Water Fountains for Healthy Cats
Cat Drinking Fountains Can Help Prevent Many Health Issues
May 19, 2009
The modern house cat is descended from wild desert animals that would get their fluid requirements from eating rodents and other prey. Finicky by nature, pet cats are not likely to get sufficient fluids from their diet. But chronically dehydrated cats can develop kidney disease and suffer other health problems as a result.
Why Cats Need Water
Just like in human beings, water provides many health benefits for cats. Water keeps fur soft, eyes and gums moist and helps to prevent constipation. Regular urination prevents bladder infections and the build up of crystals in a cat’s urinary tract. Male cats are especially prone to blockage of the urinary tract.
But water is also essential for flushing out the waste materials that build up in a cat’s kidneys. If a cat’s kidneys don’t get enough water to dilute and pass waste into the urine, toxins build up and will damage the kidney, ultimately leading to fatal renal failure.
Getting a Cat to Water
One of the easiest ways to keep a cat hydrated is to add fluid to its diet with canned food that contains a lot of moisture. Sometimes adding up to one-quarter cup of fresh water and mixing it in well with the wet food will encourage the cat to drink up. However, a strictly canned food diet is not healthy for a cat’s teeth and gums.
Cats prefer fresh water, so changing their water regularly is essential. Placing water bowls in different places within the cat’s territory is also effective. For reasons known only to themselves, cats prefer to drink in places not near their food bowls.
A cat’s water bowl should be wide enough to accommodate the whiskers. Some experts believe that cats don’t like to have their side vision blocked while drinking, so a cat may be more inclined to drink from clear glass bowls instead of opaque metal or ceramic ones.
For the busy pet owner, a cat water fountain may be the best solution.
Cat Drinking Fountains
A cat drinking fountain continuously circulates water from a bowl through a pipe system that also filters and purifies the water. The moving water is continuously aerated to keep it fresh and the sound of running water attracts feline attention.
Popular pet water fountains come in a variety of sizes and shapes for the different needs of individual pet households. Water from a reservoir passes through a charcoal filter to remove impurities and provide cats and other pets with a constant supply of fresh-tasting water. Depending on the system, multiple pets may drink at the same time.
The fountain may have a free-falling stream of water that continuously fills a wide drinking bowl, or, in one model, water quietly flows over a dome before falling into a circular well with a bowl shaped side. The falling action aerates the water and the movement is attractive to a cat's instinctive search for fresh water.
Some pet fountains have food bowls built in, while another model has an attachment to hold cat grass seeds that germinate and grow in the clean water.
A soft and supple coat, bright eyes and sweet-smelling breath are the signs of a cat with sufficient fluids in its system. It’s a cat that will live a long and healthy life, free of urinary tract or kidney diseases.
Sources
Eldredge, Debra, Delbert G. Carlson, Liisa D. Carlson, Beth Adelman, James M. Giffin, Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2007
