I decided to write about this after having a conversation with my coworker ( above is her handsome cat Onyx, who is about 5 years old). I am allergic to cats now, but had cats all the years as I was growing up. I had my own cat for 18 1/2 years, from her birth to her death. Her mom was a stray cat (I named her Tina) that showed up at my house pregnant, not with Bo Bo’s litter but another litter. My dad didn’t believe in altering animals & actually not sure he ever thought of her as anything but a stray cat. She lived with us, followed me to friend’s homes, & even to the local grocery store & waited outside for me. Tina had Bo Bo’s litter about 6 months after the first litter & I kept Bo Bo. I had her spayed (saved money from babysitting & weekend jobs I had).
Near the end of Bo Bo’s life I knew her kidneys her failing & had seen & heard this happening to a lot of cats, but honestly I think I was told it is normal because cats need a high protein diet & it is hard on the kidneys. Now I like to look at things & think what can be done to lessen this problem & what could be the cause.
If cats need a high protein diet & this can be hard on their kidneys, then what can we do to help keep the kidneys healthier? Flushing the kidneys with more water, so they need to intake more water.
When cats don’t consume enough water it can lead to organ failure, kidney disease including diabetes, & UTI infections.
Cats have personalities that make them lovable but independent so they like doing what they want to do when they want to.
This handsome group above are my sister Pam’s cats (Jack, Lucca, Greyson & Misha), they currently have 5, but I think one was not wanting to be in this group shot.
Here’s Draco, what a handsome kittie, guessing he just wanted his own spotlight.
Let me share some ideas to help to get your cat(s) to drink more water, like I stated this is important, but please know not all things may work with every cat, so be patient & open to new ideas. Keep receipts if you buy these things & if your cat refuses to even look at them even after a few weeks return it. Your cat drinking or in taking enough fluids could add years to your cats life & more quality to your cats life.
- Most cats prefer the taste of water from glass or ceramic dishes not plastic or stainless steel. You can test this by putting out 3 bowls of water for a few days & monitor your cat & see which bowl it chooses. I did this for my dog Hunter when my Veterinarian said she did not think he was drinking enough. Glass pie pans are usually a favorite of many cats because they don’t like to get their whiskers wet & this allows them a shallow wide dish & they can keep their whiskers dry while drinking from them.
#2. Some cats like fountains, those that will drink from a dripping sink might really like to have a fountain of their own that they can drink from. These come in a variety of styles. I recommend you don’t get stainless steel (not a good flavor), if you have never drank from stainless, try it & I think you will understand what I mean. Please buy glass or ceramic water fountain just like the bowls they should drink & eat from. Plastics can leach chemicals/particles overtime & not be healthy for anyone to consume. These can be bought in rechargeable or plug in, not sure about battery operated, but you can see what you can find that would work best for your home.
3. Add canned food to your cats diet to help them get more moisture. Be sure to only feed high quality foods. I wrote a post on What’s in your cats food about 6 weeks ago, it is #140. I believe I put a list of high quality dry & canned foods in that post, if not feel free to email me & I can send it to you.
4. Some water from the tap tastes different out of different faucets & your cat may notice that to, try different faucets.
5. Always provide fresh clean, cold water for your cat. My cat Tina would dump over water that wasn’t to her liking. We started to give her water in a glass dish that was raised & had a base, think it was a dessert dish of some sort that we didn’t use. She could not knock it over, but she still vocalized or used her paw in it, if it wasn’t to her liking.
6. Filter the water you give your cat, I keep two Brita pitchers in my refrigerator at all times for myself, my dogs & my birds. I buy the filters that filter out 95% of lead, they cost more, but they filter more chemicals & that is worth it in the long run.
7. Cats can be picky about where their bowls are placed, so consider trying a few locations & having at least one bowl for each cat in your home. Not all cats like to share their bowls as well as their litter pans.
As cat owners it is so important to make sure your cats drink enough water to flush out their kidneys & to do everything possible to prevent kidney disease of any type. I hope some of these things will help you to help your cat(s) to consume more water & it will lengthen their life & quality of life (added bonus it saves you on medical bills to treat kidney diseases).
If my blog has helped you help your pet, given you helpful information, made you smile, then please help me to get the word out about my blog. My goal is to help as many pets to thrive & not just survive. I don’t make money from this blog & I pay to keep this blog going. I ask for your help to reach more people by doing one or more of these things: Like my posts, subscribe to my blog, share the link on your social media, visit often.
If you have an idea for a post or have a question feel free to email me at echoinggreatpetcare@gmail.com
Thank you, Debbie
Echoing Great Pet Care 