Monty still not drinking enough… advice is welcome

Sorry for the long post, but I am a bit worried and confused. In order to help Monty to get rid of the cystitis, I am trying to coax him into drinking more. But somehow he has lost interest in even the things he used to love. He won’t touch fish water and rice water. And when I mix wet food with some water, he hardly wants anything of it. He’ll only eat wet food with no extra water.
The funny thing is, the girls have followed this pattern! But at least they still drink from the water bowls.

Yesterday we had to collect a urine sample by putting plastic grains in his litter box. The vet had advised us to shut the girls in the bedroom so Monty would have the house to himself. That way, he’d feel more at ease and wouldn’t suppress his urge…

NOT! Poor little guy spent hours sitting on the landing before the closed bedroom door, listening to the girls’ complaints. So we had three stressed-out cats and not a single drop of Monty-pee.
Late in the afternoon we thought he’d suffered enough and took him to the vet. They’re a couple who share a practice, and this time we got the he-vet. He finally managed to extract some pee from poor Monty’s bladder, which was almost empty. He obviously hadn’t drunk anything for hours. The color of the urine was awful, like mud. Fortunately the vet didn’t find anything nasty in it. But of course he did urge us to get him to drink more.

He told us to put more drinking bowls all over the house. The reason being – he said – that cats can be very competitive when it comes to water. Even when they appear to be best buddies, they can try to prevent each other from drinking.:hmm:
We already had three drinking bowls, so I doubled that number. The girls were quite curious and drank a bit from each of the new bowls. But Monty just sniffed the water. Later that evening I managed to get some water with milk in him, but I had to feed it to him with a teaspoon!

Also, I sent hubby off to the supermarket to get some cans of tuna and salmon in water, so we can use the fluid to ‘spice’ up the water. In an earlier post I already explained our problems with slimy cat fountains, so I don’t really want to go down that road again. But we’re getting a little aquarium pump for the large bowl in the kitchen to see how that works. Perhaps the bubbles in the water will get Monty interested.

Still, there are many questions on my mind. Such as:
Why would Monty suddenly lose interest in drinking, even flavored stuff… and why are the girls acting much the same?
What with the competition for water thing? I have never ever noticed any signs of that before… but the vet said it can be very subtle. Have any of you ever had experience with this?
Could there be another reason why a cat doesn’t want to drink?

I would be very grateful for your thoughts.
Cheers,
Anna

I wouldn't worry about putting any extra fluid with his meat,if you give them tinned at the top & bottom there is always more jelly make sure that is part of his portion,that goes to just fluid so already he will be getting more into him. Is he having straight forward tap water,if so could there have been a time when the smell of it was a bit stronger & that put him off & he is still associating the water bowls with it,that is the good thing with water fountain because the filter helps with that,try him with the big cheap bottled water you can get from the larger supermarkets or as my daughter used to do with hers until she got fountain,one of them wouldn't drink water straight from tap but if she put it into a bowl in the morning & let it stand all day & then put it down at night the cat was fine with itDoes he like playing with water straight from the tap,our Bruce loves to get his head right under the kitchen/utility room tap & the water runs down behind his ears & then he tips his head & drinks straight from there,could work.I think the more you try to alter the routine the more they say up you,I know its hard but I bet he has picked up on you getting uptight & worried & that in it self is making him just look at everything & think ok what are you going to do next.Try for a day or two just taking everything back to a normal routine but don't let him have any biscuit because that straight away will absorb any extra fluid he will get from his meat, could you get away with giving him meat for brekkie,lunch & supper with nothing else so hopefully he eats it,go back to water bowls as you used to have them & try not to rush to the tray as soon as he uses it,if there is nothing physically wrong with him now has it become more psychological,for all of you...If it does get to you having to force fluids into him ask the vet for a syringe & ask them to tell you how much he needs to have during the day but I just have that little niggling feeling it has all become a bit of a challange now. I have never had any problems with competition for the water but if they can't get to one,normally the fountain because Welly lays with his arms around it there is always another bowl they can go too & as for girls perhaps they are also picking up that it has turned into a game & would like things to just return to normal.....

