# Brita For Moggies?



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

I got a Brita water filter jug on the advice of a veterinarian because my 17year old cat has feline cystitis and it is suspected that the hard water in this area could be aggravating the condition.

Yep, I bought a Brita jug for my cat!

I also took the time to taste test the tap water and filtered water myself. The filtered water tasted less â€œmetallicâ€ to me. I also (blind) tested both on â€œShortyâ€ and she decided the filtered water tasted better.

Being sceptical of things like water filters, I always thought they we just an expensive, tree hugger thing, but Iâ€™ve been proved wrong by the reduction of scum on the surface of my daily cup of coffee.

The problem with Brita is the cost of the filters, Iâ€™m not saying they donâ€™t do the job but the price is rather high for my taste. Having done a bit (lot) of research there is a compatible cartridge that is about 50% of the price of the Brita original and Maxtra cartridges made by an Italian company called Laica (do a Google).

I donâ€™t know if the Laica cartridges work as well as the Brita ones, but Iâ€™ll soon find out and report back.

Neither do I know if filtered water helps cats suffering feline cystitis, time will tell and Iâ€™ll report back on that to.

I hope it does, I hate to see this good- natured old lady in pain.:wink1:


----------



## langtoftlad (Mar 31, 2007)

I've used a Brita jug for years - with third party cartridges. Can't quantify if they do the job as *well* as Brita Originals, but they do it well enough to stop the scummy tea. Actually thinking about getting a filter kettle when I run down my stockpile of cheap cartridges.

Afraid I also use them for longer than the recommended 30 days without poisoning myself - but I think it's also a balance of quantity as well as elapsed time.

Now shamed to admit that my moggie drinks unfiltered water - does that make me a bad person?


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

langtoftlad said:


> Now shamed to admit that my moggie drinks unfiltered water - does that make me a bad person?


I reckon I could use the filter for 50 days on throughput, but no more.

If your cat's young and healthy I don't see a problem with tap water, but cats hide illness and pain quite well. Just keep an eye out for any change in behaviour, if you can spot it.

My cat's kidneys are becoming less efficient and she's drinking more water, that's the way things go. I'm just trying to make sure the water she gets has a better Ph balance than the crap that comes out of our taps.:wink1:


----------



## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kidneys are filters. Lots of water is the best thing for kidneys. If the water contains anything that's hard on the kidneys and the filter can remove it, the kidneys will be the better for it.

I placed a large inline filter between my water pump and pressure tank.

Later,

William


----------



## handlehall (Aug 7, 2009)

I think cats are usually trying to tell their owners something when they ignore their lovely fresh chemical smelling (to them) bowl of water and go outside to drink from some icky muddy puddle.


----------



## ralphy (Nov 24, 2008)

handlehall said:


> I think cats are usually trying to tell their owners something when they ignore their lovely fresh chemical smelling (to them) bowl of water and go outside to drink from some icky muddy puddle.


We have two water bowels for our dogs, one with tap water, one filled from the Brita jug. We noticed that the dogs always drank from the filtered water bowl as a preference.

R


----------



## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

We have had an inline activated charcoal and particulate filter on our drinking water tape for over 20 years, cheapest type are those used (actually WERE I guess now!) in the film processing industry.

When the processing lab was installed at work I accidentally ordered two systems instead of one  .

I have to change the filters once a year but its works out so much cheaper than Brita type cartridge system, and a hella'va lot less fiddly!

Our bloomin' cat still wouldn't drink it out of a bowl though......but run the tap and he was there....daft little bugger.....sleeping in peace now in his sunny spot in the garden, rest him :crybaby:


----------



## Chromejob (Jul 28, 2006)

I started using a Brita jug a few years ago, and stopped using the (more expensive) charcoal filters for my Braun coffeemaker (though I may restart using that to stop dust getting through the heating chamber). I get filters in 10-packs at my warehouse store, usually with a $7 off coupon (making it ... $3.30 each or so?) I personally think the timer on the jug is pretty speedy for my use ... I reset it once and continuing using before the next alert and changing the filter ... and I can't tell the difference in the water.

I also have filtered water from my fridge, but the flow is sloooooow, so for filling the coffeemaker the jug is handy.

I find I have to clean the jug and filter reservoir 3-4 times a year. A minor annoyance.


