how much water is a kitten supposed to drink?

ut0pia

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I am just curious. In the past twelve hours, I've seen my 10 week old kitten drink maybe about four-five times. I used to almost never see him drink. I just started giving him only dry food, because the vet told me to do so. I think maybe he isn't liking it. He is always meowing when he sees me eating, begging for my food and begging when I open the refrigerator.. he used to never do that when he ate only wet food. I was just thinking that probably he is drinking because he is hungry..I gave him some wet food, and he ate the entire can, when before he was very good at stopping when he is full and I never portioned out his food...He usually goes to the food bowl, smells the dry food, and then moves on to his water bowls and starts drinking..What should I do when he is picky like this?? And do I need to be concerned with anything else, I just read about kidney failure, but isn't that supposed to affect adult to older cats?
I guess it makes sense that when he is eating dry food he isn't getting liquid from the food and he is thirstier..I dunno as usual I may be overreacting
 

hellkitty jilly

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ok he is fine but you should ween him off the wet on to dry mix 1/4 cup wet 1/4 cup dry and see how he likes it he is drinking more for the reason the food is not giving him the water he needs just mix the wet and dry or add water or broth to the dry and heat it up slightly not much just to make the food softer the dry may be to hard for his teeth and that will cause him not to want to eat
 

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Originally Posted by hellkitty jilly

ok he is fine but you should ween him off the wet on to dry
I disagree with this statement completely. IMO, all cats benefit from wet food and most cats should be eating wet food daily with dry as a supplemental diet if you can afford it. There is no need to wean a kitten off wet food AT ALL unless there is a valid medical reason for doing so.

Kittens just eat and drink a lot, plain and simple. They are growing at a really rapid pace, so IMO, if they want to eat and drink a lot, then you just let them!

I have a kitten that is about 12-13 weeks old and she is a little piglet and drinks tons of water (leading to my having to scoop the litter box a lot more often, LOL.) In the last month she has more than doubled her weight and is very healthy.

I'm thrilled to see her at the water fountain several times a day because that way I am sure that she is getting as much water as her little body needs. You should really only be concerned if she isn't drinking enough.
 

aswient

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Is it a medical reason why the Doctor wants him on a dry food diet? I know with two of my males, I have to give them wet food because they are predisposed to UTI's and dry food will only add to it, and mine will not eat the prescription foods for UTI so I have to make sure they are getting there wet food and I usually add a couple of teaspoons of water in there. If he will only eat dry food then let him drink all the water he wants.
 
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ut0pia

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hmm, I don't know why the vet said that I need to give him dry food.I told the vet that he cannot chew it very well and that I've been giving it to him on the side, he said that it shouldn't be a problem and that it's better for him so I should just feed him dry food..He did mention it was good for his teeth and that there were many benefits..so there was no medical reason he is a very healthy kitten and the vet said so...I guess I will just keep giving him the canned food then. I really think he is not getting enough food with just dry, so I don't want to compromise that..
 

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I also have a kitten and she drinks alot of water and eats alot.
She was born Aug 6th.
She gets Royal Canin Kitten dry and Natural Choice Can kitten food.
My Cleo has gained over a pound since I got her Dec 10th.
My oldest cat always has Uti's also and drinks alot of water.
She has Crf though.
 
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ut0pia

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I am feeding Jake Purina Kitten chow for dry and the canned is a kitten food by purina, i dont' remember the name. Is that really bad? I bought a lot of it initially so it will last at least another month and I don't want to waste it. When he finishes it i will be more selective. The vet said purina is okay but he recommended science diet...I don't really weigh him but he definitely feels heavier lol I used to pick him up with one hand, and now I need two hands in order to pick him up in a way that's comfortable for him
Isn't URI upper respiratory infection?
 

auntie crazy

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Hi, Ut0pia! Glad to see another new forum member - you came to the right place to ask questions and Jake is a lucky kitty to have an owner willing to research the best care for him.

If you look around a bit, you'll see lots of threads on feline nutrition. You can also go to catinfo.org or catnutrition.org. Vets don't know as much about cat nutrition as the public thinks they do - cats thrive better on a diet of wet food than they do dry food, nor does dry food "clean" a cat's teeth.

If Jake likes wet food, I'd totally stick with it.
 

sweetkara

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I would free feed wet and dry since he is still young.

Then I would go look for a new vet.
 

pintameez

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Originally Posted by hellkitty jilly

ok he is fine but you should ween him off the wet on to dry
Originally Posted by GingersMom

I disagree with this statement completely.
Same here. Canned food diet or raw diet is better than kibble, always, unless the cat temporarily requires kibble for a medical reason. Kibble is very dry, it will make the cat drink more water. That's normal.
 

the_food_lady

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

I am feeding Jake Purina Kitten chow for dry and the canned is a kitten food by purina, i dont' remember the name. Is that really bad? I bought a lot of it initially so it will last at least another month and I don't want to waste it. When he finishes it i will be more selective. The vet said purina is okay but he recommended science diet...I don't really weigh him but he definitely feels heavier lol I used to pick him up with one hand, and now I need two hands in order to pick him up in a way that's comfortable for him
Isn't URI upper respiratory infection?
Ahhh, why am I not surprised that a VET would recommend Science Diet. Ugh. They all peddle this crap quality food.....you walk into any Vet clinic, at least here in Canada, and their shelves are full of that stuff. It's expensive low quality food......filled with grains and fillers and low quality protein. I'm sure Vets get some kind of kick-back from Science Diet for peddling it.

