From her side of the kitchen, the sink is close to perfect. The water there moves, so it tastes and smells fresher than water that has stood in a bowl since morning. The basin itself is cool, smooth and shaped rather like a cat-sized resting place, and its height puts her at worktop level, watching everything the household does. Owners reinforce the arrangement every time the tap gets turned on for an audience of one. You will not beat that package by scolding her off the counter; you beat it by building a water spot that competes on freshness, and a perch that competes on height.
Make Her New Water Spot Worth Choosing
Choose a wide bowl that leaves room for her whiskers, or a drinking fountain if moving water is clearly the draw, and place it away from her food — many cats prefer water and meals in separate spots, and a bowl beside the food dish collects crumbs and smells that put her off. Refresh the water daily, rinse the bowl when you refill it, and top up rather than letting the level fall stale. A stable, slightly raised stand can help the new spot rival the sink's height without surrendering your washing-up space. Show her the new arrangement once, with a treat beside it, then let her discover it repeatedly in her own time; cats adopt changes they feel they chose.
Retire the Tap as a Service
While the better offer settles in, the tap itself has to stop paying out. Nobody in the house turns it on for her, however patiently she waits or loudly she comments, because one person's exception teaches her to keep asking everyone. Keep the sink wiped dry and empty of interesting drips when it is not in use, and set her permitted perch — a stool, a shelf or the end of a counter she is allowed on — close enough that she can still supervise the kitchen from it. If she hops into the sink, lift her to that perch without ceremony. Within a week or two of the tap producing nothing and the bowl staying fresh, much of the sink-sitting loses its point.
When She Ignores the New Bowl at First
A cat who walks past the replacement bowl for two days has not rejected it; she is following the older habit. Move the bowl — not daily, but once — if its first spot sits beside a noisy dishwasher, the litter tray, or a busy doorway, all of which can quietly put a cat off drinking there. Try a second bowl in another calm spot for the first week and keep whichever she uses, removing the other once her preference is clear. Fresh water in a spot she trusts beats a theoretically perfect bowl in a place she avoids.
Watch How Much She Drinks Overall
A preference for running water is a whim; a general increase in drinking is information. If you notice her at the bowl far more often than before, emptying it faster, or asking for water in new places, do not treat it as a training issue — book a conversation with your vet, who can investigate possible reasons for the change. The same applies if the new thirst arrives with appetite or weight changes. Keep the fresh-water routine running either way, since a cat who drinks readily from a clean bowl is easier to monitor. Put the daily refresh on the rota in Care Teams, and KinsLe will keep the assigned person's name and the completion time where the whole household can see them.