On my dining room table I have one of those bowls with floating candles. (i haven't lit them...don't think I should though..lol). Anyway, this bowl gets yuck quick. Does anyone else have one? Is there something I can add to the water to help this? My cat has decided this is her water bowl, so I am sure some of the yuck is her, but some of it is just slimy.

So if there is something I can put in there, then will my cat be smart enough to not drink out of there anymore? Or something that won't hurt her? I thought about bleach, but really the smell would be too much I think, and who knows what the cat would do, I can see bleached cat paws on my table cloth!

Just curious, I will probably continue to clean this out every other week like I have been, but if there is an easier way. Since the cat drinks out of it, it gets empty every 4 days or so, but I still have to clean it out.

By Debbie on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 11:43 am:

What about a couple of drops of vinegar? I don't think it would be harmful to your cat, and it might help.

By Cocoabutter on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 12:33 pm:

As pretty as it probably is, I don't think the place for the cat's water dish is on top of the dining room table.

She should get fresh water every day, too.

If you put vinegar in it, it shouldn't harm the kitty, and she may even get out of the habit of getting on the table.

By Kaye on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 12:43 pm:

LOL she does have a water bowl that we fill daily, I thought this might be a phase that passed. I bought new candles for christmas that are little snowmen, I thought that would spook her of drinking from it. It hasn't. I agree, I would prefer her not to drink from there, this is our formal dining room, we hardly use this room, she will never NOT get on the table...it is safe from the dog! However our kitchen table or counter tops she never goes near, funny cat.

By Tink on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 06:32 pm:

Vinegar might do the trick, Kaye, and it won't hurt your kitty. In fact, we put two or three drops of vinegar in my dog's water in the summer to keep away the fleas. I don't think I'd try bleach with kitty drinking out of it. You also might try those drops for fishtanks that reduce algae build-up.

By Unschoolmom on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 06:45 am:

Some lemon juice maybe? Cats aren't citrus fans I think.

By Luvn29 on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 12:20 pm:

Tink, does the vinegar thing really work with the fleas? I have never heard of that!!!

By Tink on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 02:12 pm:

It sure seemed to. Our dog really only goes outside for walks and to go potty. She's not an outside dog at all but our flea problems are bad in this area and she didn't have any trouble with them. I just add 2-3 drops of apple cider vinegar to her water bowl each time I filled it (twice a day usually).

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 06:27 am:

I'd suggest lemon juice. I remember reading that one way to keep cats from nibbing at house plants is to put cotton balls soaked in lemon oil in the plant pot. And the lemon would smell nice in your dining room (as opposed to vinegar). I'll also ask Scott. I think I'd stay away from the fish-tank stuff, unless you are absolutely certain it won't harm the cat.

But here's a thought - if you don't use this room often, why put out a bowl with water in it anyhow? Even if the cat didn't drink from it and it didn't get yucky, the water will evaporate. Why not put out a centerpiece of pillar candles or some other candles instead? And save the bowl with floating candles for when you are actually going to use them, or use the room.

Getting into a control struggle with a cat is a one you are almost definitely going to lose. Is it worth the aggravation?

By Kaye on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 09:55 am:

Ginny, it is actually the first room you see when you walk into the house. And I really like this bowl, I won it in a tourney recently. So although we don't "use" the room, we do walk through it to get to the kitchen, etc. It is a pretty that I like. The cat drinking from it doesn't bother me much, we find it funny. I think if we ate at that table it would bother me more. When we do have dinners in there, we do have to fight her to stay off the table while we are setting it. Once we are all sat down she doesn't bother to try.

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 10:00 am:

Scott says: I can't think of any water additive that would be non-toxic. However, Hartz makes a product called No, which is a deterrent spray.

However, here is a website that recommends lemon spray if you want to keep cats off of counters. Cats

By Kilara21 on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 05:49 pm:

How about instead of water you use some pretty stones or pebbles. You can always take the stones out and put water in when you do use the dining room for entertaining.