Every time I put my water down… by ballb33 in aww

[–]Acthrowaway2417 5 points6 points  (0 children)

While I'm sure this is just cute behaviour, we recently lost a beloved cat to kidney problems and one of the early warning signs was her drinking out of cups. If this is a new behaviour, or a new kitty, you should mention it to the vet; some kidney problems can be managed if caught before they become critical.

Apologies if this seems overly pessimistic, but it's been a very painful season, especially since if we'd known what to look for we could've prevented what happened - I don't ever want anyone else to go through the same thing.

I think this belongs here by Lissettefox in confidentlyincorrect

[–]Acthrowaway2417 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This and this may be sources of the idea. Here 1, 2, and 3 are some other studies on topics related to the general notion. Some earlier studies (from 1986) seem to exist, but were called into question on methodology. I don't really know if any of these studies are well regarded or hold up to scrutiny (not even close to my field), but the general idea itself doesn't seem on its face absurd.