The Importance of Water

We all know as humans we are supposed to drink plenty of water. But how much water should our feline friends drink? Water is very important for the urinary health of your cat. Indoor cats especially tend to not drink enough water. Look at it this way. In the wild your cat would kill and eat its prey. That prey is made up of 70-75% water. Now, if you are feeding your cat dry food the moisture content is less than 10%! Cats depend on their food for their water. While they may still drink from a bowl they may still be lacking in H20.

Carson LOVES dry food. He will hardly touch wet food. How strange? However, I'm going to have to try out different canned food prescription diets because canned food contains approximately 75% moisture!

When a cat is not getting the water they need their urine becomes concentrated. Toxins and minerals are not being flushed out of their body like they should. The minerals then begin to clump together to form bladder stones, which then creates a urinary blockage.

The best way to make sure your cat is getting enough water is to feed it canned food. You may also add some sort of broth to their dry food which tends to make them thirsty for water. A lot of cats love running water (Carson included) so you may consider purchasing a pet water fountain. Chemicals in our water sometimes cause cats (like people) to not want to drink the water. A fountain typically purifies the water and keeps it cool and more appealing to the cat.

Bottom line, cats are extremely difficult to force to drink. You know the old saying..."You can lead a camel to water but you can't make him drink." This is the same with cats. We must be tricky as owners and make sure our cats are getting their daily moisture content from their food.