Most cats are finicky, and mine is no exception. Hermione has always wanted to drink out of the kitchen sink. I hate this habit. Not so much when I’m home alone with her, but when guests sit on the bar stools a foot away from the sink, it’s pretty distracting. (make that gross) I tried putting a bowl of water on the floor by her food dish, and she ignores it for days. Not a lick!

I found that I can put a bowl of water right by the kitchen sink. She might look at me with disdain, rub up against the crook-neck faucet, but eventually I will hear her lapping up the water. She particularly enjoys an ice cube on hot days.

Due to my guilt for leaving her next month, I decided to purchase a couple of new things for her (even though I have a cat sitter coming). I decided to look into water and cat food dispensers. There is one that provides food 3 times per day – to the tune of over $100.00. I decided she wasn’t quite worth that!

The next possibility for around $50.00 was the type that distributes food daily – it has a rotating bowl with 7 compartments. Closer to my budget, but I was thinking around $15.00!  I love her, but…

So I went to Amazon Prime – my go-to for every purchase these days and found just the thing. Easy design which simply releases water as the level goes down; same with the food. Some cats eat themselves to death if left alone. Herm barely eats when I’m gone, so I figured this would suffice.

 The other day the water dispenser arrived via Fed Ex. I figured she’d hate the darned thing, but I washed it thoroughly, filled it with water and placed it in the same spot as her water dish – right by the kitchen sink. She bounced up onto the counter, sniffed and turned up her nose. But an hour later, I saw her leap from the chair to the kitchen counter and begin lapping. It gurgled as it released more water. She liked that. She lapped a bit more. The water bubbled in the container again. She looked at me curiously, as if to ask – what the heck? I continued to watch. It’s been on the counter now for 5 days, and she’s drinking from it all the time.

Oh, my God, I want to scream – she likes it!

Today the food dispenser arrived. Will she use it or ignore any amount of food I put in? Time will tell. But I’m hoping it will amaze her as much as the water dispenser.

Now if she’d just look twice at the $6.00 piece of carpet with a red fuzzy ball attached on a long spring. She patted it once the day I placed it on the floor and has ignored it ever since. Cats!?!@