THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER

Having evolved as a desert species cats don't have a strong thirst drive. In nature they get most but not all of their water requirements from the prey they consume. I have even had cat sitting clients who believe that their cat does not need water because they never see them drink!

But cats, like all living things, do need water and there are even times when cat owners may need to encourage their cats to drink more fluids.

Examples of this include but are not limited to:

• Cats with kidney disease
  These cats are more vulnerable to becoming dehydrated and this can worsen their kidney disease.
• Cats with feline idiopathic cystitis
  Producing larger volumes of more dilute urine helps to prevent relapses of this condition.

TYPE OF WATER BOWL
Choose a bowl from which your cat will want to drink from.

• Experiment with the types of bowl that you offer your cat
• In general, cats prefer glass, metal and ceramic dishes to plastic ones
• Most cats prefer a wide shallow bowl so that they do not need to put their head inside the container to drink from it. Cats do not usually like their whiskers to touch the side of their water (or food) bowl
• Some cats like drinking from tumblers (choose a non-breakable one if placing on a high up surface
• Fill the water bowl to the brim – cats like to drink from a full container

NUMBER OF WATER BOWLS
Have several water bowls so that your cat does not need to go far to find one.

• For example, one on each level of the home so the cat does not need to go up or downstairs to find their water
• If you have more than one cat, you need to provide enough resources for each ‘social’ group of cats – at least one bowl of water for each social group of cats in the home

LOCATION OF WATER BOWLS
Choose a good location for your water bowls.

• Away from the food bowl: cats prefer not to drink near their food
• Avoid double bowls (one side for water and the other for food). Your cat will drink more if food and water are offered in separate locations
• In a quiet location – away from doors that are heavily used or an especially busy place

KEEP THE BOWLS CLEAN
Be sure to wash your cat's water bowls every day and refill with fresh water. Use a tiny amount of dish liquid and a scrubbling pad to clean the water bowl and throughly rinse before refilling,

DIFFERENT TYPES OF WATER
Consider experimenting with different types of water – see if your cat has a preference. Many cats do not like heavily fluorinated water.
Try:

• Tap (‘faucet’) water (as long as safe for human consumption)
• Collected rainwater – for example from containers placed in your garden
• Mineral water​

OTHER LIQUIDS TO TRY

• Water left over when a piece of chicken or fish has been cooked by poaching
• Liquid from a can of tuna in spring water
• Prawns, fish or meat liquidised in water to create a soup or broth

Liquid to avoid:

• Salty liquids such as brine
• Milk
  • If your cat has kidney disease this is not ideal as it contains high amounts of phosphate which is not good
  • Cow’s milk cannot be fully digested by cats so it may cause diarrhoea
• Anything containing onions or onion powder eg. stock. Onions are poisonous to cats

Other tips

• Offer water and other liquids at room temperature where possible (the flavour is reduced in cold liquids)
• Feed a wet diet (cans or pouches) rather than a dry diet
  • Check with your vet before changing your cat’s diet
  • Adding extra water to wet food can also help increase water intake. Some cats will happily eat food that resembles soup! (add water at room temperature rather than cold water).
• Be gradual in making changes – cats do not like sudden changes to their food or water