Should I worry about dehydration?

Hi everyone! I have a soon-to-be one year old tabby named Cooper that I'd love your input on. I adopted him when he was 4 months old and he's never had any health issues. From day 1, I noticed he drank more water than my older cat, but it never seemed excessive. I had him on a mix of raw and canned foods up until about 2 months ago. He's now on dry food food and his thirst drive is through the roof. I'm really afraid that putting him on dry has hurt him somehow. He drinks approx 3 cups of water daily and sometimes sleeps/lounges next to his fountain. He also started trying to drink from any faucet he can find. He is not at all lethargic, very playful and his appetite is great.

Feeding 2 cats canned food exclusively is so expensive...but do you think I should go back to that? If he's dehydrated, I'm thankful he's drinking....but I hate that he's feeling like he needs to drink that much, you know? I'm so torn and would really appreciate any opinions you can offer.



Edit: I am 100% onboard with the idea that dry food in general is not ideal due to cats being obligate carnivores. I just honestly don't know how to feed canned (I'd rather not do raw right now) on a budget. The canned food I used in the past was Wild Calling (which I love!). I tried supplementing dry with wet throughout the week, but his tummy doesn't take changes very well. I feel very stuck right now.

Why would you switch him from canned/raw to dry? That's basically backwards. With male cats especially you need to feed wet foods or you really risk the possibility of a blockage. The fact he's drinking so much water already is not a good sign.

What's your food budget? Honestly, I don't think feeding two cats wet food exclusively is very expensive, but there are a lot of threads here about budget foods and how to get food deals on food. When you think about how much an emergency vet visit for a blockage would cost, wet food is a bargain.

Buy in bulk from places like Chewy, or when there are sales at Petco. Rotate cheaper foods (like fancy feast classic) with more high end foods to balance out the cost.

Are you sure he's drinking 3 full cups of water every day? Do you measure how much water you fill the bowl up in a day and then remeasure at the end of the day? 3 cups is excessive, IMO. Camping out by the water bowl is not normal either.  I personally feel that a cat who drinks that much water should be taken to a vet just to be sure that there isn't anything medical that is causing the cat to drink so much. Diabetes is one cause of excessive water drinking but there are other medical conditions with excessive drinking as a symptom. Juvneile diabetes is rare but can happen. If you decide to take your cat to the vet, make sure bloodwork is done and a fructosamine (the test for diabetes) is included.

Canned food doesn't have to break the bank. Here are some threads on budget friendly brands:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/313700/budget-friendly-can-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/231624/how-to-saving-money-on-canned-food-when-budget-is-tight

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/308964/healthy-but-affordable-canned-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/253771/very-inexpensive-grain-free-canned-food

This may be helpful:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/314122/your-best-sources-for-canned-cat-food-coupons

Wild Calling is great but pricey. There are god quality foods out there that cost much less. Store brands are often cheaper than brand names so that's one way to save. Walmart's Special Kitty brand is pretty inexpensive and nearly similar to Fancy Feast. Buying larger sized cans instead of the 3 oz can will also save money. Chain pet stores often have food sales so be on the lookout for those. Sometimes pet food companies will have coupons. Check the web site for a newsletter you can sign up for and get coupons that way or contact customer service.