How to Encourage Your Cat to Drink More Water

by Dr. Ko⁽¹⁷⁵⁾ Red Star

http://cathealthstore.com

Encouraging your cat to take in a lot of water on a daily basis is vital to their health and well-being, particularly if they have certain health conditions, and especially as they age.

The single most effective method of ensuring that your cat is well hydrated is by feeding WET FOOD instead of dry food!!!
Cats who eat wet food consume FIVE times the amount of water every day compared to cats that eat dry food, despite the fact that cats who eat dry food visibly appear to spend more time at their water dishes than cats that eat wet food.
Cats who eat dry food are never able to compensate adequately just by drinking from their water bowls, because their kidneys are so effective at concentrating their urine to conserve their body water; cats who eat dry food have highly concentrated urine and only drink the small volume required to keep them hydrated while their kidneys do the rest of the work. They never bridge the hydration gap between them and their wet-food-eating counterparts.
Cats fed dry diets are much more prone to urinary crystals, idiopathic cystitis, bladder stones, kidney stones, and kidney disease because of their excessively concentrated urine.

Additionally, you can mix extra water into your cat's wet food to increase their dietetic water intake even further.
A nice side benefit of doing this is that you can use warm water to help warm up canned food that is cold from being kept in the fridge.

Have fresh water available in all of the areas of your home in which your cat spends most of their time.
Cats are very particular about having fresh water, so it should be changed frequently (at least twice daily, and discard the water remaining in the bowl rather than topping up what water is left in the bowl).
Also, place fresh water in novel locations every couple of days (but leave a couple in their usual locations as well).

Keep water bowls filled to the brim, and use bowls that are shallow and wide: cats don't like getting their whiskers soggy because they are very sensitive!

Cats prefer water dishes that are made of glass, ceramic, or stainless steel.
Plastic dishes can cause skin irritation to the chin (feline chin acne), and are also more difficult to sterilize and keep odor free. Plastic affects the taste of water, and not for the better.

In addition to having the right type of water dishes, it is important to keep them very clean.
Water dishes should be cleaned on a daily basis, otherwise film and bacteria will build up inside them.

Many cats have preferences about water temperature.
This is something that you can experiment with at home: some cats like chilled water and you can keep it cool for longer by placing ice cubes in it, others prefer warm water, and some prefer regular cool tap water.

Not all cats like the taste of tap water, and if this is your cat, then you may need to try Brita water, distilled water, or different types of bottled water.

Adding small amounts of tuna juice or clam juice to water can make water more appealing to some cats.
You can also make fishcicles: make ice cubes that contain tuna or clam juice, and then place the flavored ice cubes in one of their water bowls.
Always have some regular fresh water available in addition to the flavored water.

Many cats enjoy running water and will drink from running taps.
Now there are a variety of fresh water fountains available for cats in pet stores, and many cats love them. Unfortunately, they are mostly made of plastic materials.

Keep water bowls away from litter boxes. Cats don't like to eat and drink in the same vicinity as they urinate and defecate, just as we prefer not to eat and drink in our washrooms!
Also keep water bowls away from high traffic areas, and loud appliances: if they are placed in areas where cats are easily startled, they will be unlikely to drink in that same location again.

To read more of Dr. Ko's articles, please visit www.catdoctorko.com

The information provided in this article is for educational reference purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for the advice and care of your veterinarian, nor medical diagnoses or treatments. All questions regarding your cat's health should be discussed with your veterinarian.

Article submitted Thursday, July 14, 2011 & read 299 times.

Dr. Ko is a licensed Veterinarian who works exclusively with cats. She is a passionate believer in the importance of preventative medicine and educating cat owners about its benefits for their cats. It was this ideal which was the motivation for the creation of the Cat Health Store website - http://cathealthstore.com which is a free information resource and online store for cat owners everywhere!

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» left by Melynie Tucker from Buffalo,NY (48 days 13 hours ago.)

thank you. this article was very thorough in answering my question.
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