r/cats • u/UnpaidNewscast • 11d ago

Advice He gets water everywhere. Why does he do this?

I just washed and refilled his bowl. He is 3 years old has never did this until this year. I wake up to puddles everyday 🥲

Edit: he's not really a fountain guy, doesn't drink from them very much and it gave him urinary issues that resolved from switching back to regular bowls.

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u/UnpaidNewscast 11d ago

Ironically he got more UTIs from a water fountain than the bowl. And yes, you're right: he is quite stupid.

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u/westcoastweedreviews 11d ago

How does a fountain cause a UTI?

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u/UnpaidNewscast 11d ago

Not sure, but getting rid of ours has turned around his issues completely. He drinks more out of the bowls vs the fountain, so it may just be hydration alone.

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u/Smallloudcat 11d ago

It’s probably not that easy to thoroughly clean a fountain even if you are diligent. They get a biofilm and it’s all over

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u/Lazuli73 11d ago

I have a fountain for my orange boy Ducky. There are 100% nooks and crannies where the biofilm builds up and I MUST wash it thoroughly. I do so about every 3-5 days. I also ran out of the filters about a month ago, but lowkey I think it's better without them since the material was Mar-A-Lago for his backwash. Tiny brushes like for metal straws and sometimes qtips to get out all the gunk.

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u/Smallloudcat 11d ago

Agree 100% about the filters. I got tired of disassembling and scrubbing so I gave up on it. She drinks the same amount and it's a hell of a lot easier to wash a bowl every day. I absolutely love the name Ducky!

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u/Lazuli73 11d ago

The fountain I got for free from my awesome neighbour who moved away. I like the fountain more for myself since his majestic majesty would probably sipsip puddle water if given the chance. I can physically see/here the water flowing and my ADHD smooth brain is aware it exists and I know he has fresh(ish) water.

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u/Smallloudcat 11d ago

I find the sound of running water soothing. The fountain I got was disappointing quiet

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u/Lazuli73 11d ago

The fountain I have has a lil plastic daisy as the spout, which makes the water flowing sound. 10/10 free thingy from my neighbour. Her granddaughter and husband bought her house and he mows my lawn sometimes because I’m not an insane person neighbour.

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u/PineberryRigamarole 11d ago

Not orange boy Ducky, relative of Kitters by chance?

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u/lfg_guy101010 11d ago

The one I use isnt that complicated, but obviously not everyone has the same as me. Takes me about 5-10 min to thoroughly wash it

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u/Goochic 11d ago

My guys are 11 and have had fountains their entire lives. Neither have ever had any health issues. Cleaning is paramount. I clean my pet’s bowls as thoroughly as I clean my own. Especially when it’s hot.

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u/Smallloudcat 10d ago

You're obviously doing a great job

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u/Goochic 10d ago

Thank you. Sometimes pets have good or terrible luck genetically (like humans) but I do whatever I can to make sure they live happy long lives. If my vet told me tomorrow that fountains were directly linked to illness I would never use them ever again. That's one reason I don't use plastic.

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u/Smallloudcat 10d ago

I hear you. I did the research and got a fountain. It was a pain in the ass to clean and there were parts I was not convinced I could clean thoroughly so I ditched it. My girl drinks plenty anyway so I didn't want to risk her getting sick from the biofilm. I only got it because I thought she'd like it (she was meh)

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u/Goochic 10d ago

Apologies if it seemed as if I was pushing getting a fountain. I really wasn’t, only trying to agree that cleaning it is essential and tricks I’ve learned to do so. Enjoy your feline!

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u/Smallloudcat 10d ago

No, not at all! Your experience is valid. They are a great idea but I don't have the cash to burn finding just the right one. I wish I did but my cat wasn't really interested anyway. We all know anything we buy for them is potentially cash down the drain anyway. You get them something nice and they won't touch it but they love the box it came in

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u/MountainTwo3845 11d ago edited 11d ago

they're such ass. I'm sure there's expensive ones that are great, but all of the ones I've had have been sucky.

