Cat addicted to tuna water, ignores plain water

Ah, the tuna water trap — it's a well-meaning move that backfires more often than people realise. The strong umami hit basically recalibrates your cat's palate, and plain water starts to taste like nothing by comparison. Before I suggest a fix, a couple of quick questions: is your Abyssinian on dry food, wet food, or a mix? And has she ever shown any signs of urinary issues — straining, frequent trips to the litter box, or blood in her urine? Abyssinians are actually one of the breeds with a slightly elevated risk of renal problems, so getting her hydration right at four years old is genuinely important.

That makes complete sense — Abyssinians are curious and sensory-driven, so once something tastes exciting, boring still water doesn't stand a chance. The good news is that moving water triggers a cat's instinct that it's fresh and safe, which is a much more natural hook than flavour. A fountain gives her a reason to investigate that isn't dependent on taste. Given that she's primarily on dry food, I'd actually also nudge you toward gradually increasing the wet food proportion — that's the single most impactful hydration change you can make. But for the water piece, what I'd recommend is the Drinkwell Pagoda Pet Fountain.

A few reasons it suits your situation well. The Pagoda has a dual free-falling stream — that movement and the sound tend to pull in cats who've gone off still water, and it's gentle enough that it won't intimidate a cat who's been ignoring her bowl. It's also ceramic, which matters: plastic fountains can develop a faint taste over time that puts some cats off, and ceramic is much more neutral — important when you're trying to wean her away from strong flavours rather than introduce new ones. The reservoir is generous too, so the water stays fresher longer. It's consistently well-reviewed on Amazon UK and straightforward to clean, which is non-negotiable for any fountain you'll actually keep using.

Phase it out — cold turkey usually just means she drinks less for a while, which is the opposite of what you want. For the first week, put the Pagoda fountain down alongside her current setup, let her explore it without pressure, and if she'll only drink from it with a tiny splash of tuna water added, that's fine. Then over two to three weeks, reduce the tuna water by half, then a quarter, then nothing. The moving water will do the heavy lifting — most cats stop needing the flavour cue once they're hooked on the fountain itself. And do try to shift the dry-to-wet food ratio if you can; even one full wet meal a day makes a real difference to her baseline hydration.

Good luck — Abyssinians are smart and she'll likely take to it faster than you expect once her curiosity kicks in. One last tip: place the fountain away from her food bowl. Cats have an instinct to avoid water near their food source (a wild-prey thing), so a separate spot in the room often gets much better engagement. Come back and let me know how she gets on.