does your cat have a condition like kidney failure or diabetes which means
they need to drink more water are you just worried that your cat is being fed
a dry kibble and you don't seem to see them drink much well it can be really
difficult to know how to get your cat to drink more water in this video I'll give
you my top ten tips on how to encourage cats to drink and really increase their
water consumption hi I'm dr. Alex from ourpetshealth.com helping you and your
pet to live healthier happier lives so if we're just meeting for the first
time consider subscribing and hitting that Bell notification to allow me to
continue to help you and your cat cats are really desert animals and as a
result are really good at conserving water they are really great at
extracting the moisture from their food and so actually they don't really need
to drink very much in order to survive now this evolution also means that they
tend to have a low thirst drive which is why you often won't see your cat
actually drinking now this is also why getting your cat to drink more water can
be really challenging the problem with this is that if your cat becomes unwell
for any other reason or if they have a disease that compromises their ability
to conserve water then they can very quickly become dehydrated examples of
this are diabetes kidney disease and liver disease dehydration can be very
dangerous it compromises overall health and potentially makes their condition
much much worse so what can we do to change this well here are my top ten
tips for how to get your cat to drink more water so at number one is simply
switched to wet food now did you realize that 80% of wet food is water so if
you're currently feeding your cat a dry food which typically is about 10% water
then you can see how a simple diet change can really make a huge difference
in the amount of water that your cat takes on board now clearly a diet change
is not always as simple it's just putting it in a bowl
cats are notoriously fussy so if you do struggle with this then make sure you
check out my next video which will help you change your cat's diet now if your
vet has advised that a special diet is fed to your cat then there's nearly
always a wet version that you could choose instead of the biscuit
there will also always be alternatives should your pet not really like what you
choose for them in the first place okay at number two I've got to refresh water
bowls regularly if water's left sitting around for a long time in your
cat's bowl it becomes less and less likely that they'll actually want to
drink it so the flavour will change it might become full of bugs or dirt other
pets may have drunk from the bowl and none of these are really acceptable
situations for your cat this means that you should refresh your cat's water and
also clean their water bowl every day now it's important though that when you
clean their bowl that there's no residue from any dish soap used as this would
really again change the taste of the water and put your cat off drinking from
that bowl keeping the water in the fridge may also help as many cats will
prefer cold water and then by regularly refreshing their bowl they'll often have
nice cold water more often okay number three is to change the water type now to
you and I water is generally water most of it tastes more or less the same and
very often we're adding a flavor to it anyway well cats can be very particular
about the type of water they like and they're able to pick up and object to the
subtle differences in flavors that depend on where the water has come from
the tap water in your area might have too many chemicals or be too hard using
filtered water or trying a different bottled water may mean that they start
drinking more collecting rainwater is another option that is pretty
easy and free depending on where you live so at number four I've got to add
some flavour now as I've already mentioned we often add flavor to our
water in the form of juice coffee or tea and I'm not suggesting that you give
these to your cat but instead you could try adding some tuna juice maybe boil up
some chicken and add the water from this to your cat's water you could try
something else that your cat might like just be sure to avoid anything salty or
that has had salt added to it such as stock cubes now this liquid it can be
given undiluted but you'll probably find that adding just a small amount to your
cat's water will be enough for them to really enjoy the flavor and encourage
them to drink the leftover liquid doesn't need to be thrown away instead
you could pour it into ice cube trays and freeze them and this has several
benefits it means that you only have to make up this water additive
maybe once a month which makes it a really easy task it
also then means that when you defrost them it will provide a nice cold water
for your cat which as we've already mentioned they might really enjoy now if
you find that your cat is happy with plain water but just likes it cool then
you can simply add plain ice cubes as a simple solution so number five I've got
to use different water bowls so by now you all have noticed that cats tastes a
super sensitive and even very minor differences in flavor can really make a
huge difference now one big flavor determining factor is bowl types so
glass ceramic plastic and metal bowls they'll give the water slight taste
especially in hot weather and if it's left unrefreshed for some
