Why won't my cat drink from her water bowl?

Does she seem otherwise healthy? If she’s playing with the water, it seems like she’s happy. I wouldn’t worry about it, unless she starts to appear dehydrated. (A good way to tell is to pinch the scruff of her neck, and see how quickly the skin goes back to “normal” – if her skin remains pinched, she’s dehydrated. Another sign of dehydration is stinky – and I mean stinky breath.)

Keep an eye on her litter box, also. If she’s not drinking, she won’t be peeing either.

It’s very possible that she’s just drinking more when you’re not watching her, or at night.
If you think she’s becoming dehydrated, take her to the vet ASAP.

If you think it’s just an issue she has with her bowl, you might want to look into getting a fountain-style water bowl. They continually recycle and filter the water, and chill it a little so it’s nice and cool. Maybe your kitty just doesn’t like that the water sits still (even if you change it daily). Cats love running water, so if you have $20–30 to spare, the fountain might be a good idea.

Cats get a lot of moister from their food (meat)so they don’t tend to drink too much, she may be drinking from the paw by licking off the moister after playing with the bowl. Cats that are dehydrated will drink freely, check her gums, they should feel slick. If they feel tacky, the cat is dehydrated. Just keep feeding her wet food…. If it’s only dry food you feed her she will drink eventually.. . :-/
Try leaving the tap running, my ctas love to drink from the tap…. ;-)

@Scooby makes a good point – she may be licking the water off her paws. My little Esme used to drink that way a lot of the time.

Fluther is a great community, and a great resource for information. But this is your kitty, and this is really important. If you’ve had her for years, and she’s suddenly changing a habit, and doesn’t appear to be drinking from the water bowl, then I strongly encourage you to open a dialogue with your veterinarian. A good veterinarian is happy to consult with you (at no charge, and over the phone) about this issue, and help you work through it. If there is something wrong, it’s better that the veterinarian be part of the solution early rather than later. If there’s nothing wrong, the veterinarian will be happy that there’s nothing wrong with your kitty.

Just my opinion, and I wish your kitty the best of health!

@Seelix makes a good point though. Some cats don’t like to drink still water. I have known many cats who drank out of a dribbling bathroom tap. (Of course that is environmentally wasteful—the cat fountain is a better idea.

Some cats don’t like it when their whiskers touch the sides of the bowl for some reasons, so maybe a bigger bowl might help. I know that my cats like to drink out of the toilet as well (don’t ask me why), and that has a way bigger bowl.

Some sources suggest keeping cats’ food and water bowls relatively far apart. Might this be an option in your house?

She seems healthy and playful, her normal self, but I will continue to watch her and I think the fountain type waterer is a great idea defiantly worth the money. She’s probably just being a kitten and playing. It funny to watch her scoot it all over the floor and pounce on the water.

@troubleinharlem My cat can’t drink from the toilet because we use bleach tablets in the bowl so we keep the lid down. Maybe I’ll try a wider bowl first.

Just an observation—

The surface of calm water seems to baffle cats. I’ve noticed them lower their noses to the bowl, and then jerk their head away when their nose touches the surface. It’s as if the fact that they can’t see where the water begins is very off-putting to them. One of my cats always stretches his neck so he reaches all the way across the bowl, and laps right where the edge of the water meets the rim. I think this is because he can clearly see where the boundary of the water is there.

That might also explain the appeal of cat fountains; because the surface of the water is always rippled, it’s clearly visible. My cats love to hop into the bathtub after we shower and lap at the last little bits of water around the drain. Again, I think this is because they can see where the water begins and ends.

Are all your toilet seats down? Close them and see if she drinks from her dish again.

Is the bowl you use for water made of plastic? Plastic can become riddled with bacteria. Try a ceramic or stainless steel bowl.

Otherwise, all of the suggestions above are good.

I have heard of a lot of cats that are very finiky with regards to their water being fresh. Our cat prefers his water the bathtub floor right after someone has taken a shower. Does seem like the best option as far as I’m concerned but that what he likes. I have heard of some cats that will only drink from a running facet.

One of my cats is the same way. He’s 8 years old and has been doing it since he was a kitten. While annoying for me ..he enjoys splashing water everywhere. He only drinks from his paw and never the bowl. All our cats are very picky on the water having to be fresh.

As others stated ..many cats don’t like the water touching their whiskers. My other three cats drink near the edge of the bowl where they can see the water line as well.

There isn’t much you can do, other than get those special bowls where there’s a much smaller opening on the top of the bowl (I can’t remember what they are called). Or you can also get the fountain pet bowls which we used for awhile but the filter was always clogging up (from the paw drinker ..lol). But that was ages ago and I’m sure they have better ones available now.

Cats are so quirky.

I got her a new wider bowl, she’ll drink from it now, but she still likes to play in it. I love watching her, she brings so much joy to my life and everyone else in my house. Gosh I♥ Cats!!!!

Glad she’s drinking again, and still playing like a kitten :)

Many cats do have a fascination with water, its movement, the light, and perhaps yours is just playing. I would certainly not worry about it, but perhaps put out a second bowl so there is both the drinking bowl and one to play with…perhaps even put an ice cube in the latter. Once exposed to running water cats can opt for and demand it: my Bengal now meows until I cup my hands under the running water for him to drink from. (Don’t let THAT start!)