Yet Another Cycling Forum

Random Musings => Miscellany => Where The Wild Things Are => Topic started by: hellymedic on 03 July, 2018, 09:04:23 pm

Title: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 03 July, 2018, 09:04:23 pm
Big Tom melted last week but is better this week.

Big Tom is VERY big. Big Tom has long hair.

Big Tom won't touch dry food and is now eating wet food he previously scorned and New Nice wet food.

I have not seen Big Tom touch the water bowl recently.

Blackie drinks freely, sometimes just coming in for a slurp then leaving.

I'm sure Big Tom is getting too hot. I think he needs more water.

But I can't make him drink!
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: ian on 03 July, 2018, 09:12:17 pm
Some cats get plenty of water from their food and many prefer the thirst quenching delights of random stagnant puddles outdoors. Bad Cat will only drink foulness from outside or from a running tap, I've never seen her use the water bowl. That said, it can obviously be symptomatic of renal issues. If he's not perceivably dehydrated, he's probably fine.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Kim on 03 July, 2018, 09:22:48 pm
If he's eating wet food, he'll be getting most of his water needs that way.  Cats aren't big water-drinkers unless they eat dry food.  They're also notoriously fussy about what water they'll drink, particularly with regard to chlorine/oxygen content, although - being cats - will break the rules when it suits them.  One of ours would only drink water that had been standing around for a while (plant pots and toilet bowls were preferred to the water bowl), unless it was a non-turbulent trickle from a tap, which she'd lap in mid air.

I'd suggest offering some water that's been boiled and allowed to cool, and possibly a variety of containers, to see if he takes an interest.

A quick google confirms that you can do a skin pinch test for dehydration on the scruff of the neck, much as you would for humans.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 03 July, 2018, 09:29:40 pm
Will try cooled kettle water; thanks!

For around 36 hours last week, Big Tom just lay quietly, hardly moving, not eating and not apparently using litter or going out.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: SteveC on 03 July, 2018, 09:37:34 pm
According to our old vet, if a cat is eating there's not that much wrong with it.
If he stops eating, then may be a trip to the v.e.t. may be called for.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Kim on 03 July, 2018, 09:41:46 pm
^ This.  Mind you, cats are notorious for their absence of symptoms.

And I completely relate to their approach of general lethargy as a method of keeping cool.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 03 July, 2018, 10:02:53 pm
We were very worried last week when he wasn't eating.
He's eating plenty now; maybe only ¾ of his normal intake, maybe more.
In retrospect, it struck me this was the heat.

He seems to be acclimatising now.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: MikeFromLFE on 03 July, 2018, 10:33:10 pm
The 5kg Killing Machine has been looking very unwell the last few days. Very scrawny, and his fur looks like it constantly needs brushing. We think that he's sleeping under a hedge most of the time, but when he comes home he is always pestering for food. We've doubled up his wet food rations and he's starting to look a bit healthier. Maybe he was a bit dehydrated, and wanted the food for its moisture content?
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 03 July, 2018, 10:56:12 pm
Sounds plausible. Dehydration/overheating were not suggested when I phoned MediVet last week but I'm sure that was the problem. Big Tom is looking thinner but I suspect he's around 6kg.
He's gone outside now, where it's 19C so he can cool down.

We'll ply him with wet food and try the kettle water.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 04 July, 2018, 03:34:45 pm
If he's a big cat, make sure the water is in a wide bowl - some of them don't like to have their whiskers brushing the sides of the dish while they drink.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 04 July, 2018, 08:58:11 pm
Good thinking!

I might try a small plate with a rim.

There again, he eats food from a narrower dish though he previously tossed food out of this and ate from the floor.

Anyway, looks like he'll have puddles now!
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Aunt Maud on 05 July, 2018, 09:55:20 pm
Fill a washing up bowl with water and leave it outside. The cat might want to drink from it after it has been there for a few days.

