Why Cats Prefer Running Water to Still Water Bowls

Dehydration is a serious threat to cats. They can easily use up more water than they drink, whether it's just lying in the sunlight or while running back and forth in search of that ever-elusive red dot.

Since cats are very small, there's not much water in their systems. The difference between enough water and not enough water is pretty small!

On top of that, cats have a lot of reasons why they might not drink enough for their needs.

• They might have kidney issues and need more water than they're used to drinking.

• They might be very young and not really know when they should be drinking.

• They might be old and not have the energy to go drink when they should.

• They might have some kind of illness that leaves them dehydrated.

Dehydration issues are more common with very young and very old cats, but can affect any cat of any age.

Note: Since it's important and I brought it up, you always want to know what the symptoms of dehydration are so you can take action if your cat is dried out. Watch for loss of energy, excess panting, fatigue, and refusal to eat. Check their mouths and see if their gums are dry and tacky, and check to see if their eyes are sunken. If they have these symptoms, contact your vet and try some home remedies to get liquid into them, like giving them wet food or mixing up a little chicken broth.

Sometimes, though, your feline friend is perfectly healthy, normally active, and knows when to drink, but they still just… don't. Sometimes they'll happily start to drink when you put fresh water down, but if they didn't see you do it, they turn their nose up at it.

A few pet parents out there have been in this situation and then caught our kitties drinking from the faucet instead. They might even brave the bath or shove their way into the shower just to get some of that water, instead of the perfectly fine water in their bowl around the corner.

What's going on?

As you've likely guessed by now, I'm talking about cats that prefer running water over still water. Not all cats have this preference, and some cats develop it over time, while others might lose it over time. Those that do, though, tend to ignore their water bowl. And that, my friends, can be a problem.

Why Do Cats Prefer Running Water?

Science isn't necessarily certain why cats prefer running water over still water, but we have a lot of good ideas. Until we invent some kind of device that can read the thoughts of the cat and translate them to human speech, though, we just have to use our best guesses.

A preference for running water is instinctual.

First up is the simple fact that cats are very instinctual creatures. They operate largely based on what their body, their genetics, and their thought patterns tell them to do. This is why you can train a cat, but some behaviors will never go away and need to be redirected rather than prevented.

So, really, a cat might prefer running water just because that's what their fuzzy little brains tell them. It's the same way you and I might prefer the scent of flowers over roadkill (where a carrion-eating scavenger might prefer the scent of roadkill).

Your cat might sense that running water is safer.

Another element of instinct is safety. Just like your cat will probably seek out a high perch to survey the area around them, or a dark shelter to hide when it gets too hectic around, they'll have preferences for water that stem from safety concerns.

This is even true! Mostly. Running water is usually more likely to be safe than stagnant water. Water that sits still, in a pond or a puddle or a bowl, fosters all sorts of nastiness. Algae, insect larvae, parasites, bacteria, and all kinds of other grossness can develop in a stagnant pool.

Running water isn't necessarily free of all of that stuff, of course. But a lot of it can only really develop when it's not being tumbled and broken apart. Stagnant water also allows food sources for some of those things to develop, temperatures to rise, and other factors that make the water less safe.

Running water smells better to your cat.

Cats have a very keen sense of smell. While you might not notice any difference between water that has been sitting around for an hour and water that has been sitting around for a day, your cat certainly might.

Running water just smells better.

A lot of it comes down to bacteria. Bacteria can grow around the edges of a water bowl, especially if the bowl is porous plastic or is dirty in some way, like if your cat has already had a drink from it a few times. The bacteria themselves don't necessarily have a smell, but the byproducts certainly do!

Running water is generally cooler and more pleasant.

If you're thirsty, which is more refreshing to you: a glass of water at room temperature, or a glass of water that has been in the fridge? It's the cool water, right? I think most people would agree with that sentiment.

Your cat, too, is going to find cool water more pleasant. They might not like cold water, though, since their body temperature is a little higher than ours, so they're more likely to have a bit of thermal shock or brain freeze from it.

When water sits in a bowl, it will gradually come up to room temperature, as the warmth from the environment around it seeps into it. When the water is running, it radiates some of that warmth into the air and stays cool.

In nature, running water will stay cool because the ground is cool under it. In the home, running water from the faucet can be kept cool from the ground it travels through to reach you. Water in a fountain-style water bowl stays cooler because of the circulation and air flow.

