Wet food mix with water

Our two 10 months old kitties are splitting a 3 oz can wet daily, plus some dry food. Their food dish and water fountain are next to each other. Last night as I cleaned/refilled their water fountain when they are eating their wet food, I lost my balance and about 1/4 cup of water got in both food dish. They stopped eating for a moment, realize nothing was wrong & resume eating.

This got me thinking- can I mix a little water when feeding wet to ensure more water is consumed? Will this upset their stomach and cause diarrhea? I read somewhere that people put a few drops of chicken broth in water bowl to encourage drinking.

One of the problems with mixing wet food is that they will get to feel fuller faster and in turn actually eat less food. Because the food is watered down.

Wet food is mostly water as it is. They should be getting plenty of water with the undiluted canned food. Unless they are having specific problems, I'd not do that.

Oliver eats the meow mix market select cups which are like meat chunks in "gravy"... in order to get him to eat all the food, I usually add some water the second time I offer him the cup (he goes through like one cup a day, but not all at once, so it gets refridgerated in between).... but wet food does have a high water content, so if they're eating it, they should be getting plenty of water intake

I actually add water to the wet I feed my kits ON PURPOSE.

Especially with my boy, I want to be DARNED sure that he is getting the water intake he needs to prevent UTIs. But also because my Ginger is a gravy licker, and the more watered down it is the more she seems to like it.

As far as feeling fuller, they still eat the entire bowl, just not all in one sitting - they eat, take a break, and go back to eat the rest. But that is the same whether or not I add water to it.

I see absolutely no harm in doing this.

I agree gingersmom as long as they are eventually eating it. All I was saying is that it can make them full and if they just get it at one feeding they might not get all the nutrients they need. I also add some water to my dogs food after its been in the refridgerator so its not so thick.

Thanks guys . We are first time cat owners and I want to make sure it is okay to do it. Fred did happily lick the bowl clean even with lots of water in his wet food. We see Ginger taking sips here and there, but seldom see Fred goes to water fountain or he'll turn his nose away when we put fresh cold water in front of him. So I am trying to get creative to get him to drink more.

Usually when I feed ditka I mix wet food with a little water and then I throw a little dry food on top to make sure he's getting all the nutrients that all little kittens need!

He's free fed and I place the food out when I wake up in the morning and it's usually almost gone by the time I go to sleep at night.

He also has a bowl of dry food that is always full that he is welcome to eat incase he gets a craving in the middle of the night (he's just like his mommy).

I'm another one who deliberately adds some extra water to wet food. Jaffa doesn't drink water (he did when he was younger but I never see him at the water bowl now, even if he's given some dry food) so I add a bit extra to his wet food 3 times a day. That way he's getting enough water without the need to drink extra. Cats can get most of the water they need in wet food but they still need a little bit extra.

I add a bit of water for consistency, the food gets consumed quickly and all of it gets eaten right away. There are no litterbox problems either.

I give Sweetie a pouch of Whiskas in the AM and PM. I also add a little water. Both cats lick up the gravy flavored water first and then Sweetie eats the rest. Juno prefers dry food but this way I know she's getting some liquid. The wet food is always eaten and then even Sweetie will eat the dry also. She gets her water from a plant cutting jar I have on the sink, and Juno gets hers from the bowl. Both cats have different eating habits and I try to accommodate both. They are (knock on wood) healthy and have recovered from the tainted food they had eaten earlier in the year.

I add hot water to Odo's food once per day to warm it up--he gets half a can in the morning and the second half at night. Because he's a senior, I want him to get as much water as I can into him since he almost never drinks any on his own. Also, he used to think he needed more than one can per day, but he seems to stay satiated with the water added (when I fed him more food, he gained too much weight).

I do it - usually when I need to "heat" up the canned food from the fridge - run a little hot water and mix it up. Doesn't hurt to add some extra water to make gravy and make sure they are getting enough water

Same here. I add hot water to the food from the refrigerator to warm it up. As long as they are eating it there shouldn't be a problem.

i also add water for my 6 week old foster kittens, they do not want water from a bowl alone, but they will lap it up with wet food and I am introducing dry kitten food. I wet that down and they lap up the water and then eat the food. I like the idea of chicken broth to get them to drink water,I just might try that. It has been so hot here and I worry about dehydration. Take Care!!