Our dog has a bucket of week old water which sits outside in the shade and it prefers to drink from it rather than its bowl.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Jaded on 05 July, 2018, 10:26:21 pm
They can get dehydrated easily, so a few bowls of water around the house is a good idea.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Gattopardo on 05 July, 2018, 11:05:59 pm
The two furballs allegedly are eating/drinking either.

No idea what is going on, but the usual two bowls of water are not being substituted for more.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 05 July, 2018, 11:38:03 pm
They can get dehydrated easily, so a few bowls of water around the house is a good idea.

I'm not sure there's much point. Blackie drinks freely, knows where the bowl is and uses it.
Big Tom just doesn't touch the water bowl. At all. I don't think he'd touch another water bowl either.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: slowfen on 06 July, 2018, 07:06:37 am
We find that our cats (3) have a summer and winter weight. With the summer wt being 15 - 20% less than the winter wt. Food consumption noticeably goes down, but with little fast fresh food supplementation.
Ideally the water bowl should not be by the food bowl, as he habit becomes drink when eating.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 06 July, 2018, 12:56:15 pm
The water bowl is several feet away from the food.
Tom has taken to eating cheapie tinned food with added tap water as well as Pricy Pouches.
Both seem well today.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 08 July, 2018, 12:22:17 pm
He won't drink from the wide plate. Blackie does.
He'll slurp the juice from Posh Food and leave the nuggets for later.

They'll take freshly roasted chicken juice.

It seems Posh Food is the only way I can consistently get enough water into him.

I'm getting some gelatine with my Sainsbury's order today. I'll see what he makes of unflavoured jelly.

I wouldn't fret but he seemed really unwell in the heat last week.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: CrinklyLion on 08 July, 2018, 04:07:24 pm
Have you seen this idea?

https://www.facebook.com/cliniquevetdesvallees/videos/1468408266518850/

Basically freeze a water balloon and then remove the balloon to leave a giant round ice cube and stick it in a wide shallow dish for the cats to play with.  Might be worth trying?
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 08 July, 2018, 04:56:53 pm
Interesting.

I might give similar a go when I have some freezer space. (I also have no balloons but could just freeze any suitable container of water.)

Big Tom is quintessentially NOT a curious, playful kitten! I'll try the jelly option first. Young Blackie is still a bit kittenish (approximately 11 months) but needs no incentive to drink.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Kim on 08 July, 2018, 08:07:30 pm
In the words of Peter (the now legendary 31-year-old Welsh virgin from Balham[1]):  Chicken lollies!


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fist_of_Fun for the benefit of all the forumites who missed the 1990s due to riding an audax or not being born yet or whatever.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 09 July, 2018, 12:56:17 pm
You could try poaching some chicken and giving them the water from that, but I really wouldn't worry too much. They evolved out of the desert and they're quite used to getting nearly all their moisture from food.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 09 July, 2018, 01:19:05 pm
I would not have worried about Tom's reluctance to drink if he had not seemed sick through overheating/dehydration earlier.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 11 July, 2018, 12:53:10 pm
They weren't interested in the plain jelly.
The Whiskas pouches are a Big Hit.
Big Tom pesters us for them and Blackie's very keen.

Big Tom still won't drink but seems to need water. Both cats seem well today.

We hate using all the plastic in the Whiskas pouches.

Will try Whiskas tins next.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: rafletcher on 14 July, 2018, 08:01:52 am
Something I’ve only recently learned, despite having cats around for more than 40 years, is that they prefer not to drink where they eat, so if you have water bowls place them away from the food, outside or in another room.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Kim on 14 July, 2018, 11:12:30 am
I suppose there's probably an evolutionary advantage to not drinking water with partially dismembered critters in it...
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 14 July, 2018, 01:52:55 pm
The water bowl is right by the cat flap in the door.
Food is a couple of meters away, by the kitchen counter and cupboards.
Blackie drinks freely, scoffs either crunchies or Whiskas wet food. Blackie does not melt when it's hot.

