Importance of Cat Drinking Water

Our fabulous felines are well known for their immense love for food and general appreciation of good meals with a wide variety of flavours and textures. However, given that furries do not share the same affinity with water, most cats end up drinking less water than they ideally should, often leading to dehydration. However, water plays an important role in a cat's everyday life, not just to maintain essential bodily functions, but also to keep up with their energetic lifestyle.

In addition to water being an essential component for regulating body temperature, and improving immunity and digestion, it also helps maintain the hydration levels in the body. Our furry mousers are nimble and agile creatures, who prefer an active lifestyle full of adventures. Having sufficient cat water helps cats in keeping their joints well lubricated, making it easier to stay physically active. It also helps in maintaining a pristine coat quality, keeping it from getting dry and brittle.

Reasons Why Your Cat May Not Be Drinking Enough Water

• Ensuring your cat has sufficient hydration

  A majority of our kitty friends often share an unspoken aversion to water. This can cause cats to actively avoid water for drinking from the cat fountain.

  Cats can also avoid drinking cat water if they have drunk enough water to keep up their everyday adventures. So, as a cat parent, it is important to keep an eye on them, making sure they have had sufficient water to drink and are not dehydrated.

• Why a clean water bowl is crucial for your cat's health

  It is crucial to ensure that your cat has a clean water bowl or cat water fountain to drink from since cats are famously finicky when it comes to cleanliness.

  A clean water bowl can benefit your favourite furry in several different ways. To begin with, having a clean water bowl or cat water fountain can significantly eliminate the risks of bacterial contamination if the cat drinking water bowl has been left out for a while, making sure your furry buddy does not fall ill drinking from the contaminated water. Cleaning the cat water bowl also removes debris and dust, which can otherwise mess with your pet's immune system.

• The importance of choosing the right location for your cat's water bowl

  Considering cats are neat freaks, it is important to take notice of where you choose to place your cat's water bowl or cat fountain. Placing the water bowl next to their litter may cause considerable discomfort in cats, discouraging them from drinking from it. Additionally, it can also raise the risks of contamination from bacteria or faecal matter that is present in the litter box. So, choosing a safe, comfortable place for the cat water dispenser or water bowl that is easily accessible by your feline friend is important.

• Dental disease in cats

  Cats over the age of 7 years and senior cats are often prone to the risks of dental diseases such as plaque, gingivitis and feline periodontitis, which corrode the enamel layer of their teeth and expose nerve endings that lie below. This can cause their teeth to grow significantly sensitive, leading to pain and discomfort while eating or cat drinking water. So, most cats experiencing dental disease often give up drinking sufficient water from the cat water fountain, and are exposed to the risks of dehydration.

• Effects of gastrointestinal upsets in cats

  Various gastrointestinal diseases in cats caused by bacterial action or consuming contaminated food can cause them to throw up frequently, accompanied by diarrhoea, nausea, and dehydration. Cats can often avoid eating or drinking properly from the cat fountain or cat water dispenser if they are suffering from gastrointestinal upsets, and may require veterinary attention.

How much water should your cat or kitten drink?

As responsible cat parents, it is important to be aware of how much is water your cat or kitten should drink on an everyday basis. So, when do kittens start drinking water? As infants, kittens do not need to drink any cat water until they are four weeks of age or more. This is because they derive all their nutrition and moisture from the colostrum produced by mama cats, and can go on without drinking any additional cat water.

If you are wondering when can kittens drink water, following four weeks of age, kittens develop rapidly with increasing physical and cognitive functions. They also lose the ability to digest lactose present in milk, making them rely on water as the primary source of hydration. Kittens up to 6 months of age must drink at least 70 ml of cat drinking water every day to maintain vital body functions.

In addition to when do kittens start drinking water, cat parents often wonder, can kittens drink water as they grow up? As cats grow older, their daily water requirement also increases. To answer whether can kittens drink water, grown kitten should drink 135 ml of water or more, while adult cats, weighing around 4 kg should ideally drink 240 ml of water from the cat fountain, or 60 ml/kg of their body weight.

Different Tips and Tricks Ways to Encourage Your Cat to Drink More Water

If you are worried that your cat won't drink water, here are some tips and tricks to encourage your furry feline to drink more:

• Change the water bowl

  Wondering why your cat won't drink water? Offer them water in a shallow bowl with wider sides.

  You should also consider metal bowls or cat drinking fountains as they keep the water cool and fresh for a significantly longer time. Make sure to clean the water bowl at frequent intervals too.

• Avoid placing the water bowl next to their food bowl

  If you are worried about your kitten not drinking water, placing the water bowl away from the food bowl can encourage your kitty to drink more.

  You can also try placing multiple water bowls, a cat water dispenser, or the best cat water fountain at accessible locations throughout the house.

• Install a water fountain

  Installing the best cat water fountain can go a long way in making sure your cat drinks enough water. Cat water fountains offer continuously running water, which is appealing to felines. So, keep you furry well-hydrated with the cat drinking fountain!

• Add artificial flavouring to water

  Adding artificial flavour enhancers to the cat drinking fountain or cat water dispenser can be a great way of encouraging your feline to drink more. Also drinks such as tuna water or chicken broth in the cat water dispenser can also ensure your cat stays hydrated.

• Try wet cat food

  Another option is to try wet cat food. Whiskas wet cat food contains a high amount of moisture that keeps your feline furball hydrated all day long!

  As a delicious bonus, Whiskas wet cat foods are available in exciting flavours such as beef, sardine, salmon and gravy, packed with all essential nutrients and unmatched taste.

And now that you are equipped with all these helpful tips, you can easily make sure your fur baby has enough cat drinking water.