My cat doesn't drink water?

Question

she doesn't eat dry food all she'll eat is canned cat food and drink the gravy before she eats it, is it ok for her not to want water? she'll drink a little bit of milk but not often she's been like this for a while (couple of months) now should i be worried?

Answer 1

There's probably nothing for you to worry about.

Canned food contains something like 78% moisture. Which means that cats are getting all the hydration they need right in their food!

Which is how they're meant to get it. Cats just don't naturally care to drink water, so those eating kibble (dry food) don't get enough and tend to be dehydrated.

Cats eating canned will drink less water, but they're more hydrated than the ones eating kibble.

I noticed this too when I switched my two to canned food. I used to have to refill the water every day - now I could leave it for a week! Of course I still give them fresh, but the point is it's not used up.

And by the way, you're doing a very good thing feeding them canned food. Outside of feeding them actual raw meat, it's the best thing you can do for them.

Don't worry about their teeth either - it's a very common misconception that dry food cleans their teeth - but that's a MYTH.

Answer 2

Cats do drink water every animal drinks water to stay healthy the thing with cats is that they have a very low thirst indicator in their bodys some of them cannot tell when they need to drink that is why you should feed your cat soft food as well as dry food because the canned soft food has a high water content which supplies water to cats that do not drink much water milk is not good for cats although you can by special cat milk at walmart

Answer 3

Canned food is better for her than dry food any day. Because of the water it contains she will drink less water.

I only saw my cat drink from his water bowl rarely, at most. More often I'd catch him drinking from the toilet. I then set a bowl of water for him in the bathroom. He seemed to prefer it to the one by his food. I still only saw him drink from it once every 2 weeks, maybe.

When he got sick one of the first questions my vet asked was if he had been drinking more. He had. I thought it a good thing. My vet informed me that they actually don't need to drink very often or pee more than twice, or so, per day. Drinking more can be a sign of illness, especially renal failure.

Do call up your vet and ask this question of him or her. It's free and will be far more useful than asking people who may or may not have any experience in this. If there is even the slightest cause for concern he or she will have you bring her in. Even if it turns out there is nothing wrong, where her health is concerned, a visit to the vet is in her best interest.

Answer 4

Even if you don't see her drink leave out a bowl of water, and if she feels like it she will drink, even if it's late at night possibly she doesn't want an audience watching however, she probably will get thirsty enough eventually for water and milk.
But if you are worried, contact your vet to see if she's got signs of dehydration. Try putting ice in it or offering her filtered water. Maybe it's something about the water that is putting her off. What sort of bowl was it? If she's young she might be having difficulty managing the sides of the bowl maybe, or like my cat with the stainless steel bowl she doesn't realize it's full until she's got a nose full because the bowl's shiny and looks empty.

Answer 5

Canned cat food is 75% water, so it is quite alright if your cat drinks from the water bowl less and less. But to make sure hat she is getting enough, add a couple of teaspoons of water into her wet canned cat food. This is what I do with my own cats' food and they eat very very little dry food.

Answer 6

Just because you don't see her doesn't mean she's not drinking any! She may be weird like my cat Weiner and drink out of the toilets at night while your asleep! Always leave a fresh clean bowl of water out even though you don't know for sure she is drinking it or not, she probably does it at night, most cats do. As long as she seems bright, alert, and responsive and happy, don't worry.

Answer 7

I don't know but I have three cats and they all drink a lot of water. I get bottled water and one day my daughter gave them all bottled water instead of tap and ever since then they won't drink the tap water. They stare at me like I'm insane when I try to give them tap water.

Answer 8

We got our cat a freshflow water fountain. He hated sitting water, and the fountain kept the water clean,flowing, fresh, and cool. He absolutely loved it, and now we don't have to worry about him drinking water at all! Here's a link to a reputable site with lots of choices: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2002+113908

Answer 9

well it is not a big problem ....... but it might be uncurable if u dont do any thing about it. often in the cat family this types of problem occurs but it doesnt last for months or more. well in your case may be your cat had been sufferering from urinary problem or may be adrenalin gland is defected. for more instructions log on to www.worldclassvetneary.co.uk

Answer 10

is she old? things that are fairly common in cats...Urinary tract infections. perhaps she experiences discomfort when going to the toilet and so doesn't want to drink as much.
Perhaps also if she is getting older her kidneys are giving her trouble...hmm maybe that would make her drink more water.