Split water and food bowls by a good amount of space. Opposite sides of the room, or different rooms altogether. And more than 1 water bowl. Apparently these tricks are useful.
this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2025
1149 points (99.3% liked)
cats
23282 readers
1254 users here now
Typical internet cats. Videos, pics, memes, and discussion welcome!
Rule 1) Be kind
Rule 2) Follow the lemmy.world rules
other cat communities midwest.social cats
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Yeah I only learned a couple of years ago that cats hate having their water anywhere near food. Moving bowls into different rooms made a huge difference to their water consumption.
There is also a trick I used to do - fill the food bowl with water (wetfood only). The cat plucked it out of the water and then drank the water. They take in most of their water from drinking blood / when eating. Also important to feed them internal organs - chicken hearts, livers, etc.
My mom was a florist with a greenhouse attached to the house. Cats loved roaming the greenhouse to find mice of course, but by far their favorite was all the glasses of water my mom used to cut flowers with, we joked that one particular tuxedo cat had a refined palette and would only sip on rose water.
When those cats were thirsty, they didn't check the water by the dog food or one in their cat tree for a sip, they'd go right to the table and counter top and sniff around at every glass they could find till something seemed just right for them.
Me and my sisters pretty much had to go around the house collecting glasses every day we got home from school cause my mother couldn't be bothered to clean up after herself.
load more comments
(2 replies)
Your mind will be blown once you learn about 'different flavours'. I wish I could ask my cat which he prefers.
I finally figured out mine doesn't have a favorite and he rotates through multiple flavors. Variety is the spice of life and all that. I mostly have it figured out now and only have to give away about a bag a month. Took nearly $200 of food research to get here though I hope he knows how much I care
Couldn't you have multiple flavors out to eat in order and see which one they eat first?
I don't have a pet but I think I'd do that. Food is mostly fuel for pets so they'll eat what's available unless there's a problem. These things are manufactured to be appealing to your kitties. If they won't eat it you won't buy it.
a cats favorite flavor is whatever they feel like it is at any particular moment
And/or whatever you’ve just given up on and thrown away
What Whisker likes today might not be appealing to him tomorrow, and he will ask for it in 2 months when you thought he didn't like it. Don't get me started on which brands he favors depending on which direction the wind blows. That being said, I got mine to eat his wet food by mixing pumpkin purée for human babies with it. It worked for almost an entire week.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(8 replies)
They prefer to have the water away from food bowls, is a sanitary instinct for predators
I keep telling my girlfriend this but she doesn't listen. "I see her drinking her water all the time!", she says. Yeah well she'd drink a lot more if you moved her water bowl!
It frustrates me so much because kidney failure is extremely common in cats due to low water intake. She claims that she loves her cat so much yet refuses to research this shit.
Meanwhile I have two water fountains for my kitty—both far away from the food—and let him drink from sink anytime he wants. She never lets him because he gets in the way of her "skincare routine", but I am of the opinion that you should never pass up on an opportunity for your cat to drink more water.
load more comments
(3 replies)
It looks like a human looking into the fridge full of food but finding nothing to eat
Me, every day.
<< the taste of the laser dot's blood that one time in a dream when I caught it >>
The fourth is catnip. Always the 'nip.
Once my mom asked me to clear out a planter box that had become overgrown because she wanted to plant tomatoes. I pulled up this 3ft tall stalk plant with little purplish flowers, and as soon as I shoved it in the trash bag, the cat came running from the other side of the house and dove face first in the bag. After a minute or so, it was backing out of the bag with the stalk between his teeth dragging it out of the bag and once it was out of the bag started nibbling on it and rolling around on the plant. Looked up what the plant was and apparently I had just pulled up his catnip grow operation. When he came down, he was mad at me for a few days.
Move the water away from the food. Get bowls that are wider and shallower than those so kitty’s whiskers don’t touch the sides when drinking and eating. Cats like separation between food and water, and they don’t like their whiskers touching the bowl when they eat.
