Author Topic: Big Tom won't Drink!  (Read 7055 times)

hellymedic

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Big Tom won't Drink!
« 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!

ian

Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #1 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.

Kim

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #2 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.

hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #3 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.

Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #4 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.
"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everybody on the couch."

Kim

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #5 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.

hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #6 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.

Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #7 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?
Too many angry people - breathe & relax.

hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #8 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.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #9 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.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #10 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!

Aunt Maud

  • Le Flâneur.
Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #11 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.

Jaded

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #12 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.
It is simpler than it looks.

Gattopardo

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #13 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.

hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #14 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.

Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #15 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.

hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #16 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.

hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #17 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.

CrinklyLion

  • The one with devious, cake-pushing ways....
Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #18 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?

hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #19 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.

Kim

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #20 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.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #21 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.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #22 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.

hellymedic

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Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #23 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.

Re: Big Tom won't Drink!
« Reply #24 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.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)