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Feline dehydration is serious, preventable & treatable
One difference is that cat dehydration is much more life threatening to your pet than it is for humans.
Discussed below is how to prevent, identify dehydration and treating cats dehydration and when it is necessary to visit your vet.
Keeping your beloved kitty hydrated will maintain the quality of her life and even extend it. Just like it does for us.
No surprise there, huh?
Note that even mild dehydration in cats can cause serious health problems. These include problems of the circulatory system, reduced ability to work, kidney problems and heat stroke.
What is feline dehydration?Dehydration in cats occurs pretty quickly because of their usual small size.Cats are roughly 60% water. Just A 5% loss of water weight will cause serious health problems, 10% could be deadly. Note that 10% of an average cat's water weight is no more than about a liter of water. Your cat's dehydration involves loss of water and loss of vital electrolytes such as sodium, chloride and potassium. Signs of dehydration in cats1)Loss of skin elasticity: test this by picking up your cat's skin along her back. Let it go. It should spring right back into place. If not, that is a sure sign of illness and dehydration.2)Thick saliva: touch your cat's gums. They should be wet with liquidy saliva, not jello-like saliva. 3)Fatigue and lethargy 4)Constipation may be a sign of not enough fluids in bowels. 5)Increased heart rate may indicate dehydration. Call vet for consultation. 6)If your cat shows sunken eyeballs you need to bring her to the vet ASAP. Please note that only moderate to serious dehydration is easily detected. Your cat is most likely to be affected by dehydration before you notice any obvious signs. Causes of cats dehydration1)Vomiting causes loss of water2)Diarrhea can also cause pet dehydration 3)Increased urination, due to various reasons 4)Diabetes 5)Kidney problems 6)Heatstroke and fever 7)Shock, which is a lack of blood flow 8)Not drinking enough water 9)Only eating dry cat food. Cats eating only dry foods tend to drink more water than cats eating moist canned foods. HoweverDry food eaters still end up less hydrated than cats who are offered canned foods. In fact cats don't have strong thirst sensation. In the wild, cats get most of their water from their prey. Canned foods are preferred since they are closer to prey in moisture content. Preventing and treating dehydration in cats
Keep your cat hydrated at all times.Especially before stressful events (even "good stress") you may want to overhydrate your cat. Stressful events may reduce your cat's sensation of thirst. For mild feline dehydration... *add a little liquid to food *offer an electrolyte solution to help your cat retain fluids (pedialyte or Gatorade can be combined with water and then offered.) *offer ice chunks to encourage slow water intake *give water by medicine syringe, right into the mouth. (Note, if your cat has not been drinking enough, offer water frequently but only a little at a time as your cat may not be able to hold much water at the beginning.) *for severe dehydration, especially if you see sunken eyes, get your cat to the vet asap. Finally,fresh filtered water may help encourage your finicky cat to drink water.
Click here for a comparison of drinking water filters to
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