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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2012 12:44:07 GMT -5
Hey! I'm wondering... does anyone on the forum use Catit water fountains as a source of water for their ferrets? How well does it work? I'm asking because I've been considering it lately, but I am unsure if it will fix our problems or not... Lyla was raised with a bowl, but she'd make a huge mess spilling it all the time that we quickly replaced it by a bottle. She drank a good amount when she was on kibble with the bottle... Then, 6 months ago, I switched them to raw, and she'll eat a bit of my soupie, but she much rathers the freeze dried (but she will not touch it rehydrated), so I feed it dried, plus that way it keeps for longer.... She drinks a lot of water to compensate, yes, and she is not dehydrated (I check her skin almost every day), but her poops seem "dry". I believe that means she's still not drinking enough, right? She's drinking enough to keep hydrated, but not enough to completely rehydrate the food in her tummy. So I want to add a bowl back into the cage, to see if she'll drink more (she loves drinking from a "pool of water" (whether in a bowl, a cup, in my hand...) much better than the bottle... But Baloo is a snorkeler and Lyla and Meeko scratch the water until the bowl is empty.... I just want to avoid the messes they make with bowls... I thought of those Spill-Less bowls, but I'm wondering if a fountain would help more, as it filters the water and all... Your thoughts? Thanks!  |
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Post by Heather on Apr 11, 2012 12:56:10 GMT -5
;D ;D I will admit I've considered it. There are a number on the market and after looking at a lot of them (taking them out of their boxes, checking assembly) they would never survive my ferrets. My guys love running water, to play in, to dig in and to try and find where it comes from. I figure the life of one of these gadgets would be less than a couple of hours. They would provide amusement and stimulation until they managed to run it dry and it burned out the motor  (of course once it was dry they wouldn't bother it anymore) You're right, your wee one needs more water. That freeze dried stuff is like kibble in that respect, in fact it actually absorbs more body moisture than kibbles, so she will need to consume more water. Will she not eat a soupy or something like that? ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2012 13:37:35 GMT -5
I would never recommend it. We don't have a catit fountain, but we do have a pet mate fresh flow one for the cats. Everytime Rolo sees it he drinks from it like he's supposed to, and then proceeds to climb into it and make a huge mess. IMO leaving anything like that inside his cage would be asking for disaster. This is the one we have, only its a different colour:  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2012 13:47:53 GMT -5
Lol! Thanks for the tip, Heather!  Yeah, since eating freeze dried, she does drink more than she did on kibble, but maybe not quite enough yet... She does eat some soups, but not as much as the other guys... Meeko eats about 80% soupie, 20% Freeze dried Baloo eats about 60% soupie, 40% freeze dried Lyla eats about 25% soupie, 75% freeze dried Neither Baloo nor Meeko have dry looking poops.... just Lyla. One of the reasons why Lyla eats mostly Freeze Dried too is because she likes the soupie best after it's warmed up to room temp (about an hour or so after taking it out), but Baloo gulps it all down as soon as it's in the cage... there us rarely any left for Lyla... I have tried increasing the amount that I offer, but either Baloo eats it all again, or he leaves a bit, and it goes to waste... I have now increased the soupie to an amount where Baloo leaves a bit for Lyla if she wants some, but that's only been for about 3 days now, so I'm still waiting to see if this is helping her or not... I have also tried syringe giving her 3mL twice a day of extra water, but she's not always happy with me when I do that... lol! But it DID seem to help the poops look more moist... Henrika, that is what I'm afraid of! I don't want them jumping in and all... but they'll do it with a spill-less bowl either way... I've come to conclude that I can not avoid messes with water if I add a bowl in the cage... I can simply try and minimize the damage ;D ;D Would anyone have another tip as to how to make Lyla drink more? Thanks! |
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Post by bitbyter on Apr 11, 2012 14:14:32 GMT -5
If you go to the Cage and Ferret Room section and look at my Easter Cage Update thread you can see how I deal with a water digger in my cage. It's a simple solution and it works well.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2012 14:14:43 GMT -5