Big Tom will not drink. He doesn't touch the crunchies when it's hot. He licks all the liquid and jelly from the wet food, which he relishes and leaves the solids behind, at least initially. Big Tom does melt when it's hot.

I can only conclude that he gets dry and thirsty but won't drink.

It's not so hot now; there was some rain here in Londonton last night. Big Tom seemed fairly lively this morning.

I see big tins Whiskas of wet food are listed on Sainsbury's website but disappear if I log in, so they won't supply these to me here.

I resent the plastic consumption of these pouches but they seem to be the only thing that keeps him well.

They're really not keen on the Sainsbury's tinned food now!
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: ian on 15 July, 2018, 06:16:34 am
Bad Cat will drink foetid water she finds outside (the nastier and dirtier the better), otherwise she sits by the sink and waits for one of us to turn the tap on (this is her preference, she likes running water). She won't ever drink from an actual bowl of tap water. LMC will drink out of her bowl (by her food) and occasionally from the sink if we fill up the bottom. We usually leave a bowl of water in the kitchen sink, though I'm not sure either of them use it.

Cats are fundamentally unpredictable and quite probably the basis of quantum indeterminacy.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: TimO on 22 July, 2018, 03:48:19 pm
Zev is drinking slightly more from her water bowl, during this wet weather, but still a small fraction of the water I drink, even scaling for the difference in mass/volume.  As others have said, cats evolved for a desert environment, and don't sweat like us, so likely need a lot less fluids in their diet anyway.

If you think he may be lactose tolerant, or are willing to experiment, you could try him with some milk, or get some cat milk, which is generally viewed with more interest than plain water.  Having said that, since Whiskas last changed their recipe for cat milk, Zev has lost interest in it, so it may or may not work.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 22 July, 2018, 04:00:28 pm
I'm less worried now the weather is not quite so hot and he seems well.
If he'll only slurp the juice in a Whiskas pouch, so be it.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: MikeFromLFE on 23 July, 2018, 07:17:37 am
I've taken to adding a bit of water to the pouches before slopping them out - Bob seems to appreciate this approach
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 23 July, 2018, 12:51:01 pm
Might try this.

Both cats seem to lick all the jelly off their food and leave the nuggets, sometimes never finishing these.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: ian on 24 July, 2018, 06:29:41 pm
Both our cats do the jelly licking. Sometimes, but not always, they'll eat the meat. Some enterprising manufacturer makes a liquid only 'soup' – though obviously the cats won't eat this.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 24 July, 2018, 07:48:40 pm
I looked for cat soup when doing a Sainsbury's order.

None listed.

Made a jelly with gelatine and water, which was rejected.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 25 July, 2018, 12:53:17 pm
I think the creamy soup stuff is by Whiskas. It's really gross.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 25 July, 2018, 05:00:36 pm
How about some poached chicken or turkey and give them the poaching water?
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 25 July, 2018, 08:34:54 pm
I only roast chickens
Cats get juices that run out.

I can't stand over a hot stove.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: ian on 25 July, 2018, 09:38:35 pm
Tuna water. They go mental for that. Bad Cat would sell her soul, if she had one, to sit at the bottom of a tuna water Niagara Falls with her her mouth open. LMC is a little more restrained, but not by much.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Kim on 25 July, 2018, 11:07:54 pm
Mk 1 stock cube?
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 26 July, 2018, 05:25:53 pm
Mk 1 stock cube?
Are they not full of salt?
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 26 July, 2018, 06:28:04 pm
Mk 1 stock cube?
Are they not full of salt?

'Tis what I thought.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: Kim on 26 July, 2018, 06:29:35 pm
And, looking at the ingredients for a couple, surprisingly little that's likely to be of interest to cats.
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 27 July, 2018, 02:22:54 am
BIG TOM ACTUALLY HAD A DRINK TONIGHT!
Twice.

We had changed nothing.

Maybe it's the weather...
Title: Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
Post by: hellymedic on 31 July, 2018, 01:01:45 am
Big Tom STILL drinks!