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Have you thought about a filter in the mains. We have the same problem here with the water, I should have been a plumber I could have made a fortune. In the last house I actually owned I had a filter fitted to the incoming mains water. Not really sure what it was but it did make a big difference after it was fitted, it was filled with some sort of round pellets ?????? I used to get them replenished when the boiler was serviced and from memory the pellets were only a few quid on top of the bill.


----------



## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

BondandBigM said:


> Have you thought about a filter in the mains. We have the same problem here with the water, I should have been a plumber I could have made a fortune. In the last house I actually owned I had a filter fitted to the incoming mains water. Not really sure what it was but it did make a big difference after it was fitted, it was filled with some sort of round pellets ?????? I used to get them replenished when the boiler was serviced and from memory the pellets were only a few quid on top of the bill.


That sounds more like a water softener system, I believe they are a salt type tablet and it makes a BIG difference to the longevity of plumbing and fittings although your not supposed to drink the treated water, your potable water supply should bypass any softener treatment.

No wonder your skin is so soft and smooth!


----------



## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Boxbrownie said:


> BondandBigM said:
> 
> 
> > Have you thought about a filter in the mains. We have the same problem here with the water, I should have been a plumber I could have made a fortune. In the last house I actually owned I had a filter fitted to the incoming mains water. Not really sure what it was but it did make a big difference after it was fitted, it was filled with some sort of round pellets ?????? I used to get them replenished when the boiler was serviced and from memory the pellets were only a few quid on top of the bill.
> ...


Hard water is the result of calcium and magnesium content. Water softeners use salt to preform ion exchange on the contaminants. This makes the water slightly salty. This poses the greatest risk to people with hypertension. Treated water may be consumed, but in the long run it is better not to.

Later,

William


----------



## Chromejob (Jul 28, 2006)

I've seen most people install inline water filtration on potable water outlets, e.g. kitchen sink, fridge, bathroom sinks. Kind of a waste to filter WC and shower water, though I do use inline filters on the shower heads, as I feel cleaner (and soap works a bit better) with them. (You can really tell the diff' in your hair when you filter the shower head.)


----------



## Koopa (Jan 26, 2010)

we have one of those cat fountians that is constantly running. it has a little filter in that. not sure if it does the same aa a britta but it does filter out some crap. our cat seems to like drinking from it and prefers it from a bowl (maybe it's just running water) but she will still drink out of a puddle if one presents itself :dntknw:

kate


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

You can tell I know nothing about plumbing :lol: :lol:

I'm pretty sure it was fitted to the incoming mains supply and I never noticed any difference in the taste of the water. It did however save me a fortune in kettles


----------



## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

Koopa said:


> we have one of those cat fountians that is constantly running. it has a little filter in that. not sure if it does the same aa a britta but it does filter out some crap. our cat seems to like drinking from it and prefers it from a bowl (maybe it's just running water) but she will still drink out of a puddle if one presents itself :dntknw:
> 
> kate


Yep...we bought one of thos etoo when we found Widget drinking from a running water tap, we thought aha thats why he doesnt like a bowl.....guess what, he neevr once drank from the water fountain thing, preferring still to hang around the kitch tap waiting for one of us to turn it on!


----------



## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

BondandBigM said:


> You can tell I know nothing about plumbing :lol: :lol:
> 
> I'm pretty sure it was fitted to the incoming mains supply and I never noticed any difference in the taste of the water. It did however save me a fortune in kettles


It did wonders for the flowing locks of yours though eh?  :rofl:


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Boxbrownie said:


> BondandBigM said:
> 
> 
> > You can tell I know nothing about plumbing :lol: :lol:
> ...


That wasn't the water it was the battery acid my ex wife used to put in my baths :lol: :lol:


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

The Laica filters arrived promptly today. It could be more than three weeks before I can start to evaluate them, but that's how it goes. 

I've ordered some litmus papers to test tap water against filtered water, just to check the pH level.

Interesting stuff and quite geeky, I wouldn't bother for myself, but for my cat(s) I'd go to war!

A cat isn't just for (Christmas) it's healthy years, a cat is for life.

Just like Rowena, really.  h34r:


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

I got the Litmus papers from HK yesterday and tested both the tap and filtered water. The tap water had a pH of around 7 (Greenish) and the filtered water came out Yellowish so that would be a pH of about 6. It seems the Brita filters do take out a bit of lime scale. :thumbsup:

Iâ€™ll test the Laica filters when the Brita filter expires.


