3 Hydration Hacks: How to get your cat to drink more water and eat healthy.
As a cat parent, you want nothing but the best for your feline friend, especially when it comes to their health. Proper hydration and nutrition are key to preventing illnesses and ensuring a long, happy life for your cat!! Here are three science-backed ways to encourage your cat to drink more water and eat a balanced diet.
1. Encourage hydration with the Right Water Sources
Many cat owners worry about hydration and for good reason. Dr. Snitcofsky warns that
insufficient water intake can lead to urinary problems and other health issues (ProQuest, 2022). To avoid this, try to mix wet and dry food together, or choose the right water bowl!
Research shows that cats prefer ceramic, porcelain water bowls, and avoid plastic,
which retains odors. Offering running water is another good way to increase drinking
water for cats, a cat fountain mimics fresh streams, encouraging them to be curious and drink more!
2. Choose High-Quality, Balanced Diets
Research shows that cats require a protein-rich diet with essential fatty acids (EFAs) like linoleic acid (LA), arachidonic acid (AA) and omega-3s (EPA and DHA) (Gorska et al., 2021). So when you go shopping for healthy cat food, remember to look for brands with a good omega-6 to omega-3 ratio food (ideally between 5:1 and 10:1). And if you are preparing their food at home, ensure it includes muscle meat, organs and supplements like salmon oil for EFAs. And last but not least, avoid low-quality foods that contain excessive carbohydrates, which cats don’t need.
3. Monitor their Eating and Drinking Habits
Since cats cannot tell us when something is wrong, observing their behaviour is crucial!
1. Decreased water intake: When you find that your cat is not drinking enough
water, try wet food, which has higher moisture content, to ensure hydration
intake.
2. Changes in appetite: If your cat has a sudden weight loss or pickiness, there
might be health issues! In this case, it is better to bring them to the vet for a
health check.
3. Unusual hunting behaviour: Free-roaming cats may eat prey, which can expose
them to parasites (Lepczyk et al., 2023). One way to prevent this is to use puzzle feeders, which encourage natural hunting behaviours while slowing down fast
eaters.
References
https://www.proquest.com/docview/2716066822?accountid=14656&pq-origsite=summon&sourcetype=Wire%20Feeds
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10716121/
Content: Ashley