Caturday: Nine Lives and Water Choices

Bear (left) and Moo (right) at the water trough In our home of eight cats, water bowls are everywhere--at least, one in each room and on the catio. But the water trough is not just a convenience—it’s an institution. It started with Bear. A hunk whose solid part-Chartreux body fits his name. With the thirst of a marathon runner, he would drain bowl after bowl of water with such diligence that we found ourselves in the vet’s office asking, “Is he okay?” Tests returned with a shrug: healthy as can be. Well, a big cat needs lots of water, we figured, and kept filling those bowls every hour. Eventually, we swapped out the master bedroom bowls for a large plastic container that looked like a trough. A water trough. These days, it takes over 100 ounces of fresh water a day to keep Bear and his siblings happily hydrated, most of slurped down by Bear. The cats love it. The master bedroom leads to the catio so it is a natural gathering spot for the cats, especially when the catio ...