Cats don’t drink enough water: spotting it and fixing it
Cats are born with a weak sense of thirst, so pay special attention to dry food feeding.
Cats' ancestors came from the desert and were not sensitive to thirst, so they relied on the water in their prey. Cats eating dry food need to drink about 150 to 250 milliliters of additional water per day, but half of that is considered good.
To determine whether there is dehydration: pinch the skin between the shoulder blades and let go. If the skin rebounds for more than 1 second, it indicates a decrease in skin elasticity; check whether the gums are sticky; observe the number and size of urine balls in the cat litter. Healthy adult cats will have 2 to 3 medium urine balls every day.
The improvement methods are arranged in order of priority: first, change to wet food or semi-moist food, which is the most effective method; second, use a wide mouth bowl, the cat’s whiskers are sensitive to narrow mouth containers; third, a flowing water source, a water dispenser is effective for many cats; fourth, put more water bowls away from food bowls and litter basins.
Long-term insufficient drinking water is a high-risk factor for cat kidney disease and urinary stones, especially male cats. Once such problems become irreversible, the cost of prevention is far lower than the cost of treatment.
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