Fountain!

I may have found a solution to the Messy Kitten Problem.  The kittens have problems eating and drinking without making messes.  Just feeding them often results in:

- Chasing of food kibble
- Playing in puddles
- Crumbs found under carpets, in corners, and under furniture
- Sticky wet food tracked across the floor
- Food in the water dish and vice versa
- Moldy kibble found under carpets, in corners, and under furniture

The above is a direct result of several kitten habits including, but not limited to:

- Falling in water dish
- Aiming at water/food dish and missing
- Pouncing on food dish
- Fighting for first access to wet food dish
- Chasing kibble inside water dish
- Chasing of food kibble across floor and crashing into water dish


Long before I even adopted Ronan and Pandora, I was busy mentally compiling ideas for how to care for two kittens with Cerebellar Hypoplasia.  It occurred to me while at a pet store one day that a water fountain might be just the solution to help them with their drinking problem (haha).

When I first met Ronan, I noticed he "pecked" at his food and water dishes because he lacked the control to simply lower his head to the bowl and hold it there until he was finished eating or drinking.  More often than not he wound up getting water up his nose.  Using a water fountain seemed a natural solution as it provided a gentle slope of running water that was much shallower than the dish itself and was therefore less likely to submerge his nostrils.

Unfortunately, a good quality, stainless-steel fountain is pricey (I don't believe in using plastic if it can be avoided), so I had to wait a few months until finances were sorted.  After finding a pile of moldy crumbs and kibble stretching more than a foot under a cupboard, however, I decided this would be the Week of the Fountain.

Behold!  Fresh running water for my favourite feline friends.  It didn't take long to fully set up (though it would have taken even less time had I not had two very curious and over-eager helpers at my side trying to tackle every bag or bubble wrap pouch), and only a couple minutes to get the water pumping.  The kittens heard the motor start up, wobbled over and explored the new toy. 

And verdict is.....

Uhmmm.... maybe the jury is still out on this one.