Something in the Water

[tamaranth]

My cats are refusing to drink tap water. They have just sucked up nearly a litre of Evian.

I can't help wondering if the recent fiddling by the water board (no mains water 8am - 7pm last week) has done something nasty.

Ditto the lack of water pressure in the flat -- have just been negotiating with Upstairs re shower times.

The cats usually get through a reasonable amount of water, but I've noticed recently that they aren't drinking much of the water I put down for them ...

... or are they just taking advantage of being the most spoilt cats anywhere, ever, in the history of the universe?

Comments

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

The water board? How delightfully retro.

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you should consider a water filter. I'm not too fond of the taste of chlorine in water, and while I believe it is good for killing off any bugs in the pipes, I can't help feeling that what's good for killing bugs, probably isn't too good for me.

[ivory-goddess.livejournal.com]

Mother gives her cats water from the water filter. Cats have more sensitive taste buds than us (not perhaps what you'd think given the smell of most cat food...).

Than again, mine get bog-standard Thames tap water & seem perfectly happy with it.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I had a cat that wouldn't drink tap water *and* wouldn't drink filtered tap water *and* wouldn't drink the cheapest bottled water. Fortunately, he accepted CVS house brand water, and I never let him try the expensive Italian stuff in the dark blue bottles.

I figured out the problem he had with tap water when I realized how frantic he was getting about wet cat food--that was the only moisture he was getting until the cat water was upgraded.

It's really important for cats to be properly hydrated, so I recommend that yours get water they'll accept. It's cheap compared to even one vet visit.

The cat in question is dead now (a vet fuckup about an ailment which may or may not have had anything to do with his water preference, but if it did, it was pretty indirect--he was getting bottled water for years before the end). I'm still giving the other two cats bottled water as a sort of memorial.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

I don't drink the tap water either! (But mostly because I prefer sparkling water.) The cats used to be OK with tap water -- it's only the last few days. And see next post in my LJ for supporting evidence ...

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Mine have always been happy with tapwater until now -- it's just the last few days ...
If this goes on I shall be charging the water co. for swimming-pool charges (I am not showering in that) as well as cat-hydration!

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

I only figured out the problem when I realised that both the cats were mad keen to get outside (= to the bird-bath) on a cold, snowy night ...

It's a very recent development, only the last week at most, and they're quite elderly -- so I'm hoping (a) that whatever's in the water hasn't damaged them already and (b) that it is an Exceptionally Bad Water period and that once the water board have dug up the road again, a few times, it'll be fixed.

Until then, mineral water all round!

[tanais.livejournal.com]

The two water filters you might consider installing are a Micron filter to remove any particulates in the supply which may have a taste-affecting component (some mineral deposits) and a carbon block filter -- made of activated charcoal:

Ther skinny on carbon filters are here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_filtering) and here also (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon).

You probably don't need ultraviolet sterilization assuming the utility does its job properly but the "water filters plus tap" you can buy in Homebase etc are a huge huge rip-off, filters cost £2.50 not £18-£20.

I've built substantial water filtration systems for myself and neighbors (as you may know we've a wellspring) and yes, when I drink tap water in London I have to say it tastes pretty odd so if I can detect something its sure your cats can also its highly likely additives are added periodically to cleanse systems of anything from algae to bacteria that appear in periodic water tests.

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanais/184008425/)

My Fisher Price play plumber activity set gets periodic water tests and its actually cleaner than bottled water, and far far far cheaper to boot, before filtration its quite scary. e-coli, fecal matter, strange elements and nitrates. Don't go there.

Serious stuff. The endgame won't be fought over oil but water.