Help

Bit confused my cat will not drink the fresh water we put down for him, soon as he goes outside straight to the puddles and drinking dirty rain water.

What can i do to stop him doing this??

Some cats do not like chlorine and other added things in tap water. Tap water quality varies.

Mine hates tap water and only drinks puddle and pond water as well as milk.

As for stopping him, it is a natural act for a cat to drink from puddles and ponds and rivers.

My girl prefers to drink from the tap - she turns her nose up at water in a bowl from the tap though

She also likes puddles, dripping radiators and toilets

I have seen these cat water fountains, are they worth getting, app its like fresh water to the cat?

I am not sure

i think thats just what cats do, our s turn their noses up at the water in their bowl, yet when we have a glass of exactly the same kind of tap water on our bedside cabinet they are always sticking there heads in it drinking that like they haven't been given water for days!! they're such fussy animals, my mums cats always preferred water from outside in puddles and such like too.

I wouldn't see it as a problem that a cat chooses to drink from puddles, most cats do, I'd leave her to it.

I don't know if its worth trying but my cats won't drink water from a 'food' bowl. By that I mean a flat round one - I use a plastic cup and they do use this. I don't know if its because its higher up?

NB they also drink out of the toilet bowl if I forget to put the lid down so its probably just a case of cats not being too fussy!!

I wouldn't worry at all if your cat is drinking out of puddles & ponds ~ it's quite normal.

Many cats don't like the chemicals added to our tapwater but sometimes if the water is left to "settle" for a few hours it becomes more palatable & gets to room temperature. Whilst we, as humans, set great store by fresh, cold water, we must remember that not all animals have the same tastes as us. Their sense of smell is far more acute & their sense of taste is very different.

Sometimes it can be the container that puts a cat off drinking the water we leave down, e.g. some plastics give off noxious fumes that we can't smell, sometimes the depth (or lack of) puts them off & sometimes we just leave the water in the wrong place!

If you are worried, perhaps try collecting some rainwater & put it in several different containers around the house ~ glass, plastic, ceramic, different depths & in different places & not near the food ~ how often is water & food found in the same place in the wild? See which containers your cat prefers & then remove the ones that aren't touched.

In my experience, water fountains can be great fun for cats, but less for drinking, more for splashing all over the carpet. Those cats that like to play with a running tap are likely to appreciate a water fountain. Another problem is that if the cats "remove" too much water from the fountain, the motor can burn out, so best not to switch it on & go out leaving the cats to "play"!

As Deebster says, if you leave the toilet lid up you can more or less guarantee your cat will have their head down it Ditto if you leave a glass of water you were drinking. But ask them to use their own water bowl.... nah. They're just born awkard

One theory with water fountains is that the water stays oxygenated due to the action of the water falling into the reservoir and so it tastes fresher, in a similar way to the fact that you're supposed to boil fresh water to make a cup of tea, to avoid de-oxygenating it by re-boiling.
That may well be true but I think some cats just prefer drinking from moving water (taps, fountains etc) because it's more fun, maybe like kids preferring to drink through a straw.
Although there may be less chlorine and floride in non-tap water don't forget rainwater can pick up chemicals from air pollution on its way down, particualrly in heavy industrial areas, and puddles can have various chemicals from that rainwater, or chemicals leached from soil additives, weedkillers, car wash off etc etc.
I suspect the main attraction is taste and maybe a more interesting smell.
However I wouldn't worry about it. There would be very few cats left if those drinking from puddles, fish ponds, toilets etc suffered significant ill effects from it

I don't think there's a lot you can do, to be honest. Cats can be extremely stubborn. My cat drinks both from the bowl, and from puddles, wet grass etc.

Best to let him get on with it.