Cats Need More Water | Alaska Mill & Feed

Recent veterinary research shows a powerful link in cats between the most common form of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disorder (idiopathic cystitis) and cats feed an exclusively dry food diet. The study also found that cats that have already had a feline urinary tract disorder appear much more likely to have a recurrence if they are fed an exclusively dry diet instead of a canned diet.

Dehydration and diet: The National Research Council of the National Academy of Science found that cats who eat dry food exclusively consume less total moisture than cats that eat canned food. And surprisingly, most cats that are fed a diet of dry food don’t drink enough water to make up for the low moisture content of that food.

How to keep a cat hydrated: A simple, healthy way to increase your cat’s water consumption is to replace part of its dry diet with a high quality canned food that you feed to your cat twice a day. Cats are carnivores, so look for canned foods with first ingredients that are high-quality meat, especially chicken or turkey. Good quality fish, beef, or lamb can provide variety, although these aren’t the ideal primary meat for most cats. The amino acid profiles of chicken and turkey meat more closely match a cat’s nutritional needs.

A balanced diet: Cats have very few teeth that are suited to grinding food, so most cats don't chew as much as crack dry food into slightly smaller pieces. However, recent, large-scale research designed to evaluate the connection between diet and dental health indicates that the inclusion of dry food in cat's diet may significantly decrease the risk of periodontal disease and other dental problems. This, combined with current research on the urinary tract health of cats seems to indicate that both canned and dry foods are important components of a cat's diet.