I don't have a catit fountain (i dnt even know what it is) But my gang does have this one www.catsrule.com/thewateringholeautomaticfreshwaterfountain.aspx and they love it. Brady has been drinking so much more water now than he used to out of plain lock-crocs. I will admit, none of mine are crazy about playing in water so I don't know how great it would be with snorkelers |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2012 14:17:08 GMT -5
Henrika, that is what I'm afraid of! I don't want them jumping in and all... but they'll do it with a spill-less bowl either way... I've come to conclude that I can not avoid messes with water if I add a bowl in the cage... I can simply try and minimize the damage ;D ;D Would anyone have another tip as to how to make Lyla drink more? Thanks! I totally forgot to add, in the summer Rolo will drink from a squirt bottle. I originally found this out by spraying him down in the summer but then he ran up to the bottle and will drink from it if I squeeze it (gently) into his mouth. You could dry that? Then it becomes sort of a game and not you just syringing it. |
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Post by Jeremy's Boggle on Apr 11, 2012 14:19:28 GMT -5
I've been going back & forth on this myself. I always figured that the cord on the fountain would be a hazard. But the question of bottle over dish is still there. Right now mine have access to a bowl while out and a bottle while in the cage. I don't have dry poos so I guess it is working for ok for them but I also don't feed freeze dried.
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Post by acodlin on Apr 11, 2012 17:32:17 GMT -5
I've contemplated getting one on more than one occasion, but like Heather I think they would dig all the water out and burn up the motor the first time I wasnt looking. I've got some that like to dig in water dishes and snorkle.. plus they treat my shower like its their own personal slip and slide so I know they would play in a fountain if I bought it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2012 17:50:43 GMT -5
You could give Lyla her own bowl of warm soup - sometimes I sit with my girl as she eats - my one boy is a pig and pushes the other ferrets out . Also I use a large ceramic dog dish for water filled half way and a boot tray under it to catch any spills from snorkeling.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2012 23:29:00 GMT -5
I used to have a cat fountain, and YES, my ferrets snorkeled in it! They didn't have full time access to it so there was never any risk of kicking out ALL the water, but it was still a mess One of my foster girlie's likes to dig in her water bowl, I keep a small towel underneath it to sop up some of the mess and wash it frequently. Luckily they don't try to get under the towel and flip the bowl!! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2012 11:25:21 GMT -5
Sorry for not answering sooner... my practicum is becoming hectic!!  Oh well!  I wanted to say.. Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I guess I could very well see my ferrets running it dry then the fountain would burn out because of lack of water...   So..... maybe not a good idea at all.... Has anyone tried those Spill-Less bowls? As for Lyla eating more soup.... I sit Meeko down three times a day and spoon feed her because I gotta see her eat, then give her the PediaPred... I've then taken Lyla and spoon fed her a few times... she's not overly happy with me when I do it, but she eats a bit... I can't easily give her her own bowl, because Baloo would just eat it up before she got to it.... lol I've tried squirt bottles last summer, and Lyla's pretty scared of the nozzle.... I could try again, see if she can get over this fear of hers... Thanks BitByter! I will go check it out shortly! If anyone's got any experience with those Spill-Less bowls... let me know! I'd love to hear about them! Thanks! |
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Post by Sherry on Apr 13, 2012 12:33:16 GMT -5
Tried one of thise back at the beginning ;D they just picked it up by the opposite side and upended it  Granted, it was one of the smaller ones. |
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2012 12:55:13 GMT -5
You have to give them credit for ingenuity  ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2012 14:15:49 GMT -5
I've considered the fountains as well but it would be exactly like Heather said. A few hours of fun until they scooped all the water out and burned the motor out. ;D
I found one of those spill-less bowls at a local hardware store (not sure why they have a rather large pet department, but they do) for $2! They are $8+ online.. not including shipping. It's a little big, and they can still get some of the water out but it's not nearly as bad as it was before. And for $2.. it was worth checking out, at least. I probably won't be going back to a regular bowl any time soon.
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