We recently had a very cold spell and the outdoor cats were pawing an
yelling because everytime I gave them a bowl of water it would freeze
up right away.  If they had any brains they would drink it when I
first put it out and not wait till later.  However, cats never seem to
have any brains, so they always make more work and expense for us
owners.  I got real sick of having frozen water in their bowl and
having to get my husband to smash it out with a hammer.  I finally had
to buy a new bowl because all the hammering broke it.  While at it, I
bought a second bowl, so the frozen one could thaw in the sink and not
need to be hammered.  Of course that did not solve the problem with
the cats waiting until it froze to want a drink.  Last week my husband
finally went to the autoparts store and bought some antifreeze.  He
added some of it to the water and now the water dont freeze.  That
sure makes my job easier.  The only problem is that the cats must have
dehidrated before we used the antifreeze and now the cats are dying.
So far 5 of them died.  2 on Sat. 1 on Sun, and another is dead this
morning.  I feel bad, but they should have drank when we gave them the
water, not waited untill it froze.  There are only 3 cats left.  Is
there a way to force some water in them so they dont dehidrate any
more.  My husband said he can take them in the garage and pump them
full of water with a power washer (I think thats what he called it),
but he is afraid he will get clawed when he sticks the hose down their
throat.  He's pretty good with tools and can fix almost anything, but
he is afraid of the cats.  Thats why they are my job.

Is there any other way to force water in them?

Jeanie