I used to feed it to my cats, thinking it was good...but over the years as I began to learn more about feline nutrition, and in particular, seeing my cats become obese from eating it (they eat more because it's filled with fillers and carbs), I hate the stuff.

Canned food contains 65% water so if a cat's diet is strictly canned they're going to drink less than if they are eating dry only.......so this is very likely why you're seeing kitty drink more now.

Hopefully you can switch kitty over to better quality food soon. Purina isn't that great, certainly not something you'd want to raise a cat on. Filled with fillers, grains, low quality proteins, etc.

there's nothing wrong with a cat living on a diet that's predominantly canned food.....supplemented by a bit of dry. The extra fluids from the canned food is good for their kidneys and urinary tract. I wish I'd known this many years ago. My 5 cats are all older now (12-16 yrs old).....and they now get fed canned twice a day and can nibble on high quality dry food as they want.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by SweetKara

I would free feed wet and dry since he is still young.

Then I would go look for a new vet.
i agree - i'd have dry out at all times, plus scheduled wet feedings [wet can get really nasty after it's out for a while]. & while i might not look for a new vet if i were pleased w/the other care, i'd completely disregard the food recommendations & do my own research & make my own decisions as to which food would be best.
this thread has lots of info on what people here feed [mind you, it's QUITE long!]: what food do you use & why?
 
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ut0pia

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Ok, so I gave him wet food right after having him on dry for a few days and he overate badly on it, he ate an entire can in one sitting which he normally never does...The next morning his poop was runny
I guess I really need to be more careful with portioning..he normally did well in stopping when he is full with the wet food before. And yes it can get really messy when it's out, but usually he would finish a can in about 3-4 hours so it wasn't that bad. I noticed he has been eating the dry food whole many times without chewing at all
I feel like I am starving him when feeding dry only
Is there any cheaper better quality food that someone can recommend that is about the same price as purina?
Oh and my vet owns two cats, he said he has fed them science diet since kitten and they have done 'very well'...
 

mews2much

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Vets always push Science Diet.
Mine get Blue Buffalo Indoor and the vet is fine with it.
Cleo gets Royal Cacnin Kitten and the vet said thats fine.
Coco gets Hill's K/D because she has Crf but the vet said I can use other kidney foods.
They order it for me.
My other vet liked Innova and Wysong but might cats would have problems.
I do have dry food out at all times though and water.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

I noticed he has been eating the dry food whole many times without chewing at all
I feel like I am starving him when feeding dry only
Is there any cheaper better quality food that someone can recommend that is about the same price as purina?
that's why it does nothing for their teeth - they really don't chew it much, anyway.
there are several acceptable ones out there - Petsmart's Authority is a decent food for the price - $12 for 8 pounds, vs. Purina's $17 for 14 pounds. not a whole lot more expensive...

ingredients for Authority:
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Beet Pulp, Ground Corn, Dried Egg Product, Canola Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Corn Oil, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2 Polyphosphate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamin Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Fish Oil (a source of DHA), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine.

Purina ingredients:
[font=verdana, geneva, helvetica] Poultry by-product meal, rice flour, corn gluten meal, wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of vitamin E), soybean meal, ground yellow corn, fish meal, brewers dried yeast, animal digest, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, phosphoric acid, salt, choline chloride, taurine, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride, citric acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate

you might also be able to find Chicken Soup - a bit more expensive than the Authority [$27 for 15 pounds on PetFoodDirect], but still quite reasonable...

Chicken Soup kitten ingredients:
[/font]Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, powdered cellulose, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, salmon oil (source of DHA), egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, taurine, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
Originally Posted by ut0pia

Oh and my vet owns two cats, he said he has fed them science diet since kitten and they have done 'very well'...
many cats do just fine on it - it's just overpriced for the quality of food that it is.

HTH!
 
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ut0pia

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Oh wow thanks so much for all that info!!!I think I am going to mix the dry purina that I have now with some other brand- I like the Authority one, and feed him both at the same time.
 

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purina has a natural line at the grocery store about 1 a lb ... no artificial colors or animal by products or digest
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

Oh wow thanks so much for all that info!!!I think I am going to mix the dry purina that I have now with some other brand- I like the Authority one, and feed him both at the same time.
my Cable thinks Authority is delish, btw - even tho i usually don't feed it [i'm trying out some less grainy options]. i feed it to the ferals, & she always scarfs down the bits that i drop!
 
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ut0pia

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Originally Posted by laureen227

my Cable thinks Authority is delish, btw - even tho i usually don't feed it [i'm trying out some less grainy options]. i feed it to the ferals, & she always scarfs down the bits that i drop!
That's really good news with Jake being so picky!! He purrs as soon as he hears the can being opened, but will barely touch dry food unless he is starved
 
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