Hot Weather – Encourage Your Cats to Drink More!

Hi everyone,

With the temperatures soaring we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to remind everyone of the tips and advice to help your cat stay hydrated.

Especially when it’s hot it’s very important to keep an eye on the amount of liquid your cat is taking in. Plain bowls often make this difficult which is why we personally rely on the Necoichi Water Bowls which have a handy measurement in ml to show you how much water is left in the bowl at the end of the day!

Of course, it’s important to experiment with the type of bowl you offer your cat but generally, we would recommend avoiding plastic bowls and opting for one made of ceramic, glass, or metal. Also some cats prefer to drink from a fountain as they prefer to have moving forward over still water.

One thing that has to be taken to mind though is that most cats do not like it when their whiskers constantly rub against the sides of a bowl and this applies to both drinking and water. Quite often when we get contacted by people that have problems with their cats eating or drinking habits it’s quickly identified that the cat is suffering from what’s called Whiskers fatigue due to the continuous use of a very small bowl for the daily food intake.

And in fact, for some breeds such as Persian cats which have a very flat face, it might even be worth opting for an extra-wide shallow raised bowl for food and water as it’ll make it easier for them to get to the water!

What else can you do to encourage your cat to drink their water? If your cat simply does not seem to be interested in their water no matter what you can try and supplement the tap water with:

• Water left over when a piece of chicken or fish has been cooked by poaching
• Liquid from a can of tuna in spring water
• Prawns, fish, or meat liquidised in water to create a soup or broth

This will often encourage cats that do not drink a lot of water to lap up the liquid as they can smell and taste the meat in the water/soup! With the hot weather, it’s furthermore a great idea to freeze these supplements into small ice cubes (maybe not quite as big as this video!) to put them into your cat’s water bowl. Not just will it make the water source more interesting but it’ll also ensure that the water stays COOL at all times.

The number of water bowls also plays an important part. First of all you have to have sufficient bowls per cat. If your cats get along well, they may be happy to share the same bowl but don’t expect this! So ensure you have multiple water (and food bowls) scattered around your house.

And of course the other thing we often notice is that people place the water bowl right next to the food bowl. While this is fine for most cats, some cats follow the instinct that water near a food source could be spoiled and will therefore avoid this water source. If you notice that your cat refuses to drink from their bowl and it is near a food source, try and move it!

And if all else fails and you are concerned your cat might be de-hydrated, many companies sell liquid snacks which you can give your cat as a supplementary treat that will also re-hydrate them.

Thanks,

Marc