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Getting the furballs to drink

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null_pointer@nowhere.com.net.edu.gov.de - 10 Sep 2006 23:39 GMT
I was reading about the dangers of leaving antifreeze around because
animals like it's sweet taste.  This got me to thinking - What about
putting a small amount of sweetener into the water bowl to get cats to
drink more??  Anyone ever tried this??  Are any of the 3 major
artificial sweeteners toxic to cats (saccharine, aspartame, and
sucralose).  What about Stevia??  I think they would love it...I just
let my Siamese lick my ice cream spoon and I had to wash the bowl out
because she kept wanting more and I only wanted her to have a little
taste.
Matthew - 11 Sep 2006 00:08 GMT
Got a question for you?  are you cats having problems not getting enough
water?
 I you a feeding your cats wet food they get most of their water
consumption from there it is supplemented by the water dish.   Getting the
cats to drink more than necessary can be asking for trouble specially sweet
water think obese kids drinking soda

Plus some of those sweeteners can be harmful to the furballs or at least
unhealthy for them

Antifreeze  is sweet to them  not to us in the terms that you are thinking
of to my understanding

Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pet
- Alcoholic beverages
- Avocado
- Chocolate (all forms)
- Coffee (all forms)
- Fatty foods
- Macadamia nuts
- Moldy or spoiled foods
- Onions, onion powder
- Raisins and grapes
- Salt
- Yeast dough
- Garlic
- Products sweetened with xylitol

>I was reading about the dangers of leaving antifreeze around because
> animals like it's sweet taste.  This got me to thinking - What about
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> because she kept wanting more and I only wanted her to have a little
> taste.
null_pointer@nowhere.com.net.edu.gov.de - 11 Sep 2006 18:14 GMT
>Antifreeze  is sweet to them  not to us in the terms that you are thinking
>of to my understanding

During my 15 years as an auto mechanic, I tasted antifreeze many times
and can attest to the fact that it is indeed VERY sweet tasting.
Matthew - 11 Sep 2006 19:28 GMT
>>Antifreeze  is sweet to them  not to us in the terms that you are thinking
>>of to my understanding
>>
> During my 15 years as an auto mechanic, I tasted antifreeze many times
> and can attest to the fact that it is indeed VERY sweet tasting.

You miss understood  my bad  sweet to us is not necessary  sweet to them
sweet to them  should in the terms  to tempting to pass up
tension_on_the_wire - 11 Sep 2006 23:35 GMT
> >Antifreeze  is sweet to them  not to us in the terms that you are thinking
> >of to my understanding
> >
> During my 15 years as an auto mechanic, I tasted antifreeze many times
> and can attest to the fact that it is indeed VERY sweet tasting.\

You are right, antifreeze is sweet-tasting to humans.  That is why it
is high-up on the list of favorite compounds that toddlers get into,
resulting in frantic poison-control calls.  It also causes one of the
most lethal types of poisoning to be contended with in the emergency
room.  It should be one of the things kept locked up & high away from
kids at least as rigorously as a loaded gun.

--tension
Ted Davis - 11 Sep 2006 01:03 GMT
On Sun, 10 Sep 2006 22:39:24 GMT,
"null_pointer@nowhere.com.net.edu.gov.de"

>I was reading about the dangers of leaving antifreeze around because
>animals like it's sweet taste.  This got me to thinking - What about
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>because she kept wanting more and I only wanted her to have a little
>taste.

Recent research shows that cats can't taste sweet.

Signature

T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu) Remove "gearbox.maem" to get real address - that one is dead

tension_on_the_wire - 11 Sep 2006 05:27 GMT
> Recent research shows that cats can't taste sweet.

Somehow I am not surprised to hear that.  They don't jump for
lollipops, you'll notice.  The only sweet things that cats crave are
usually loaded with milk, and *that* is what attracts them, not the
sweet taste.  Try putting honey on your finger and you'll see.  Pure
sugar, no milk, no dice.  Macaroni & cheese, real milk in it, no sugar,
devouring lion behaviour.  Not that I am recommending a regular diet of
mac&cheese, but just making the point.

There *is* something, by the way, in the taste of antifreeze that
attracts cats, but it is not sugar or any type of sugar compound, it is
ethylene glycol.  Well, there is a very, very, distant connection with
sugar, but not that the taste buds would notice.  I think we have
historically said it tastes sweet to the cat to imply that the taste
attracts them, but not that it is actually sweet, as in, containing
sugar.

And, to echo the earlier response, you do not need to increase or
modify your cats drinking behaviour, on the whole, when their own
metabolism tells them exactly when they need to drink.  You just need
to have clean fresh water available 24/7.  If you started adding stuff
to the water, you could end up screwing up their thirst mechanism so
that they will not, in future, recognize the symptoms of dehydration
and respond knee-jerk-wise by going for water or wet food.  Best leave
well enough alone, I say.

--tension
Mad Dog - 11 Sep 2006 08:54 GMT
|| Ted Davis wrote:
||| Recent research shows that cats can't taste sweet.
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
|| of dehydration and respond knee-jerk-wise by going for water or wet
|| food.  Best leave well enough alone, I say.

One of my Cats goes mad for ice cream she  can smell it a mile away I don't
give her any though, but she gets to lick the bowl.

Signature

"A horse a horse my kingdom for a horse, I haven't had a winner in six
months".

MD

|| --tension
Andrea - 14 Sep 2006 07:40 GMT
for the most part, I agree, cats will drink when they need to.  However,
some do seem to keep it on the edge... meaning that they really could and
should take a little more than they do.  Especially older cats. This can be
alleviated by giving wet food at least once daily.

I encourage my cat to more opportunities to drink by making it fun for him.
He likes to drink out of the running bathroom faucet every morning and every
evening.  He totally digs it and is crushed if I look like I'm not going to
cooperate :-)  I always do, though!

>> Recent research shows that cats can't taste sweet.
>
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
>
> --tension
Middleman - 05 Oct 2006 06:43 GMT
> I was reading about the dangers of leaving antifreeze around because
> animals like it's sweet taste.  This got me to thinking - What about
> putting a small amount of sweetener into the water bowl to get cats to
> drink more??

If you believe your cat doesn't drink enough, try low sodium (say 1 to 4 ppm)
spring water or let chloride evaporate for at least 24 hours before you give
them tap water. Cats have a more acute sense of taste than us and they don't
like chlorine.

Change the water at least every day.
null_pointer@nowhere.com.net.edu.gov.de - 05 Oct 2006 17:45 GMT
>> I was reading about the dangers of leaving antifreeze around because
>> animals like it's sweet taste.  This got me to thinking - What about
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
>Change the water at least every day.

I made a fountain out of an old 2 qt. saucepan and a small pump which
shoots the water about 2-3 inches into the air.  This provides some
noise and motion which makes the cats want to play with the water.
The water where I live (Eden Prairie, Minnesota) is very good; I drink
it right out of the tap with no additional processing.
Also, when in the fountain, I think the circulation and exposure to
the air gets rid of the chlorine fairly quickly.
Catjoy - 05 Oct 2006 17:48 GMT
Am also wondering, is kitty getting enough water from her food?  May I ask
why you're interested in getting your cat to drink more?  If you're feeding
your cat mostly or all wet/canned food, then she will be getting most of the
water she needs from the food (but you should still always have clean water
available).  

>I was reading about the dangers of leaving antifreeze around because
>animals like it's sweet taste.  This got me to thinking - What about
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>because she kept wanting more and I only wanted her to have a little
>taste.
 
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