time now glass and china effects flavor much less which is why we prefer
drinking from them as well so to find out which bowl type your cat
prefers you can simply put water in a bowl of each type and see which one your
cat chooses if their bowl is plastic but they always drink from a glass of water
by your bed then you can probably already guess which one your cat will
prefer as well as bowl type bowl shape can also play a role
now some cats really hate it when their whiskers touch the side of the bowl when
eating or drinking and some people think that this can actually cause pain when
it's repeated over a long period of time but regardless of this using a wide
shallow bowl that is completely full will avoid this problem and may make all
the difference in getting your cat to drink more water so at number 6 I've got
running water now a change of bowl might not be enough for some cats have you
noticed that your cat likes drinking from the tap well they are not alone and
many cats actually do prefer to drink water from a running source now unless
you live by a stream or choose to leave the tap running all the time this can
really be difficult to provide and make sure it's always available for your cat
so the solution for this and one that works in a lot of cats is to get your
cat a pet drinking water fountain now these are discrete indoor fountains
that are designed specifically for your cat to drink from and once your cat gets
used to having one you might be surprised how often you actually find
them at their water bowl a cat water fountain can really make a huge
difference so at number seven is to add water to your pets food now whether your
pets is fed kibble or a wet food adding extra water is a great way to get them
to take more without relying on them actually
drinking now much like changing their diet though adding water may put your
cat off eating and so the best chance of success is by taking things
slowly start off by just really adding a few drops of water and then over a
period of a couple of weeks or a month just slowly increase this amount and
before long you will have added a significant amount of water to their
food and really increase the amount of water that they're drinking remember
though that wet food spoils sooner than kibble and so it should not be left down
for extended periods of time especially in hot weather okay so number eight is
water location now competition for resources is a big cause of stress and
cats living in a multi-cat household if there are not enough bowls and if they
don't get on as well as you think they do with their housemates then there may
be too nervous to drink as often as they would like so as a general rule there
should be one more water bowl than there are cats in the house so for example if
you have three cats you should have four water bowls where you put them also has
an effect they should not be right by the litter tray instead it should be in
a quiet location that ideally should have a good view of their surroundings
so that your cat can't be crept up on by another cat so that they're not always
just looking around nervously if you have more than one cat and also check
out these other ways to reduce stress levels in my other videos okay so at
number nine is to increase the number of meals very often after a cat eats
something they will have a small drink so having food down all the time and
feeding your cat adlib where they simply help themselves may increase their water
intake it's not though a good idea because it will generally make them fat
which in itself can be very dangerous now instead if your home try giving them
just regular small meals now it's a bit more labor-intensive this but it can
help if it fits into your family's lifestyle okay so at Number ten and my
final point is to give subcutaneous fluids so for some cats with certain
conditions no matter how much they drink they're just not able to keep up with
the amount they are losing in the urine so an example of this would be more
advanced kidney disease and in these situations your vet may suggest that
they're given fluids under their skin now this is not as scary as it sounds
and it's very well tolerated in many cats it can make all the difference in
giving your cat an excellent quality of life for just that little bit longer
before their disease becomes too bad and untreatable now there's an excellent
article and video that I'll link down below by the International cat care
council and this gives you all the details of how to give subcutaneous
fluids to your cat your vet of course will also discuss this option with you
and if they feel it's suitable for your pet as well as demonstrate how to do it
at home so implementing just a few of these tips should make all the
difference there getting your cat to drink more water if your pet has a
condition that is prone to making them become dehydrated then increasing their
water intake might make all the difference in ensuring they have an
excellent quality of life as well as extending their life so have you made
any changes that have meant your cat started drinking more I'd really love to
hear them in the comments down below just to help other people who may be
reading them also sign up to my newsletter to make sure you don't miss
out on the future content and to get your free copy of my weight and diet
calculator so until next time i'm dr. alex from our pets health because
they're family