how can my cat survive without water?

Question

as long as ive had my cat which is about 8yrs now i have never seen her drink and i wonder how she survives?sometimes i give her water and she dont touch a drop,although once i caught her in the bath licking from the dripping taps.but i wonder how she gets by?

Answer 1

Cats are desert creatures. They have evolved a metabolism designed to get their moisture from their prey, and they have a very poorly developed thirst drive.

Wet food has the same water content as freshly killed prey, about 80%, so if you're feeding kitty a wet food diet (as I presume you must be) then she doesn't need to drink.

My late great Rusty was with me for his entire adult life and I never once saw him drink. My Scamper has been with me for the better part of a year now and I still haven't seen him drink.

The flip side of this situation is one that few folks understand and that has caused much ill health and early death among cats. Cats that are fed a diet of dry food will drink water, but because of that poorly developed thirst drive they won' drink enough to make up for what they're not getting in their food. The resulting fluid imbalance is rough on the kidneys. Before the intruduction of dry cat foods, chronic renal failure was almost unknown in cats. Now it's so common that many vets think it's a normal part of the aging process!

You can learn more about this stuff here, and how to feed your little desert creature a species-appropriate diet that will give her the best shot at a long and healthy life: http://www.catinfo.org

Answer 2

hi
I am an animal carer having worked at an animal sanctuary for many years.
Your Cat can not survive without water and will be getting it elsewhere. Some Cats just prefer water from other places rather then there water dish!
She/He is probably getting it from ponds, puddles, pots etc. But she will be drinking from some where.
To really know whether she is using her own dish measure a amount in the dish and after 24- 48 hrs pour it back in measuring jug to check!

Answer 3

A cat can live on a minimum of two weeks and a pair of days with out foodstuff an water. We took a visit to Florida over the holiday journeys. My father and mom got here through each and every few days to feed an water the cats. We advised them that between the cats they are going to under no circumstances see because she likes to conceal. after I lower back, that evening I heard peeping coming from the mattress room closet. I were given her out and he or she ran and hid. it really is two weeks from that now and he or she is doing large. I referred to as my spouse who became nonetheless in Florida and he or she reported she recalls snapping that door close previously we left. i can basically anticipate that cat became locked in there the full time. possibly it really is a miracle. i do not recognize.

Answer 4

All animals need water so she is getting it somewhere. Cats like fresh water, not water that has sat too long. She probably drinks from the tap more than you have seen and like dogs, cats will drink from the toilet bowl.

Answer 5

She drinks alone, only from the tap, she hides her drinking from you. She may even be hitting the hard stuff, like toilet water. Get the cat some help Maybe there's a support group: CatAA or something. good luck

Answer 6

alot of people are the same will feed the cat food and not realise it needs water as well ,but loads of water is available outside from other cat bowls or tubs in gardens collecting water i have two kittens and they get water every day as they are indoors but my mum has only fed her cat food and never realised to give it water.
if you want to start now put a very small ammount of milk in a bowl of water and im talking very small just to colour it and see if it drinks that.

Answer 7

cats only drink the freshest of water, so the water you put down in a bowl is often not fresh enough - therefore, like you say, they lick the taps and even drink out of the toilet bowl, lick water from plant leaves etc.

Answer 8

We get a lot of the water we need from the food we eat, cats do too. I suspect your cat also drinks from puddles at times, but moist cat food will provide a lot of water for her. Cats Don't sweat like us, therefore they don't lose as much fluid. The only place they sweat from is their paws, (the pads).

Answer 9

She's probably drinking from taps / sinks, actually. Many cats do this instead of drinking from a water dish, and you just aren't seeing her do it. Leave the tap on a teeny bit, bring her to the bathroom, and observe :)

Answer 10

She's probably drink when you don't see her! other wise she would have already been dehydrated! also if you have seen her drink from water taps most likely she is going int o the sink toilets and any other wet places but i would def have her checked or try to mix water with her food