?
Most people don’t know that cats hate to drink water that is near their food. It causes them a great deal of stress. Even vets don’t seem to know this.
This is even more important if your cat is on a predominantly dry diet.

If you have been a client of mine for a while, you will know that this issue is close to my heart as I believe that the kidney failure that so many cats suffer from in later life is due to a lifetime of being dehydrated, sometimes severely.
Now I know what some of you are thinking – “but my cat DOES drink from the water which is next to his food so surely there is no problem?”

To which I reply  – it is true that some cats are not fussed. Just like humans, cats are all different and some will be untroubled by the proximity of water to food. But, most are. Yes, you see your cat drinking, but who knows how long he has waited and become more and more dehydrated, reluctant to drink this water which he perceives to be dirty (more of that below), before he is actually desperate and gives in? We don’t know. So why take the risk? It probably won’t cause you any inconvenience to move the water to a different location so why not just do it.

But why is this the case? All cats, domestic and wild have an instinct that tells them that water near food might be dirty. That is because their prey (food) might have contaminated that water. Would you want to drink water in which a rodent or bird had been bathing, pooping, urinating etc? No, neither would I and nor does your cat. It is a strong instinct that keeps them from ingesting contaminated water. It keeps them safe.
If they can smell their food or prey when near water, they will not want to drink that water.

​The second thing which causes cats not to drink is that they have a very low thirst drive. In the wild cats get most of their water from the prey that they catch so they don’t need to drink; but in the modern world we often feed our cats dried food. Even ‘wet’ food often doesn’t have much of a moisture content.

​So, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to encourage our felines to drink. It’s almost as if we have to teach them to drink and enjoy water.
The best thing to do as a cat owner is to provide two or three drinking stations around your property. Not just inside, but out as well. Even for just one cat, I would offer at least 2 different places that they can drink. I have a lifetime’s experience of observing cats and they love to have a choice. They will often drink from one source and then go immediately to another and drink from there as well. I have known cats who will drink from 4 or 5 different sources in one day.

​Make sure that these water sources are well away from their food and their litter tray, if they have one. And by ‘well away’ I don’t mean just a few meters, but in a different room. Maybe have one upstairs, one downstairs and one in the garden. Try various locations. If a water bowl is in an unacceptable place, your cat won’t use it. Move it somewhere different. If they don’t use it, don’t assume they don’t need it; you just haven’t placed it in the right place yet. With cats, it’s all about the location of the resources (food, water, litter) in relation to each other.

And of course, cats wouldn’t be cats if they weren’t fussy about how their water is presented to them. Chose a wide flat bowl to avoid ‘whisker stress’. This is when the whiskers touch the side of the bowl and transmit unwanted sensations. (This is true for food bowls as well.) Or buy a water fountain. Flowing water is perceived to be cleaner than stagnant. I recommend a ceramic one as they are easier to keep clean. My cats particularly like this one – Petsafe Ceramic Fountain. Or the best plastic one I have found is this one by Catit.

​End note – cats which have a mostly wet food diet will need to drink much less than a cat on a mostly dry food diet.
And don’t think that you’re let off the hook as far as litter trays go! They also need to be in the correct location. Please don’t place the litter tray next to your cat’s food or water. Would you want to eat your dinner next to your toilet? Probably not. Cats are so fastidiously clean, that having to toilet near to where they eat can cause a great deal of stress.
As always, please ask me if you have any questions regarding this or any other cat related subjects.