Typical internet cats. Videos, pics, memes, and discussion welcome!
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I just have aquariums.
Like I also have a water fountain in the kitchen just for them made of old aquarium filter parts, but they never touch it. They drink from my bedroom or living room aquariums.
Maybe they like that the water is plant filtered, maybe they just like to be dicks, whatever the reason they only drink from aquariums
fish flavoured
Haha yeah, the tanks they can drink from are just plants an invertebrate life. Shrimp, scuds, seed shrimp. And plants.
Maybe they like shellfish 😜
That mix sounds like a miso soup tbh 😁
Haha super dilution, but yeah I guess it would be!
I just assume they like the natural taste of it. The water I give them in a fountain is all RO, and they probably barely smell it or taste it, but the additional nice shit from plants and whatever makes the water taste fresh..?
(did you know most mammals can taste water, and it has a flavor? Humans can too if they pay attention and drink enough of it!)
Do you think they may be tasting the chlorine in their water bowl? I've read somewhere that mammals can generally taste chlorine in the water, humans included though we're used to it. Your fish tank likely has no chlorine in it and is "moving water" thanks to the filter.
I know my dog prefers filtered water to tap water because he's a little prince.
For my home, no, that’s not possible. They get RO(reverse osmosis, second to distilled in purity, or third if you count lab-created) water which filters that sort of thing out. They don’t like the pure water tho, and prefer the tanks.
But in general, perhaps; that’s certainly what I taste when I drink tap water these days (have used RO for over a decade now for all my water needs except tooth brushing - what a weird term for such a weird concept…).
I have a lead pipe feeding my house so all my tanks are filled from the RO, as is all animal water (chickens, quail, cats)
Yeah that would definitely rule it out. Your original theory may be correct, fishtank water contains more minerals and microorganisms.
Yeah I think it just smells and tastes more like what they naturally expect.
And honestly works for me because I don’t have to deal with the shit that crops up in managed fountains. They get algae and thick blooms of slime bacteria/mold. Not amazing for health unless it’s a very easy fountain to clean (most are the opposite)
But have a 5-10 gallon tank with a half inch of topsoil an inch of sand, and a bunch of cute plants.. maybe some freshwater shrimp and scuds to clean up the plant waste.. you are golden for pet water because shit you can leave that for several days and they won’t dramatically reduce levels.
If you don’t have fish, a simple bubble-driven sponge filter is the way to go.
And any saliva bacteria or whatever just gets consumed by the micro and macrobiotic, rather than forming bacteria mats that offput harmful nonsense in the water.
Win-win.
It's like lacroix for cats!
Our livingroom aquarium is a reef tank so is for catertainment purposes only. We do have a big tank water basin thing for the kittes and a large dog bowl if they prefer it. Also, they will sip from the toilet which is gross. The kittes are inside/outside so have outdoor resources as well (considering our NE Zone 6 bizarre torrential rains.. almost tropical rains.
Ah, see my toilets are always covered, my cats are indoor-only, and I haven’t had a dog in decades, so I don’t have weather worries except for my chicken friends (USDA hardiness zone 4, whooo we can’t do shit!) and whatever else.
And I don’t have the finances to marine a tank lol that shit is wildly expensive, and intensive, and I’m lazy as sin lol so freshwater plant water cubes are what I keep mostly. I have a 55 gal in the kitchen with like 5 live bearing small fish.. I’m not a fish person, I’m a “box of water with some plants in” sort of person :)
Fwiw tho my USDA zone 4 has been getting monsoon rained the last few years too.. out of season no less. Our monsoon season is winter, so we should get a ton of snow but now we just get rain all the time.
Same if you leave water for the outdoor animals.
Also put in rocks or sticks so in case little critters fall in, they can climb out!
Get a cat water fountain. My cat loves it and drinks a lot more water.
Our old cat trained the kids to turn on the faucet in their bathroom sink while they were getting ready for bed. When they went to college I told them the cat was missing them and meowing in their bathroom at night. That was the first I learned of it.
I set one of these up for our cats and they never used it. I'd always find them drinking out of the dogs water bowl.
Lol thought our cat was the only one xD
I have one of these and it also has a filter to keep the water clean. I am always topping it off every morning to ensure he has enough in case I spend the night somewhere or don’t come back until late.
Which fountain did u get?
This one will change your cat's life. Always fresh, never needs cleaning. I have it permanently plumbed to a sink in the bathroom.
I use this one.
Would like to avoid plastic ones to be honest, from what I've read they are way more prone to bacteria and biofilm. Will stick to either stainless-steel or ceramic myself. Thanks for the suggestion though!
No problem. Just let you know, there is a transitional period. It took my cat about a couple weeks before she started using it. Now, that she knows that it gives water. She drinks a lot more water.
Yeah am curious to see how this goes as our cats, for whatever reason, do not want to drink from running water sources.
yes, try to be a good cat owner like me, buy multiple water fountains and spread them around the house so the little rascals have different ones to flip over and make fun puddles everywhere while exclusively drinking shower water... true story
Ms. Kitten steps into the water bowl. Steps into the water. The flicks her paws around, flinging water everywhere. I turn to her, say stop flicking water and she runs full tilt away, splashing water everywhere!
Oh I love her!
It makes them too powerful
I think mine's a vampire.
And it helps them drink it if it's in a wide, shallow dish.
My cat will only drink from human glasses. She shoved her whole head in it. I keep waiting for her to get stuck. Idk... she loves it. Fucking weirdo!
but also remember that cats prefer to get their hydration from food, so even if it's a bit stinky do give them wet food rather than the sad mostly-grain dry food.