Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My cat Butch (male, a few years old) recently became obsessed with water, especially running water.

At first he liked to drink out of my footspa, and then started trying to drink my bathwater. Now he likes running water, and will come running every time I flush the toilet! He even jumps up on the bowl and watches the water swirl around, and sometimes bats at it.

I don't think he has kidney problems (my last cat died of old age/kidney failure, and towards the end he was obsessed with water, rightly so)... but are there other symptoms of kidney problems that I should look out for?

I enjoy watching his silly behavior, but want to make sure I'm not overlooking anything that could mean problems with his kidneys.

Thanks for any tips!

Here's a picture:

Boris is the first cat that I have had that loves to watch and play in running water. We have to keep the toilet seats down because he learned how to flush the commode and he would sit there and flush and flush and flush, just to watch the water go down and not to mention the increase in our water bill! He plays with running water and last year before he became a full-fledged house cat, he got into the swimming pool as well. There isn't anything wrong with him other than he loves to watch the water run and bat at it with his paws. Any time he hears water running, he is there.
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Boris's Human, Pam

>>Boris is the first cat that I have had that loves to watch and play in running water. We have to keep the toilet seats down because he learned how to flush the commode and he would sit there and flush and flush and flush, just to watch the water go down and not to mention the increase in our water bill! He plays with running water and last year before he became a full-fledged house cat, he got into the swimming pool as well. There isn't anything wrong with him other than he loves to watch the water run and bat at it with his paws. Any time he hears water running, he is there.
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>>Boris's Human, Pam

Mine are the same way all three of them!!
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

That's so funny that he learned how to flush the toilet on his own! Thank God Butch hasn't figured that out yet...

Last night when I was washing dishes, he sat on my kitchen stool just to watch. A few times he just couldn't help himself and tried to get on the counter and play. He's too much.

I'm waiting to see how my new kitten, Sunny, will take to the water... They'll probably be water rats together!

Maybe your cat is a candidate for toilet training? You might want to try that.

That's a great idea -- I'll have to look into it and see how to get started. He's very intelligent and easy to train -- why didn't I think of this before?

Yay, no more litter boxes to clean! Hopefully. : )

Does he have a Drinkwell Water Fountain? I'll bet the little water bug would really love one of those. It would be so much fun for him to drink from and at the same time it's healthy as it encourages drinking lots of water. My cats love theirs.

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Ruby and the Kitties
Simba, Samantha, Katrina & KatyKatt
Meow!! Meow!! Meow!! Meow!!

How wonderful to do nothing and then rest afterwards. Meow!

It's a really neat idea -- my friend got one for her kitten.

I'm going to avoid providing tempting moving water, though, in case he becomes finicky and there's a time we won't have the contraption (i.e. boarding, no power, etc.)

Growing up I had a cat that would beg for fresh water at the bathroom sink -- we thought it was cute so we always gave him a cupful. Well, he became finicky and wouldn't drink out of his own water bowl anymore, so we were stuck giving him fresh water when he demanded it... if we didn't, he'd howl and howl. It got annoying to say the least!

I also give him room temperature water, so he doesn't get used to having cold water when I fill his bowl. (I've learned from a LOT of finicky cats!)

Yup we have done that to Crash. Now all she will drink is water from the tap. It's such a pain. If it's not on she howls, and she isn't a quiet howler.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

I have thought of doing that with Boris as well. However, I work full time and after reading some of the literature, it states that you really need to be with the cat most of the time during the crucial stages of actually getting the cat to use the toilet. So after reading that, I have decided that I may not have sufficient time to work with him. Besides, that would mean leaving the toilet lid up and he would be in there flushing all day long, just to watch the water go down. My in-laws are here now and my mother-in-law has to use one of the seat risers so we have to leave the lid up. I had to move Boris's litter box to our bathroom so that we can leave the bathroom door closed after he started flushing the commode again. Thank goodness we have two bathrooms!
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Boris's Human, Pam