Water is Crucial for a Cat

Water is one of the most important requirements for your cat. As a cat is composed of almost 70% water, a reduction in the level of body fluid levels can cause ill health and cause the cat to die.
Even if the cat loses 10% of its body water, this can cause metabolic problems that will result in illness in a very short time.
If the loss increases to 15% then the cat will die, and for this reason if you are concerned about your cats hydration levels get it to a vet as soon as possible, as the vet will be able to hydrate the cat by injecting water under its skin.

You will then need to discuss with your vet why this has occurred, and what can be done to stop it happening again as it is a life-threatening problem.

While the cat can lose a lot of weight, in fat and glycogen, and even half of its protein stores it can still survive, but a reduction in water by even by such a small amount, might mean that it will not survive.

As cats are terminally dependent on water they do regulate their water supplies themselves and conserve water by concentrating their urine.

Your pet should always have easy access to fresh water that gets changed at least once every day.

In hot weather ensure that there is always enough water available, and always have more water if they are on a dry food diet as they can get a lot of moisture out of canned food.

Most canned food, at least the good quality canned food, consists of approximately 75% water, and cats that are fed a diet of good canned food will not need to drink as much as cats on other diets.

Milk is not a substitute for water and cats have no need for milk beyond being kittens