Cat drinking water?

I feed my cat 1 can of wet food a day ( half morning and half night) and dry food between them. I saw there were days were he would drink water but there are days where he doesn't. Is this normal? How much water should he be drinking?
He always had peed once or twice a day and poops once a day, that hasn't changed since I got him. Should I worry that he doesn't drink water some days? Should I put some water in his wet food?
Thank you.

Most cats who eat canned food only don't drink much, if any, water. That's OK because the canned food has all they need. But dry food is, well, dry :tongue2: and he would need to drink some water if he eats much of it. How much do you think he eats every day? A lot of adult cats who eat all canned food only eat 5-6 ounces a day so he might not need much dry food.

There's really no such thing as "too much" water. Water helps keep everything inside lubricated, and it helps keep the bladder flushed. Even when my cats were on all canned food, I added water to it. :nod:

Here is an article that you may find helpful: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/tips-to-increase-your-cat-s-water-intake

Making sure he's really well hydrated will provide many long term health benefits.

Cats have a very low thirst drive. They are designed to get their water intake from their food in the wild. Wet food emulates that design.

Don't put water on his dry food, it's a recipe for bacteria disaster. As long as he is peeing every day, he is getting enough water. I feed my cat raw, and I have never seen his touch his water bowl.

Same here.  I switched one cat from kibble to canned: I have not seen her at the water bowl since.  While eating dry, I would see her drinking at least once a day.  When eating dry + drinking water, she was prone to constipation.  With canned and NO water drinking that I can see, she is no longer constipated.

My other cat is fairly new to the household - almost 5 months now.  He's always eaten raw, with the occasional bit of canned - never any dry. And I have NEVER seen him drink water in the time I have had him...and he pees up a storm - I can hear it like a waterfall!

And I have two nice watering stations available at all times.

aprilprey said:

...and he pees up a storm - I can hear it like a waterfall!

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So funny! Mine too, his litterbox is down the hallway and yet I can always hear it. "Dude, you wanna try making less sound? Daddy doesn't need to hear that."   

Of course, when he follows me to the bathroom, I make as much noise as I can. Payback is a ***. 

Yeah, cats fed on a wet diet don't seem to drink at all. Both of my cats are on a raw diet, but I still add a bit of water to their food. Lox will not touch the water dish, but Bagel will.

pinkman said:

 
Yeah, cats fed on a wet diet don't seem to drink at all. Both of my cats are on a raw diet, but I still add a bit of water to their food. Lox will not touch the water dish, but Bagel will.

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I should add: I do this as well.  I heat up a ceramic dish with a tablespoon or so of water in it.  The warm water and bowl take the chill off - so each meal does have some au jus!

Fhi09 said:

 
So funny! Mine too, his litterbox is down the hallway and yet I can always hear it. "Dude, you wanna try making less sound? Daddy doesn't need to hear that." 

 

Of course, when he follows me to the bathroom, I make as much noise as I can. Payback is a ***. 

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Oh it gets better!  When I first got Dexter...I noticed he got so very EXCITED to pee!  He would RUN to the litterbox....very verbal and "chirpy", as if he were announcing to the world "I am going to the litterbox now..don't do anything exciting until I get back!!!" Meow meow meow!

He'd then pee - and I was kinda worried it was painful for him, since he was so chatty before hand...and verbal the whole time.  One day I crept around the corner while he was in the act...only to find he had the most BLISSFUL look on his face!  Eyes half closed...as if to say: "Ahhhhhh....that's better."

He then starts chirping and meowing once done..."I'm DONE...and BACK...what happened while I was gone..anything?"

I remember him not drinking water when he was on all wet food. But now he eats dry too, and past weeks he did drink more water but not this days. I did put some water in his wet food today and he didn't got bothered by it I hear so many stories about cats getting sick without water and I got worried. Thank you all

Ioana said:

I did put some water in his wet food today and he didn't got bothered by it

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Some of us do this for a few reasons: adding warm water to wet food makes it stink to high heavens - good for attracting finicky cats to try to eat it. Some wet food are quite rich (Wellness Core Indoor) so the texture if quite firm; adding water to that loosens the chunk and some cats prefer that.

ANd of course, water intake.

Speaking of.. How much water do you add to the wet food? I started adding water to their wet for several reasons (to mix the l-lysine for two cats, the slippery elm bark for the third cat and to help the third with her constipation issue), but now there is A LOT of wee wee (I guess maybe 10 a day - but I have three cats). I just don't want to over do it.

Ohh I just added a tablespoon, not to much because I don't want to overdue it. My cat also takes lysine and I mix it in with the wet food. Also I'll not do this everytime I gove him the food, I'll do it when I think he didn't drink water that day.

IrinaSaK said:

 
Speaking of.. How much water do you add to the wet food? I started adding water to their wet for several reasons (to mix the l-lysine for two cats, the slippery elm bark for the third cat and to help the third with her constipation issue), but now there is A LOT of wee wee (I guess maybe 10 a day - but I have three cats). I just don't want to over do it.

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Really, it depends on the consistency of the food, but I usually add a tablespoon of water. Health-wise, I don't think you can really overdo adding water, unless it discourages them from eating.

Some cats, like mine, are finicky with consistency/texture. I have a gravy cat... she won't touch anything unless it's sitting in a puddle.