For your pet, health is crucial to keep them hydrated. There are indeed animals that are not that willing to drink water. They will do it only when they are already very thirsty or not even then.
This will cause a lot of worries to their owner. If you know the struggles, you also know you are ready to do anything to make your pet drink some water.
First and foremost, you need to know how much water your pet needs daily. This can depend on their bread, age, how active they are, and environmental factors like temperature and humidity.
It is recommended that a dog drinks 1 ounce per pound daily and a cat at least 5 ounces. There are a couple of tips on how you can make your pet drink more water.
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Make sure that the water is fresh and accessible
Animals are susceptible to smell, and they can easily distinguish if the water you are offering them is fresh. If you are using a bowl for your pet, make sure you change the water in it regularly.
Or, if you are using a fountain or thinking about it, you can find some good suggestions according to this post on Cat Food Point. Cats especially enjoy flowing water. You probably have seen the numerous videos of cats drinking water when the sink is on.
Place move water sources around your house
Pets are not able to easily show if something is not pleasing them. Maybe the position of their bowl or fountain is not one that they like.
It happens that your friend becomes bored with the positioning of their water source or it is too lazy to go to it. You can avoid this by putting a couple of bowls around your place. Place them away from direct sun lights and where not much dust will land in it.
Give them more wet food
If your pet is not drinking enough water, it is better to avoid giving them dry food. Wet food has a better hydration level, and you will make sure that your pet is taking at least a portion of the needed water.
It might take time for your pet to adjust to the change from dry to wet food, but you can try different tastes or add some of their favorite kibbles into the food.
Make the dry food wet
If your pet is still not convinced of eating wet food by any means, you can make their dry food wet. You can soak the kibbles in water at room temperature for a couple of seconds.
This won’t change the taste of the food, and it won’t make it too soft, so your pet would most probably not notice the difference. But if they do and don’t fancy the change, you can soak the dry food in a chicken broth or other suitable for animals. Perhaps your pet will find it even better and love it more.
Add some flavor to their water source
You can try to add some flavor to the water bowl or fountain so your pet might do the trick. As we mentioned, chicken bright is a taste that dogs enjoy a lot, or the water from the tinned tuna can make your cat more thirsty.
Remember to check if the flavor you are adding is suitable for pets and not to add too much, or your pet might refuse to drink water without it at all.
Add ice cubes to the water
This is a very nice technique to keep the water cool and make it more appealing to your pet. Especially in the summer months, this is something that your pet will love. The movement of the cubes can also be amusing for your pet and make them drink more water while playing with them in the bowl.
Exercise and play with your pet
Physical activity most certainly will make your pet thirsty. So go for a long walk with your dog and play with it outside. Making them chase a stick or just running with them will exhaust them and make them crave some water. And here’s a bonus tip — bring water with you.
There are various pet bottles that you can easily care for and give water to your pet when they need it.
For your cat, playing inside with some toys will entertain both of you, help you bond, and also make them drink more water. Take the playground near the water source, so your pet can easily go to it after the enjoyment.
Wrapping Up
Making your pet drink water when they don’t want it is not an easy task, but you must make sure to succeed. Without the necessary water intake, your friend might start suffering and their health to degenerate.
Find the best way to hydrate your pet following our tips or find your unique way. It will bring you peace of mind and assurance that your pet will have a happy and healthy life.
Last Updated on December 15, 2021 by Shepped Team