----------



## alg59 (Mar 4, 2011)

living in spain, both my cats only drink water straight from the tap and it is pretty hard. our vet has never talked about filtered water. the cats are young thiugh so maybe if they get old i will have to give them the water we drink from a separate online filter.


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

I changed the Brita filter today, after six weeks, for no other reason than to try the Laica filters. The Brita filter was still passing the Litmus test but I wouldnâ€™t use a filter for more than eight weeks in case there was some failure of the Silver coating to kill bacteria.

I did the Litmus test using the Laica filter and the results were good, todayâ€™s tap water had a pH of 8 and after filtering it was 6. It seems they do as they claim but for how long?

I suspect that I could use a Brita filter for two months (in my area, YMMV) as long as the jug is stored in the fridge, cold and dark, to avoid any bacteria building up within the filter.

I also expect the Laica filters will be similarly capable; Iâ€™ll let you know in six to eight weeks.

The upshot is that my old cat hasnâ€™t had a bought of FLUTD in the six weeks sheâ€™s been drinking filtered water (nine weeks in total), and Iâ€™ve increased her â€œwater stationsâ€ (vet terminology, I call them water bowls) to four from two. Sheâ€™s also more of a pain in the @rse, more of a control freak and is obviously feeling a lot more like her old self. Thatâ€™s a bonus for me, Iâ€™m glad she feels better.


----------



## Big_bazza99 (Mar 29, 2011)

My 17 year old Tom recently had the same condition, we too live in a hard water area. The vet put it down to stress with another cat arriving in our area. I think I may invest as the pain appeared bad for the poor chap.


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Big_bazza99 said:


> My 17 year old Tom recently had the same condition, we too live in a hard water area. The vet put it down to stress with another cat arriving in our area. I think I may invest as the pain appeared bad for the poor chap.


It may help, I hope it does; Donâ€™t forget to put water bowls in places other than by the food bowl, thatâ€™s the last place a cat likes to drink from. Change the water every 24 hours; cats are very particular.

Put the other bowls by a door or the fireplace, a place that a cat might think is a puddle in its territory, just like the back yard or garden.

An old cat probably has failing kidneys, they drink more to compensate and the pH of the water they drink can imbalance their urine and cause the formation of crystals and damage to the bladder wall.

Vets always play the â€œstressâ€ card (or the infection card) but most are trying to sell stress reduction therapy, or drugs at an inflated price that hasnâ€™t been proved to be beneficial.

Most know that the catâ€™s kidneys (or other organs) are failing and try to sell you something that makes them money, but is of no benefit to the cat, and is to the detriment of your wallet.

Try Lavender oil for stress (itâ€™s cheap and about as effective, if you get my drift?).

Most cats with FLUTD have kidney deterioration, but not all. Most are old, but not all.

In my opinion, donâ€™t give cats fish made for human consumption and encourage them to drink low alkaline water, but not distilled. Get a water filter or give them Volvic.

If your old cat has kidney problems you can buy â€œRenalzinâ€, a phosphorus binder that can help, without having to get it as an expensive prescription from a greedy vet (in the UK).

Google is your friend.


----------



## Big_bazza99 (Mar 29, 2011)

...yes, the vet suggested Feliway to relieve stress - will try some lavender - 2 new cats around recently - yesterday they had caught a rabbit and were guarding it 4 houses down from me - If I were a cat, I be worried about those 2!!


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

The Laica filter has passed the litmus test at six weeks, so Iâ€™ll go for another couple of weeks and test again. I have no doubt it will pass the test, but Iâ€™ll check it out never the less.

Iâ€™m not trying to break any records, but I think that most people can use a Brita Maxtra or Laica Biflux filter for more than the insisted â€œmonthâ€, unless you use more than 4 Litres of filtered water per day and donâ€™t refrigerate the jug. Keep the jug in the fridge, it stops the formation of bacteria and extends the life of the filter.

My cat hasnâ€™t had cystitis since I got the water filter and increased the number of water bowls available. Those interventions have saved her from a lot of discomfort and us a lot of vet fees.

Most vets like animals, but they like money a little more.


----------