Might make mealtimes easier for kitty.
load more comments
(4 replies)
For me this 4th thing is “tub”. It’s when my cat asks me to fill the bathtub with a small puddle of water so he can stand on the dry side and drink from the puddle. He’s 18 years old but he can still climb in and out of the tub and I think that’s pretty cool.
If they're an indoor cat, buy a cat harness and take them on a walk. Preferably one with a long leash.
Do not try to walk them like a dog; that will never work.
Cats are fiercely independent; try to force them in a particular direction and they'll protest. Let them lead the way.
If they try to go somewhere dangerous, simply stand in place and do not allow them to progress any further. Do not tug, they will eventually get the message on their own.
Be prepared to spend a half hour minimum outside, ideally an hour or more. Cats like to take their time on a walk.
Also be prepared to let the walk take 5 minutes or less if the cat doesn't feel like it. Or if they find it too scary (but might want to try again a little while later).
load more comments
(3 replies)
For my little Chloe, it's deli meat. I don't know how she does it, but she always knows. I could go to the kitchen 10 times, and she wouldn't react, but if I quietly make a sandwich and bring it to the living room to eat while watching TV, she's right there, purring for her share. You can't sneak it past her, she always knows.
You think that's crazy, try being in the same house as a cat when you're tripping on psychedelics. They know when you've entered their realm, and the cheeky little bastards like to take advantage of that fact.
I had this one cat that was a normal cat when I was sober, but liked to pop in and out of existence whenever I was on 25i/2c-e/LSD/etc. This one time I hear him meowing from across the house; I turn towards the sound, and suddenly he's rubbing against my legs and purring. Reach down to pet him and he's gone. It was some seriously freaky shit.
Hm. Maybe try putting the water away from the food. Some cats don't like it near the food. (Presumably related to clean water sources in nature vs. dead prey.)
My last cat only ever drank from the running tab. Jumped into the bathtub and meowed until someone turned it on, day or night.
We got one of those little water fountains, super popular. Everyone has there own place on it to drink. One likes where the water comes out, one likes the little pool and one likes the edge towards the nozzle, the water makes small waves there.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
I have unlocked the fourth one! It is attention, they want just you to notice them.
When you're gf doesn't know where to eat and shoots down every restaurant in the tri-state area.
You forgot Churu exist.
That thing is BLOOD!
I find bigger bowels where their whiskers dont touch rim as much is a big favorite for my cats. Their water bowel is frankly huge. Food trays kinda flat but gotta put it on the floor for one picky boi.
Autocorrect changed the meaning of this initially. "Bowels" and rims, oh my.
My cat is the messiest eater you've ever seen. I tried a lickmat with him but he just sprays it everywhere. Bloody carnage.
load more comments
(1 replies)
That fourth thing is hunger. It only comes when the cat is fed on a schedule, as opposed to free-fed with multiple piles of food out all day. Feed in a schedule and you'll suddenly see (healthy, right-weight) interested felines licking empty bowls.
You'll also never sleep in again. That worked for me though. That little asshole kept me from being late to work on many occasions when I forgot to charge my phone.
load more comments
(2 replies)
I wan da fishy
I want... Subservience
My cat wants food she can kill herself. That and cheese. I have no idea why she is so interested in cheese. Also, we tend to not eat tuna to avoid her pestering.
I can be on a different continent opening a can of tuna, yet my cat will still be next to me in a jiffy with his "you gonna finish that" look
load more comments
(2 replies)
Don't put cats food dishes near their water dishes, it isn't a mystery
Oh. So I guess the feeling I am feeling right now is "feline."
I'm parachuting in with a cardboard box ftw. Kitty will love me after learning about this.
Sometimes I wish I can read cats' minds so I can finally understand what they want
load more comments
(3 replies)
It is called Le Mouse
view more: next ›