Not thirsty? How to encourage your cat to drink

Do you have the feeling that your cat doesn't drink enough or doesn't drink at all? In fact, cats rarely feel thirsty. However, it is important for your feline friend's health that they drink enough fluids. Here you can find out how to encourage your cat to drink.

Our domestic cats are descended from the African hawk cat. Their habitat is dry and hot, so their organism is geared towards meeting its fluid requirements through prey. And this is exactly how our velvet paws do it. They also absorb most of their fluids from their food. It is therefore important that you provide your cat with high-quality, balanced wet food with at least 70% moisture every day, for example our organic cat food.

If your cat drinks enough, it will stay fit and healthy. If your cat is dehydrated, this can lead to health problems. The kidneys in particular can be severely damaged and urinary tract diseases such as urinary gravel or urinary stones can occur.

How much should my cat drink?

A cat needs about 50 ml of water per kilogramme of body weight per day. A 4-kilo cat therefore needs about 200 ml of liquid. Cats that are fed wet food cover about 70 to 80 per cent of the required amount. The rest should be consumed via the water points provided in the home. However, if your cat is a dry food junkie, it will need to drink considerably more.

Incidentally, milk is not a suitable cat drink. If you want to give your cat a little snack between meals, you can offer it a bowl of lactose-free milk or special, lactose-free cat milk. However, this should not be done every day, as milk is also very nutritious due to its fat content.

To check how much your pet is drinking, you can pour the water into the drinking bowl using a measuring cup and then pour the rest back into the measuring cup the next day to see how much has actually been drunk.

If you have the impression that your cat is actually drinking too little liquid, you can help a little.

Use these tricks to encourage your cat to drink:

1. choose the right place

Cats don't like to drink where they eat. The drinking bowl is also not in a good place right next to the litter tray. There is a risk of the water being contaminated by cat litter.

2. choose the right size

Just like the food bowl, the drinking bowl should not be too small. Many cats don't like their whiskers touching the sides. It is therefore better to choose a wide bowl. Dog bowls are also very suitable.

3. place the right number

Cats like to drink in passing. So offer water quietly in different rooms. Especially in a household with several cats, several bowls should be available so that each cat can help itself undisturbed.

4. choose the right material

It is best to use stainless steel, ceramic or porcelain bowls. Plastic can release odours and flavours that end up in the water. Your cat will smell and taste it, and it's unhealthy to boot.

5. get the water moving

Many cats are fascinated by running water. Some love to drink from the tap. As you can't leave the water running all day, why not offer a drinking fountain? There are models that are modelled on a tap or where the water flows down in a small waterfall. Make sure to clean the fountain and especially the pump and filter regularly.

6. make it interesting

Take a large bowl and put a toy or a table tennis ball in the water. If something floats on the surface, it will encourage the cat to paw and play and it may even take a sip of the cool water.

7. make it visible

Some cats have problems recognising the level of water in the bowl. If their nose gets wet all the time, they will stop in annoyance. You can make it easier for them to drink by placing large stones in the bowl that break the surface of the water or by floating a leaf or blade of grass on the water.

8. make it palatable

If your cat refuses to drink water, you may be able to trick them by adding some tuna juice or unsalted chicken broth to the bowl.

9. offer different containers

Not every cat likes to drink from one bowl. Observe where your cat likes to drink. Is it flower coasters? Or is it the stale water from the watering can? If you know your cat's habits, you can provide it with suitable drinking vessels.

Important:

Change the water daily and only clean the bowl with hot water. If you have a cat that likes to dip its paw in the water, you may even have to clean the bowls more often. This is because the water can quickly become contaminated with fur, soil or cat litter. And if your kitten likes to drink stale water, remember to change the water regularly and clean the bowls.

Caution: If your cat drinks much more than usual and can't get away from the water bowl, you should go to the vet. Extreme thirst can hide serious illnesses such as renal insufficiency or diabetes.

Do you want to feed your cat a healthy diet and offer it food that contains enough moisture at the same time? Then our range of organic cat food is just right for your velvet paw. Organic salmon with apple and carrot contains 77 % moisture, as does the organic sheep with coconut flakes and organic turkey with carrot and amaranth. The latter goes one better with just under 78 % moisture.

Our recommendations for your four-legged friend:

Tasting packs for cats

BIO cat food