I'm sorry you are having trouble with Monty's drinking, it can be quite difficult to work out what's going on in those furry brains! Sounds like good advice from Jackie though - try the psychological aspect and see if things improve. I have noticed that my crew, going back years, have always favoured stale water or even dirty water in the garden - old rainwater or mucky puddles - and it doesn't seem to do them any harm. I've never noticed any competition for water, with any of our cats.

So I would try going back to the old routine, but with wet food only, maybe try stale water in the bowls (ie, tap water left to stand for a couple of days) or go back to the fountain. And, try not to worry too much (hardest of all I know!). Just be all laid-back about it and pretend that you couldn't care less when he goes to his tray and what he does there. Let us know how you get on. xxx

We have water bowls in a couple of sinks, and those are probably the main source of water for one of the four and the other three use them as well. They really like to play with the bowl in the sink, plus you can sometimes have the faucet dripping for their amusement.

We use both straight tap water and filtered water. The tap water has a definite chlorine smell, but the cats often seem to prefer that to the filtered. So you could try some different water sources (though that could be a long term pain). Perhaps Monty might even like water flavored with some of these dental formulas (although our cats won't go near the stuff).

Canned food is very high in moisture content (we are actually paying big bucks for a can of mainly water!). Certainly feeding lots of canned may be required, and you should feel lucky if that works (I know some cats that won't eat much canned). Cats that eat exclusively canned do not need much if any additional water.

And of course we have two fountains, which are certainly the main water source for three of our four cats (though one never uses one of the fountains).

Thanks Jackie and Louisa, that sounds like good advice.
I already started with a larger proportion of wet food for him. This morning we soaked his biscuits, like the vet told us to, but he was like: ‘Yuck, I´m not eating that.’ So instead I gave him tuna mixed with the water from the can, and he completely cleaned his plate, fluid and all. I will also take care he gets the jelly from the canned food.
Usually I empty the drinking bowls and put fresh water in every morning, but I will give your suggestion a go and let it go stale for a bit. I always collect leftover water from the water cooker in a watering can for the plants… I will use that to top up the cats´ water and see if they like it better.
When Monty was younger he played with the running tap quite often, but he stopped doing that months ago. I still try it sometimes, but he just isn´t interested anymore.

Finally, I have to agree with what you both say about the psychological impact of my own worried behaviour and the routine-changing. I really ought to give that some serious thought. Your take on it sounds much more plausible than what the vet told us about the inter-cat competition thing… I still have a very hard time buying that. No doubt such competition exists, but I can’t detect the slightest sign of it in our three furries. For instance, when I got in about an hour ago I put down a saucer of watered-down cat milk. All three of them sniffed it together, with their heads touching… no pushing each other away or anything. Then little Minnie started to play with the teaspoon I’d left in. Monty immediately walked up to her, ears pointed forward and tail in the air, and helped her fish the teaspoon out. Now to me that doesn’t look like an intimidated cat, not even in the subtlest of ways.:LOL:

Thanks again both of you and I’ll keep you updated!

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Originally Posted by NCarver

The tap water has a definite chlorine smell, but the cats often seem to prefer that to the filtered.

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Yes, I have heard and read a number of times that many cats actually like the smell of chlorine a lot! Much to the chagrin of people who had used chlorine to clean a rug the cat had peed on, after which that rug became a favorite cat loo. :LOL:

And thank you for reassuring me about the water content of canned food. I knew it was high, and now I know it's that high I feel a lot easier.:smile:

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Originally Posted by Antonia

And thank you for reassuring me about the water content of canned food. I knew it was high, and now I know it's that high I feel a lot easier.:smile:

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Look at your cans. The couple I looked at said "moisture 78% max" while dry says 10% max. That means the canned is 3/4 water. Makes it look pretty expensive when you think about that. Also explains why our girl that eats mainly canned eats many times per day: water isn't that filling in the long term.

I don't know whether it would help but I give Freyja a vitamin drink called viyo, and you can dilute it with water. They're little 30ml sachets and they don't touch the sides when I put one down for her. She likes them best as concentrate but I found if I dilute them it encourages her water intake. I know you've tried other water flavourings so this might not be much use, and mercifully I've not had the same problem with Freyja that poor Monty's got, but it might be worth a try. You can order them from PetPlanet.co.uk.

