Cats and Water – It's Complicated
Do you also have a cat that drinks (almost) nothing? Are you worried about it? After all, we all know that drinking enough water is vital, and drinking too little can lead to health problems. At LucyBalu, we explain what's probably behind it – and what you as a cat owner can do.
"A cat's fluid balance is regulated
mainly through food intake."
At first glance, our house cats seem to drink noticeably less water than other pets. While dogs lap loudly, you'll rarely catch a cat drinking from its bowl. Even in the height of summer, cats aren't necessarily seen at the water bowl. But appearances can be deceiving – although cats do drink less, their bodies are physiologically designed to regulate their fluid balance mainly through food. This comes down to genetics! In other words: the wild ancestors of our house tigers got most of their fluid needs from their prey – not from drinking at scarce watering holes. The feline organism is also literally built to conserve and concentrate the water it takes in – even today! So generally speaking, it's completely fine if our house cats drink little – we just need to make sure it doesn't become too little.
When is too little, too little?
The normal water requirement for a house cat is about 50-60 ml per kilogram of body weight. That means a dainty four-kilogram cat should take in around 220ml of fluid per day. As mentioned, this would work wonderfully with mice and the like – but of course, we owners don't feed those. Instead, feeding preferences vary widely – some owners feed canned food from the supermarket, others rely on premium dry food, or mix things freely. All of that is perfectly fine! We just need to know our cats' needs. This means: if more dry food is being fed, I need to step in and help boost the animal's water intake.
Cats and Water – It's Complicated
Do you also have a cat that drinks (almost) nothing? Are you worried about it? After all, we all know that drinking enough water is vital, and drinking too little can lead to health problems. At LucyBalu, we explain what's probably behind it – and what you as a cat owner can do.
"A cat's fluid balance is regulated
mainly through food intake."
At first glance, our house cats seem to drink noticeably less water than other pets. While dogs lap loudly, you'll rarely catch a cat drinking from its bowl. Even in the height of summer, cats aren't necessarily seen at the water bowl. But appearances can be deceiving – although cats do drink less, their bodies are physiologically designed to regulate their fluid balance mainly through food. This comes down to genetics! In other words: the wild ancestors of our house tigers got most of their fluid needs from their prey – not from drinking at scarce watering holes. The feline organism is also literally built to conserve and concentrate the water it takes in – even today! So generally speaking, it's completely fine if our house cats drink little – we just need to make sure it doesn't become too little.
When is too little, too little?
The normal water requirement for a house cat is about 50-60 ml per kilogram of body weight. That means a dainty four-kilogram cat should take in around 220ml of fluid per day. As mentioned, this would work wonderfully with mice and the like – but of course, we owners don't feed those. Instead, feeding preferences vary widely – some owners feed canned food from the supermarket, others rely on premium dry food, or mix things freely. All of that is perfectly fine! We just need to know our cats' needs. This means: if more dry food is being fed, I need to step in and help boost the animal's water intake.
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