Keeping Your Cat Hydrated if She's Not Drinking Water

As a pet parent, one of your jobs is to ensure that your cat drinks enough water to stay healthy. If you notice that your furry friend isn't making regular trips to her bowl, it's time to find out why your cat isn't drinking water.

To paraphrase a popular saying, you can lead a cat to water, but you can't make her drink (or do anything she doesn't want to, really). However, once you determine that she isn't sipping often enough, there are a few ways to get your cat to drink water.

How Much Water Is Enough?

In order to stay hydrated, your cat needs around-the-clock access to fresh drinking water. Keep her bowl clean and fill it regularly, especially if it's placed near her food dish, as she may drop a few food crumbs into her drinking bowl.

But how much water per day does she actually need? Not as much as you might think.

"Cats don't drink as much per kilogram of body weight as do dogs," explains the Committee on Nutritient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Therefore, the amount of water your cat needs varies with the food she eats and her environment. The committee notes that cats usually drink about an ounce of water for every half ounce of dry food they eat. Wet food, on the other hand, provides your kitty with food and moisture at once and can help her stay hydrated.

Why Is My Cat Not Drinking Water?

To avoid the complications of dehydration and to know how to encourage your cat to drink more water, you first need to determine why your cat isn't drinking enough.

In the absence of serious medical issues, start with the basics. Is her water clear of food, hair, dust bunnies and other debris? Your fur baby requires and desires clean water, so wash her bowl and replace her water at least once a day, if not more.

It's worth noting that some cats simply don't like where their water dish is located, explains Dr. Debora Lichtenberg, VMD in Petful. She tried a few at-home "experiments" to see if changing up the placement of the bowl made a difference in whether or not her own cats drank water. In her case, moving it away from food bowls did the trick. Try this maneuver at home to see if your kitty is being finicky about her water bowl real estate.

The Physics of Kitty Sips

Keep in mind, too, that your feline friend isn't going to lap up a large quantity of water at one time. Unlike your happily slurping dog, the way your cat drinks has its own complex pattern, notes MIT News. Rather than scooping like a ladle, a cat's tongue barely brushes the surface of the water before drawing back up into her mouth. The rapid dipping action creates a tiny column of water that she snaps up by closing her mouth before gravity can make it drop back into the bowl. It's difficult to see this line of liquid without capturing it on high speed film since she can complete four of these tongue dips per second — all while keeping her chin dry!

So don't worry if your kitty isn't gulping down water like a champ and sloshing it all over the place. She has her own delicate way of doing things. Sometimes, cats even daintily dip their paw into the bowl and lick off the water. As long as she's drinking a few sips a day and getting moisture in her diet, she's good to go.

How Do I Know if My Cat Is Dehydrated?

When a cat doesn't consume enough water, she is at risk for dehydration. "Dehydration occurs when the normal body fluids, including water and electrolytes, fall below required needs," describes Petcha, causing problems in her energy, skin and organ function. A cat not drinking water isn't always the cause for dehydration, but often it's a fairly common reason or symptom of dehydration.