Is my cat drinking enough water?
A cat needs roughly 50 ml of water per kg of body weight a day, so about 200 ml for a 4 kg cat. That includes the water in its food: wet food is about 80% water, so cats on wet food drink less from the bowl. Many cats drink more from moving water or a wide bowl placed away from their food.
Water your cat needs
about 200 ml of water a day, food includedA rough guide. A pouch of wet food gives about 70 ml of it.
See a vet soon if your cat
- Drinks much more than usual
- Pees more, or leaves bigger clumps in the litter
- Strains in the litter box with little or no pee
- Hardly drinks and seems tired
- Is losing weight while eating well
Tip. Put water in two or three places, away from the food bowl and the litter box.
Your cat eats wet food and rarely drinks from its bowl. Is that a problem?
Wet food is about 80% water, so cats on it often drink little. Watch for changes rather than the amount alone.
What helps
See all Cat Water FountainPicked for this question. Each card says what it is for.
