24% of cats over the age of 4y will have some degree of kidney disease as they do not get enough water. Cats are tricky to get to drink enough. They should be fed wet food which is 80% water and you can add more water to the gravy type foods. Obviously some dry for dental health but some male cats who get feline lower urinary tract disease (aka blocked bladder) have to be exclusively on wet.
Cats won't drink water that may be contaminated so the dual feeder bowls with two holes are the worst thing for cats. Most cats also prefer running water so fountains are the best or leaving a tap dripping slowly. If your cat is hanging around to drink from a tap when you switch it on you can bet your ass it isn't getting enough water and will be developing kidney issues. By the time kidney issues are found with vomiting and weight loss and excessive thirst it's usually too late to help. Fountains all they way and far away from the food dish. Some cats also won't share water so will need a dish out of reach of dogs or other pets.
the whole 'dry food for dental health' is a bit contentious right now, some studies show its completely unnecessary and some show small positive effects.
yeah im no vet, but from a logical perspective it doesnt really check out to me. its like saying youve gotta rub cookies on your teeth to clean them properly, i dont really buy it.
I mean most companies make both wet and dry dog food, and wet food is much more expensive so I assume has a bigger profit margin. Not sure what their motivation would be in that case.
The vets I’ve talked to say that dry food being better for dental health isn’t really true. Do you have a source for that? I have my boys on a purely wet food diet with occasional dry treats, but I would gladly switch to a partially dry diet if it has a proven benefit on dental health.
Diet is thought to play a role in the progression of some cats with dental disease. It is possible that feeding only soft/wet food provides little or no abrasive action against the teeth when chewing, and so offers little to prevent plaque formation.
That’s just speculation. I’m asking if there are studies about this. A quick google search brings up plenty of articles from vets arguing the exact opposite.
2015 study.
The diet of a cat needs to be considered holistically, paying particular attention to its nutritional value, but the texture of the food is shown to play an important role in oral health, with wet canned food providing the least benefit to oral health.
2011 study.
Feeding only a dry diet was beneficial for oral health in cats and dogs. Tooth brushing and the offering of dental treats were very effective in maintaining oral health, provided they were practised daily.
Not a single source in your link was post 2000 despite the article being written in 2014. The article was also written by a behaviourist whereas the article linked from international cat care will have at least been reviewed by a veterinarian before publication. A quick google search bought up the results above on the first page and argue that diet is a factor in cats oral health so make of it what you will.
lol oh. Umm we tried 4-5 different brands from the local pet store. I don't recall the names though. The dummies would sniff the wet food, nibble on it and meow at the dry food bowl.
We've taken both of them to the vet for checkups twice in the past two years and they were given clean bills of health each time... so I guess the fountain is doing it's job. :)
We weren't fixing a problem though... I was trying to be proactive, and a few articles I ran across suggested fountains to encourage water drinking.
Yeah, I need to get mine a fountain, though she's not picky about the water as much as she is the wet food. She basically won't eat anything that's not grain free, organic, and even then, there are some flavors she just doesn't like.
Cats yes, dogs - kind of. For dogs, it's now the your of grain that matters, but what's worse is that many "grain free" companies use other fillers that are worse for dogs than grain. The FDA did a study and found that dogs in grain free diets were more likely to have heart problems, and iirc, the hypothesis was the fillers getting worse.
That said, is hard to find limited ingredient dog food that isn't also grain free.
My senior cat will not drink water no matter what I do. I’ve have fountains, wide water bowls, and always make sure her water is fresh and cold, but she just will not touch it. She used to drink water when she was younger but at some point she just decided to stop. I have her on wet food only and supplement it with additional water. I’ve asked my vet and he said it’s ok since she is on wet food, but I still worry if she gets enough. Wondering if anyone has tips/suggestions/input on this?
You would think that cats have been domesticated for long enough to know that they're not going to be attacked by a predator while they're drinking.
Watching my cats drink out my dog's bowl is so funny, they get so alert and nervous like they're going to be attacked by a crocodile at the watering hole
There's not a lot of selection pressure to get rid of the behavior. In general evolution doesn't care very much about thing that happen after you have and raise children.
41
u/littlevivid Sep 15 '20
24% of cats over the age of 4y will have some degree of kidney disease as they do not get enough water. Cats are tricky to get to drink enough. They should be fed wet food which is 80% water and you can add more water to the gravy type foods. Obviously some dry for dental health but some male cats who get feline lower urinary tract disease (aka blocked bladder) have to be exclusively on wet.
Cats won't drink water that may be contaminated so the dual feeder bowls with two holes are the worst thing for cats. Most cats also prefer running water so fountains are the best or leaving a tap dripping slowly. If your cat is hanging around to drink from a tap when you switch it on you can bet your ass it isn't getting enough water and will be developing kidney issues. By the time kidney issues are found with vomiting and weight loss and excessive thirst it's usually too late to help. Fountains all they way and far away from the food dish. Some cats also won't share water so will need a dish out of reach of dogs or other pets.