Just like humans, about two-thirds of a cat’s body is created from water. Cats need a healthy amount of water to survive and to keep up their health. When living within the wild, they obtain water from the moisture content in their food.
Dehydration
Because cats can concentrate their urine, they will survive on smaller quantities of water than other animals. But they even have an occasional thirst drive, which suggests that they don’t feel the requirement to drink water fairly often. If your cat is dehydrated, you will not realize it until she develops a controversy. Dehydration can result in cat bladder problems and urinary diseases, including renal disorder and feline lower tract disease. Bladder stones can result in life-threatening urethral blockages, particularly in male cats.
There are some ways you’ll be able to tell if your cat is dehydrated. One of the most effective tests is to pinch your cat’s skin and gently pull upward. If her skin doesn’t return to its normal position quickly, she is perhaps dehydrated. Also listen to signs of panting, depression, lack of appetite, sunken eyes, dry mouth, increased lethargy, and increased pulse.
ALSO READ: How to Ship Vitamins and Supplements Overseas
Encouraging your cat to drink water
Counting on her size, activity level, health, and diet, but ranges from 5 to 10 fluid ounces per day, the amount of water your cat has to drink varies. If you’ve got trouble trying to urge your cat to drink water, there are some ways to encourage her.
Location is crucial. Put some water bowls around the house, in areas with low traffic. Should also not be placed anywhere near her litter box are water bowls. This might make her uncomfortable and cause her to prevent eating, drinking, and using her litter box. She might not even like having her food and water bowls near one another.
Some cats are really particular about potable. Your cat may like cold water better, so drop a pair of ice cubes within the bowl. On the opposite hand, she might not even like her bowl. If she features a tendency to tip it over, switch to a wider one with a rubber base. She might not just like the taste of her water either, so if you’ve got a plastic bowl, you’ll want to modify it to a metal, ceramic, or glass bowl. You ought to also replace your cat’s water daily in a trial to stay the water from tasting stale.
Even pickier cats won’t use a bowl in the slightest degree, and would rather drink straight from your tap. Within the wild, cats will usually only drink moving water, as they need to learn that this helps prevent them from getting sick. So, she’s probably not doing this to spite you if you see you’re continually tipping over her water dish and drinking the water because it spills across the ground, but rather she’s more well-off drinking moving water. There is a variety of how to produce your cat with moving water without all the cleanup of a spilled water bowl. Consider motion-censored cat water fountains that constantly circulate the water, or allow her to drink from the faucet or a running bath faucet–just remember to stay in the water at a cool temperature.
To your cat’s diet, you can also add more moisture. Canned goods contain a much higher moisture content than dry food. We recommend Science Diet® pet food for delectable forms of foodstuff for your cat’s tastes. If she prefers dry food, you’ll try adding water to her kibble. If you add a tiny low amount of water gradually through meals, she’s more likely to induce accustomed the feel. A mix of dry food and tinned goods is additionally an option.
Whichever method you select, it’s important to encourage your cat to drink water. While many might imagine milk could be a good substitute, it’s only a myth, and might even cause digestive problems together with your cat. Getting your cat to drink water is simply as important as feeding her the correct nutrition. If you think that your cat may well be dehydrated, discuss this with your veterinarian.