Some water bowls can be unpleasant.

One thing that a lot of people don't think about is a cat's whiskers.

Oh, we think about them in a casual sense. They're adorable! But they also serve a purpose, and give your cat a lot of sensory information. Whiskers are a big part of how cats judge distance and sense motion in the air around them.

If their water bowl is too narrow and too deep, your cat will brush their whiskers against the edges when they go to drink. Think of it like if you were to take a drink from a cup and the rim unexpectedly bumped you in the nose. Once or twice? No big deal. But every time you drink, well, it gets annoying.

That's the problem cats have. If their whiskers are constantly being aggravated by the rim of their water bowl, it's just generally an unpleasant experience. Vets call it "whisker fatigue," and it's something that applies the same to their food bowl.

Some cats don't mind. Sometimes the water bowl itself is fine. Sometimes they get used to it, or it doesn't bother them enough to overcome their thirst. Some cats, though, will shy away from it and just not drink.

The sound of running water is pleasant.

Have you ever sat on a beach and listened to the surf? What about by a river or a stream, and listened to a babbling brook or the trickle of water through some rocks?

There's a reason these kinds of nature sounds come on CDs meant for relaxation! Or, well, used to, when CDs were still a thing people bought. These days, it's a ten-hour YouTube video. Anyway! The point is, it's a pleasant, relaxing sound, as long as it's not unexpectedly coming from your walls or something.

It's pleasant for cats too. It probably doesn't relax them in quite the same way it relaxes us. They're small predators, after all. But still, it's a pleasant noise, and your cat probably likes the sound.

Be aware of this aspect, by the way, if you're shopping for a water fountain for your cat. Some pet fountains have pretty loud pumps or mechanisms that make annoying noises, and that can drive away your cat just as much as stagnant water can.

It might just be fun to play with.

The internet is packed with cat videos, and a lot of them show cats sitting on a counter and playing with the water coming from the faucet. Maybe it's a slow drip, and they keep trying to catch the drops when they fall. Maybe it's a steadier stream and they're batting at it and watching it fall. Maybe it's a bit more water, and they're alternating between trying to attack it and drinking from it.

If it moves, a cat is probably going to try to hunt it at some point, and that's true even of water. And really, who doesn't like playing with water?

It's a little less cute when your cat comes to find you and settles on your lap, but they're Mystery Wet, though. That's why a slower trickle is usually better.

How to Safely Give Your Cat Running Water

Whatever the reason why your cat prefers running water over a still water bowl, you're faced with a choice. How do you give them that water to drink?

You have two real options.

The first is to just use your faucets. Whether it's a faucet in the bathroom or the kitchen, leaving it at a slow trickle means there's always a source of flowing water for your cat to drink.

Obviously, there are some downsides to this option.

• It teaches your cat that it's okay to be up on the counter and in the sink. While that might not be a problem for some people, others prefer to keep their cats off the counters, so if they have to leap up to get access to water, well, that's not great.

• It can be much harder to access for some cats. In particular, small kittens, senior cats, and cats with mobility problems like joint pain or missing legs will all have a hard time.

• It runs up your water bill. Depending on where you live, you might even run into water usage limits, and no one wants to pay way more than they should for water. Especially when 99% of that water is just going down the drain and not being used.

I recommend the other option, which is to get a water fountain for your cat. Fountains are something I recommend in my checklist of cat supplies, too.

The downside to a water fountain is that it's a lot more complicated than a water bowl. They have pumps of some kind to circulate the water, which means they need a power source, which could be a battery or a power cord. These parts can fail over time. In extreme cases, a fault in the mechanism could become a shock hazard.

Water fountains are also larger reservoirs of water, so while they aren't as easy to knock over, if they do leak or spill, it's a larger mess to deal with.

I already mentioned the possible issue with noise, though high-quality cat water fountains use ultra-quiet pumps to avoid that problem.

It's also a lot more work to clean a water fountain than a bowl. There will be some disassembly involved, and probably some hard-to-reach crevices and even tubing that needs cleaning.

Despite all of this, I still heartily recommend a water fountain if you have a picky cat that prefers running water. Who cares if it's more work, more maintenance, and more cost? Only the best for our fur babies, right?

There are so many different models of cat fountains across different brands that I don't have specific recommendations for you today. If you have one you like more than the rest, though, let me know in the comments!