dirty water

[enidblyton]

i have a 14 year old cat no matter how many times i put fresh water down for him he always prefers to drink the water out of the fish pond or the dirty water in the garden fountain just wondered if any other cat owners have this problem.

[MangoPete]

Wew have an old tin bath in the garden I put water in it to let it stand for some plants that hate chemicals. All the local cats drink from there. Luckily we don't have any beasts of bodmin or the like otherwise who knows what would come onto the patio.
I think cats dislike chlorine and other crap the water boards fill our systems with.
try some catnip in the clean water see if it goes for it then

[keithlbw]

My cat is the same.It seems most cats do not like water straight from the tap because of the chemicals.Try leaving some water standing for a while, this is supposed to lessen the chemical contents , or do as I do and buy mineral water for him.Supermarkets have large bottles very cheap.
And before any other ABers say it......I know i'm a big softie.

[applebee]

my cat does this as well, I think its cause she knows it drives me crazy

[mazzywoo]

Yep-our three cats would rather drink from our green -watered fish pond that from the bowl of fresh water in the kitchen! I guess its just that they hate the taste of fresh tap water! Like you, I do worry about this-theres larve and gawd knows what else in the pond but luckily, the cats are all in good health so it doesn't seem to harm them!

[cyclone]

We give ours water from the kettle, after it has cooled of course!!
They seem to like it.

[doglady]

They don't like the chlorine in the water. There's only a little bit in tap water, but if you let it stand for 24 hours, or boil it, it goes. That's why you should let tap water stand for 24 hours before you put it in your fish tank, so the chlorine goes.

[pagey3]

that would explain why our cat never drinks the fresh water i put down for it but always drinks from the stale glasses of water my boyf leaves laying around the flat! and we put ice cubes in a sandy beachy frisbee for him to play with, then he drank them when they melted!

catnip in the water is good idea especially in this heat will encourage him to drink more,

thanks!

[whiskeysheri]

My cats are the same, although they love running water from the tap. T

hey both sit in the bath waiting every morning for me to run the tap for them, then take it turns. They both stick their entire heads under too!

[lilacben]

I have two dogs and they do the same. every time I fill up the bird bath they drink it.!

[mccfluff]

my cat gets in the shower or the bathroom sink

[maggie01]

I asked the vet about this when we had a cat and he didn't have an answer but said that it wouldn't do them any harm and if theat's what they prefer, then not to worry about it.

[WendyS]

Our cat always used to opt for dirty water rather than a clean drinking bowl. I think they're highly sensitive to smell and taste and dislike the chlorine and other chemical which come with tap water.

[nickmo]

Bottled water will help avoid some FLUTD too as it will avoid crystals in the urine - big problem for older cats - so not really so silly to do.

[agtweropi]

Our cat was the same. He'd drink the water from the tap as long as it had been through a filter (note not a purifier) and he could tell by sniffing it.

He'd quite often be seen drinking water from the pond and puddles and lived to a very old age.

If you want, leave a bowl of water outside in sunlight for a couple days as I believe the suns rays break down the chemicals added to our water system.

[cat woman]

My cat too would rather drink out of puddles, ponds and anything else that gathers water, I keep thinking that she might get a tummy upset or worse, but she's fine. I'v been putting some water out for the birds these last few days because of the heat and I have caught her drinking that!...... X X X :-)

[enidblyton]

Thanks Folks for all your answers. Today i have put bottled water in his bowl he just turned his nose up and went straight for the fish pond lol