# He's not drinking water - But eating tons of wet food?



## Husky42 (Sep 28, 2008)

So jack used to go through 1/2 a bowl of water a day.

These past two weeks i've noticed he is drinking less and less water. But he is eating more and more of his wet food.

Before he would not finish a 3 oz can of wet in a day, now i feed him two and he nearly consumes it all through the course of the day.

The past few days his water intake has become almost non existent. He still eats a mix of dry and wet but where as he used to drink about 1/2 a bowel of water the water has not moved at all the last 24 hours and before that i did not see him drink any water for two days. 

I'm starting to get concerned. he seems normal, as energetic as always eats just fine and is not losing weight. But the lack of water intake is unlike him. I have read that when cats eat wet they almost go to 0 need for water, is that true?


----------



## newkitty5 (Aug 18, 2008)

Hi Husky, my kitten (also named Jack!) is on primarily wet food and I've never seen him drink. The water level also never seems to go down, although I change it everyday. I don't know how much he was drinking when he was on dry food as it was before I adopted him, but I've had him for about three weeks now. When researching wet vs. dry I learned that in nature cats get most of their water from their food and don't drink from a dish until they're pretty dehydrated. I've actually taken it as a good thing in that he has been kept adequately hydrated from his food and has not needed to drink from the bowl. As I said I've only been a cat owner for three weeks and I'm sure someone with a lot more knowledge will join in with more information but I just wanted to let you know that it is not something I've been worried about.


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Cats are originally desert animals and their system is 'designed' to live off the moisture gained from their prey, which is about 70% water. Wet food is also about 70% water, so there is very little need for a cat to supplement by drinking water from a bowl. 

A cat eating dry food needs to consume 1.25+ cups of water for every cup of dry food that they eat in order to get the proper amount of hydration. Dry food contains about 10% moisture. The problem is that while they do consume quite a bit, most cats will never offset the total amount and end up spending their life partially dehydrated, often leading to urinary issues. 

So it sounds like Jack is doing great on his new wet diet!


----------



## Smirkitty (Apr 19, 2008)

Gently tug up the skin on his shoulder blades. It should go down quiclkly and pretty smoothly (though the fur itself may still look ruffled). If the skin goes down quickly, this is an indication that he is sufficiently hydrated. It if tents, it is an indication that he is dehydrated. The degree of tenting indicates the degree of dehydration.


----------



## Husky42 (Sep 28, 2008)

Smirkitty said:


> Gently tug up the skin on his shoulder blades. It should go down quiclkly and pretty smoothly (though the fur itself may still look ruffled). If the skin goes down quickly, this is an indication that he is sufficiently hydrated. It if tents, it is an indication that he is dehydrated. The degree of tenting indicates the degree of dehydration.


Snapped right back no tenting at all. I guess he's getting enough water. I've added a lil water to his wet and mashed it up just to be on the safe side though. He doesnt seem to mind.


----------