Hope the poor fella's feeling better soon, it's hard to take when they're not themselves.

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Originally Posted by NCarver

Look at your cans. The couple I looked at said "moisture 78% max" while dry says 10% max. That means the canned is 3/4 water. Makes it look pretty expensive when you think about that. Also explains why our girl that eats mainly canned eats many times per day: water isn't that filling in the long term.

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Wow... I just checked the small print on a pouch of Whiskas... 80% fluid!
Daylight robbery indeed, but at least it serves my purpose.:LOL:

Thanks Candes & Karen.

I googled for Healthymouth, but I can't order it online at a Dutch retailer. The idea of it also helping to prevent gum trouble sounds good though... I will try and find an alternative that I can order over here.

The stainless steel drinking bowl I've already tried. They weren't any more interested than in their usual ceramic bowl... I guess our three spoilt brats are hard to please.:LOL:

The vet told us about Viyo and suggested we try it. But until now, Monty seems quite pleased with his Whiskas - I make sure most of the jelly is for him and top it up with a generous shot of tuna-tin water. Have to feed him separately though and put his plate in the small entrance hall next to the kitchen, so that the 'grrrrrls' leave him alone. Little Minnie is always horrible... she leaves her own plate to nick from his!:pissed:

But he seems to get much more fluid inside him now... saw him this morning tasting the water from the saucer underneath the pot of cat grass.:smile:

Sounds like the poor chap's making a step in the right direction, let's hope he keeps it up - early days but you must be so relieved.:smile:

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Originally Posted by FreyjaRoMaine

Sounds like the poor chap's making a step in the right direction, let's hope he keeps it up - early days but you must be so relieved.:smile:

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I am feeling easier, thanks.:smile:
How are your girls getting on?

The girls are now getting on great - I'll update the thread with some 'never been seen before' photo's of mutual grooming and sharing a tigga tower platform; even one of the builders that came back this week said he was surprised to see such a change in them. I am so relieved about that. Freyja's still not back to her old self fully yet though - she's waking me up when the sun gets up with the usual licking/tickling ritual, but if she's seen me fussing Wicca she hisses at me when I then try to even up the fussing with her. She only seems to hiss at me when Wicca's been fussed (even though I make a bee-line to fuss Freyja first), which is difficult because Wicca is a proper lap cat and LOVES fuss. I'm hopeful that this will also pass in good time. She's also not yet playing her usual games with us but that might be because it's more fun to play hide and seek with a small black cat than two huge humans - guess we're less of a challenge!

Thanks for asking.:smile:

Can you put a bigger dish under the cat grass,obviously tastes better being a little bit dirtier....
We had a cat in for check up tonight that had cystitis,been a lot better on tinned food
getting most of his moisture through that,thought of you & Monty.....

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Originally Posted by jckkerrison

Can you put a bigger dish under the cat grass,obviously tastes better being a little bit dirtier....

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I did... looks quite nice actually, like a tiny pond in the living room with this little tuft of grass in the middle.:rofl:

You will start a new trend,everyone will want a water feature with a tuft of grass in their sitting room......Hope it keeps working for Monty !

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Originally Posted by candes

Did you know that the Drinkwell water fountains have an attachment for grass? The platinum comes with an attachment to hook it up to it's larger size.

Drinkwell Aqua Garden Pet Grass at PETCO

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I tried this as I've got the Platinum model and I couldn't get a single blade to grow. I bought a pre-pack of Cat grass from PetsAtHome and it was fantastic. Freyja didn't nibble any grass from it, but it made her corner of the kitchen look very Zen.

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Originally Posted by jckkerrison

You will start a new trend,everyone will want a water feature with a tuft of grass in their sitting room......Hope it keeps working for Monty !

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I agree - wondering if I should put one in front of the fire place. We used to have loads of candles but since PK arrived we've not used them, so a nice 'feature' would be great!

Antonia, how's he doing today?