Is it safe for cats to drink bottled water?

[patricia53]

We are considering getting a cat drinking fountain for our cats who are now 11yrs old - one has started with bladder problems and we want them to drink more. They like running water but we don't leave the taps on constantly. The reason I ask about bottled water is that our tap water is hard and the fountain would scale up quickly.

[grasscarp]

of course it is safe

[patricia53]

Thanks grasscarp - I just wondered if that was all they were drinking if it would contain the correct nutrients.

[gingejbee]

Bottled waters vary widely in their chemical composition - some have a higher dissolved mineral content than many mains supplies and some have VERY high sodium content - obviously undesirable and they taste slightly saline. Look at the analysis on the label and go for one that has low sodium and low calcium/magnesium levels.

[starone]

I used to worry about my cat until I saw her drinking from a rusty tin full of rain water. She preferred that to the nice clean stuff I had put down for her. She lived until she was 18 so It didn't seem to do her much harm. Not that I would advocate that for your cats of course but sometimes the animals know better than us what is good for them. For some reason she would not eat anything containing liver either, which I thought all cats would have liked. They all have their peculiarities.

[RATTER15]

Probably safer and more beneficial than bottled water.

[netibiza]

Starbuckone, yes my cat prefers the dirty rainwater puddles and ignores the fresh clean water I put down!!

[pink-kittens]

"of course it is safe"
It's not 'of course it is' at all!

Some bottled water has a high sodium count, check the labels

Ones that are sfae for babies are Evian and Tesco own brand so one would think they are possibly safe for a cat

[patricia53]

Thank you all

[Old_Geezer]

IMO anyone worried about not getting their nutrients from their water needs a serious look at their diet :-)

[patricia53]

You misunderstood the question Old Geezer. I don't want to give them something they shouldn't have not supplement their diet!!

[honky-tonk]

We have hard water and my cats will not drink it, we give them cooled boiled water from the kettle which they prefer.