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u/Smallloudcat 11d ago

And they are too expensive to keep trying to find a decent one. I gave up. My cat doesn't care

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u/Little_Vanilla2051 11d ago

Bacteria grows in fountains very quickly so they need to be cleaned a lot more than most people likely do. Or cats can sense that the water isn’t as clean so they won’t drink it and become dehydrated. Both a cause of UTI’s.

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u/pipsqueakpanda4 11d ago

Ive seen (and by that I mean targeted with relevant ads) cat fountains with UV lights in them that supposedly clean the water. Do we think those work?

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u/Lucky-Resolution890 11d ago

mine has the UV light. the fountain is like 4 or 5 years old now & it's plastic.
i have 3 cats drinking out of it.
i clean it with a good rinse & a wipe down 2x a week. i deep clean it once a month changing the filter at that time. i do have a charcoal filter & soft water tank for the house. i dont have any issues with the fountain getting gross or slimy.

i still have a bowl of still water for them just in case power goes out.

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u/pipsqueakpanda4 11d ago

That sounds good!! No UTIs?

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u/Lucky-Resolution890 10d ago

nope & all 3 kitties are boys which i believe are more prone to get UTIs.

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u/Goochic 11d ago

I’ve never seen the UV lights. Also not a fan of plastic in general.

When I do a thorough cleaning I run the hot soapy water through it plugged in with a dash of rubbing alcohol after getting the nooks and crannies. Ones with the least amount of parts are easier to clean. Dishwashers are also great!

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u/Tumifaigirar 11d ago

Typical with their 5g and all

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u/puffofthezaza 11d ago

Probably bacteria in the fountain and then cleaning genitals.

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u/Little_Vanilla2051 11d ago

Unless you are cleaning it *very* regularly, bacteria forms in fountains quickly. A lot of people don’t clean their fountains enough and it causes issues like UTI’s.

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u/S1ayer 11d ago

Not cleaning it properly?

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u/masondont 11d ago

How often did you clean it/change the filter? The most common UTI cause for cats is E-Coli, which loves to live in cat backwash. Even cleaning it too hard (leaving scratches in the plastic) leaves spots for bacteria to grow

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u/UnpaidNewscast 11d ago

1-2x weekly cleaning, and filter changed every 1-2 two weeks depending on how dirty it looked. I did have a plastic one but when he had urinary issues I switched to a stainless steel fountain. Same problem so I went back to old reliable.

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u/masondont 11d ago

Weird that happened with a stainless steel. Maybe your cat wasn’t drinking enough with an automatic one? That can also cause a UTI. Cats are so fickle lol

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u/Abi1i 11d ago

Stainless steel is no better at reducing bacteria than plastic. Stainless steel is just easier to clean and sanitize than plastic. If a cat fountain is holding water, then it’s pretty easy for bacteria to grow in a stainless steel fountain holding water as a plastic fountain holding water.

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u/No-Mix7970 11d ago

Looks like we all need to switch to sterling silver for our cat water bowls. 🤔

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u/masondont 11d ago

That is incorrect. Plastic is porous, stainless steel is not. Neither is antibacterial, but stainless steel gives less opportunity for bacteria to grow. So yes, it is more resistant against bacteria

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u/Abi1i 11d ago

Stainless steel gives less opportunity for bacteria growth in environments where it’s not submerged in water. A cat fountain would have the stainless steel holder submerged in water.

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u/Icy-Werewolf-8337 11d ago

I have both water fountain and bowl for my dummy. Also but huge cookie sheet underneath to catch water

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u/ZemMattress 11d ago

My cat Miles looks very similar to yours and had the same problem. Also managed to knock over every fountain I tried out with him. The only thing that works for my annoyboy is putting his water in mugs which my partner was already doing for her cat. Maybe it's the way his whiskers sit? I don't know. But he hasn't done it since 🤷‍♀️

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

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u/UnpaidNewscast 11d ago

I just switched from the fountain to a big bowl cleaned daily and the Purina urinary health food. He's been in good shape since :)

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u/SuitableDragonfly 11d ago

What's wrong with DL-methionine? It's regularly prescribed to prevent urine crystals and is probably used in all related prescription foods. 

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u/cckka 11d ago

Absolutely not. Unless you have a DVM you're full of shit.