My kitten's water obession... normal?

[colin72]

Hi

I have two cats: Vincent, male, 1 year-old and Holland, female, 9 months). They've been together for about 7 months and get along perfectly.

Holland is obsessed with water. If I turn on the faucet in the bathroom she comes running in and jumps up onto the sink. She's not afraid of water and will put her head or paw under the stream to get a drink. Of course, she is also interested in the shower/bath and likes to lick me if I'm wet.

I've started to feel as though she's always thirsty. Since I've gotten the kittens, I've kept fresh water in a bowl for them constantly. I usually give them fresh water 4 times or more a day ( I change the water eventhough it's not empty). The bowl is a proper height, etc for kittens.

I have seen Holland drink from the bowl but I'm worried that for some reason she's not getting enough water/not drinking from the bowl and is searching for alternatives.

Holland seems perfectly happy and healthy (she's been to the vet and had all her shots, etc). Should I be concerned about her water obsession? Is this a fairly normal thing for kittens?

Thanks in advance for any help or insight!

[kehorner]

Some cats are just more interested in running water. You've seen kids play in water, right? It's kind of the same thing... She's probably just playing. And it's much more fun to drink from the drinking fountain than from a glass, right? They sell fountains that you can plug in to provide a constant running stream of water.

One of my boys helps me brush my teeth every single day, and plays in the sink and jumps in the shower after I'm done...

Of course, if you are worried that she is not drinking enough, or drinking too much, a vet visit never hurts.

[MJ]

My cat Bug almost always insists on getting a drink of water from the sink when he's in the bathroom with me. He makes me cup my hands under the water for him to drink out of. He has plenty of water available, he just likes running water... and being spoiled. ;P

[Phoebe's human]

There's even a pet drinking fountain on the market. I've seen pictures of it online and in mail-order catalogs but haven't seen one in actual operation.

My previous cat began drinking in the way yours is doing, increasingly in her last years. She also drank a lot from her bowl. I knew she was drinking far more water than she used to because the urine output was much greater.

It turned out to be a sign of something wrong. She had a liver tumor--and she died.

I hate to alarm you needlessly--but I thought it might not hurt to let you know that how much or how little your cat is drinking is important to keep a weather-eye on.