Cat owners have to worry about a lot of things. From the smallest aspects in life such as acquiring the best toys in order to keep their cats away from scratching apart the entire couch to extreme measures required to prevent or even treat their pet’s certain health issues. Some of these health problems could however be avoided if cat owners paid proper attention to their pet’s water intake!

Since cats are usually not overly preoccupied with drinking water and care more about their yummy treats, owners often forget to pay attention to one very important aspect: hydration! It’s not rare for a cat owner to notice that the water bowl has been barely touched by its furry friend although more than a day or two passes. All animals however, cats included, require a balanced diet and fluid intake in order to maintain their health and although it might be troublesome for some when trying to convince their cat to drink more water, there are certain ways to deal with this common problem!

First of all, try focusing on the type of “dishware” you provide for your cat! Do not try to convince yourself that as long as your cat doesn’t jump around its water bowl or the kitchen sink then everything is fine. Because it is not! Cats have a tendency of being quite the picky little scoundrels and it is not uncommon to see a cat refusing to drink water because it hates the bowl you chose for him.

As absurd as it might sound, this is an important part of maintaining your cat properly hydrated, because these pets hate having their whiskers hit the sides of a bowl as it prevents them from being able keep their surroundings in view. So instead of a deep and narrow water bowl, try using a wider and shallower one to avoid such problems! You might also be surprised to see that your cat prefers drinking water straight from a running faucet instead of its bowl. That is mainly based on the fact that cats generally avoid still waters such as puddles, ponds and lakes!

Secondly, pay more attention to the type of food your cat consumes! Dry food has its undisputable advantages, but when it comes to hydration, excessive consumption of dry food is the most common mistake owners make. Offering your cat a proper amount of wet food daily will make it easier to avoid dehydration and will balance out the lack of water intake that your cat might be struggling with!

Last but not least, always keep your cat’s water fresh! Same as with humans and many other animals, cats hate having to drink water that has been standing around for long. Provide fresh water at least once a day!

Dehydration is a common occurrence in cats all around the world. Pay attention to the aspects above and hasten to your vet if your cat shows any signs of lethargy, loss of appetite, dry mouth, depression, elevated heart rate, decreased skin elasticity or sunken eyes. Obviously, the aim is to never get at this stage. Do give due importance to your cat’s hydration!

Recommended: Cat Fountains

Cat fountains are a great way of getting your cat to drink more as cats are naturally attracted to flowing water and they are more likely to drink from a cat fountain than a cat bowl with still water. Personally I use PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain for my cats as apart from featuring an enticing free-falling water stream, it also includes a replaceable carbon water filter that removes bad tastes and odors, and helps to keep water fresh. It has a built in reservoir so you won’t need to refill it too often and it is made from BPA-Free plastic to safeguard your cat’s health.