My cat is afraid of the new drinking fountain. How can I help them?

A few things you can try is first turning off the fountain and emptying it, and tossing a few favorite treats in it. When she shows interest/takes the treats be sure to give lots of praise for it. Once she seems OK with that, you can then add in water but not turn it on. If she shows interest or drinks from it, again praise and give a treat. Once she's fine with drinking from it off, you can then turn it on, and again, treat and praise when she shows interest/drinks from it. She'll quickly learn this is a good thing, instead of a scary one!

I am afraid you may have to live with this....automatic waterers are great, but often the water gets warm and then the cat does not like it anymore. Also when the water is too close to the food, cats will not like to drink from it. Toilet water is cool and pretty much running water, and many cats prefer that. So it is likely that your kitty will keep preferring that. You can try moving the waterer at least 6 ft away from his food and put ice cubes in it to keep the water cool in summer.

First make sure it is secured because if it slides around, it will scare him again. Also put a slide proof matt or staple the fabric so he can’t slide off. Put some of his favorite treats up there and show it to him. Then occasionally put them out and let him discover it on his own. This will help build a positive association. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Congratulations on your new addition! If you haven't previously fed 100% canned food before, you may not be used to how infrequently cats will drink water. My cats are also on a 100% canned food diet, and I rarely see them drink water (maybe once a week). That is because they get almost all the moisture they need from the canned food. It is important to have fresh water available to her at all times, but I would not be worried about not seeing a cat on 100% canned food not drink. If you're concerned, you might consider adding some water to her caned food or adding a running fountain since most cats prefer that to drink from. If Bronte seems stressed otherwise, you could try a couple of things. One option for decreasing stress is to add a Feliway Diffuser ( https://www.feliway.com ) to your house. This is a calming pheromone that will work for a month. I have also had luck with Rescue Remedy ( http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ ) which can be added to the food. You could also consider calming music specifically for cats ( http://throughadogsear.com/tace/through-a-cats-ear-1-music-for-calming/ ). Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Cats can get afraid of the silliest things sometimes! A change in the house can cause a cat to freak out a bit, but she will get used to it over time. I would start leaving her food outside your room and over time, moving it closer and closer back to her normal spot. You can't feed her in your room forever, and she needs to get used to the fridge. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

Cats actually prefer to drink from running water. I suggest you get her a water/drinking fountain: ( https://www.petco.com/shop/SearchDisplay?categoryId=&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=48&fromPageValue=search&searchKeyword=&searchTerm=water+fountain )

I'd feed Cupquake canned food, or add some low sodium gently warmed chicken broth to her dry food. I'd also recommend getting her a pet water fountain. It provides a continuous source of fresh water, and encourages the cat to drink. I have one for my cats, and they love it. You can get one at a pet store. I hope this helps.