Cats came to us from dry places, and it shows. In the wild a cat gets almost all of its water from prey — a mouse is roughly three quarters water. A cat living on dry food has to make up that difference at the bowl, and many simply don't bother.
How much is enough?
A rough guide: about 240 ml (1 cup) a day for a 4.5 kg (10 lb) cat, counting the water in the food. Wet food is up to 80% water, so a cat eating pouches may barely visit the bowl — that's fine. A cat on dry food alone should be drinking noticeably more.
Five changes that work
- Move the water away from the food and far from the litter box. Cats instinctively avoid drinking next to a meal or next to their toilet.
- Use a wide, shallow bowl. Deep narrow bowls press on the whiskers, and plenty of cats will walk away rather than put up with it.
- Offer more than one station. Water in two or three rooms turns drinking into something that happens in passing.
- Try a fountain. Moving water reads as fresh, and some cats end up drinking twice as much.
- Wet the food. A tablespoon or two of water stirred into wet food is invisible to your cat. A little unsalted broth works too — no onion, no garlic.
What to watch for
Dehydration is quiet at first: less energy, less interest in food, gums that feel tacky rather than slick. Skin lifted gently at the scruff should drop straight back.
The opposite matters just as much. A cat who suddenly starts drinking and using the litter box far more than usual is telling you something: increased thirst is one of the first signs of kidney disease, diabetes and an overactive thyroid, and all three go much better when they're found early.
So watch the trend, not a single day. If the bowl empties faster this month than last, or the litter box needs more scooping, make a note of it — and if it keeps up, call your vet.
