Why the kitten doesn’t drink water: what to do and how to train it

If the kitten does not drink water for a long time, the owners are advised to contact a veterinary clinic to avoid dehydration. When a small kitten or adult does not want to drink liquid only from a bowl, then it may be worth changing the dirty container. Often a pet refuses to drink for a month or more due to various serious illnesses. In such a case, additional unpleasant symptoms are recorded, the cat does not urinate and the animal’s condition rapidly worsens if it is not given water on time.

What is the problem: main reasons

If a pet drinks only milk and eats well, but constantly refuses to quench its thirst, then this does not always signal pathological conditions. Perhaps the pet simply doesn’t like water or doesn’t like the one its owners give it. And also, for example, small cats that were fed breast milk or from a nipple, and are not accustomed to drinking, may be unable to independently quench their thirst from a bowl for a month or even more. There are other reasons why a cat does not drink water:

• Low quality dishes. Owners, wanting to save money on cat products, sometimes buy very bad products, which are sometimes made of unpleasant-smelling plastic. Seals and adults often refuse to drink from such a bowl or scoop it up with their paw.
• The cat's inability to drink water from the bowl. To the surprise of people, not all pets have this skill, so sometimes it is necessary to spend time and teach the cat to drink or provide it with another source.
• Unpleasant smell of water. If a tap product is used, it may contain large amounts of chlorine. In this case, owners rarely manage to force their pet to drink. It is recommended to install a filter or use bottled water.
• Dirty bowl. If the drinking vessel is not washed on time, then the pet can quench its thirst directly from the tap and other sources.
• Pathological condition. When a cat does not eat or drink, this may be a signal of the development of a disease. If the pet is rejected, it may cause diarrhea, vomiting, weakness and other symptoms.

Veterinarians advise buying water dishes made of ceramics, since such a bowl does not have an unpleasant odor and is easy to clean.

Reasons why a kitten does not eat food

Let's figure out why the kitten doesn't eat anything? What made the baby starve?

Stress

No matter how proud cats are, they are very sensitive. It would seem, what’s wrong with moving or a change of scenery? But such little things can affect the psychological state of the animal. The animal needs a couple of days to adapt to the changed conditions. If possible, eliminate all possible sources of stress and provide your baby with peace. Let fresh water and some food be within his sight, but away from people. Perhaps the kitten needs a calm environment and privacy.

Too young

Some people buy kittens that are too small. Unscrupulous breeders are trying to “fuse” kittens as quickly as possible so that the cat goes into heat faster and gets offspring from her again. As a result, kittens do not yet know how to eat on their own. Hence the hunger strike.

The baby would be happy to eat a hearty meal, but he can’t, he doesn’t know how. To prevent the baby from starving to death, you will have to purchase a special cat's milk substitute (it costs a lot, but is ideal for kittens) and a bottle. Cow's or goat's milk are not suitable because the kitten's intestines cannot digest such fatty milk.

Environment

Cats are very clean (with rare exceptions), so they are uncomfortable with the fact that their feeding area looks untidy or dirty. The animal will endure to the last, but will not touch even its favorite food if the bowl is poorly washed or there is a lot of garbage around the feeding area.

Strong odor from food or bowl

Some bowls made of polymers, especially in the first days of their use, have a strong, unpleasant odor. Cats have a keen sense of smell. And such a “bright” chemical smell will repel the pet from food. In addition, food can smell like plastic and have an unpleasant aftertaste. But even if the bowl (in your opinion) no longer smells, the detergents you use to clean your cat's bowl may have a strong odor. do not forget that they also have a fairly diverse chemical composition. Still, it is better not to use chemicals when washing dishes for feeding an animal. If you want to kill the infection, then simply pour boiling water over the bowl (if the manufacturer and material of the dishes allow this).

Helminths

Some types of parasites, on the contrary, awaken a brutal appetite in the baby. But still, in most cases, the tiny organism is not able to fight helminths. All the forces of the immune system are spent exclusively on the fight. Therefore, there is absolutely no money left for food consumption. Modern veterinary drugs can be given to tiny kittens. Some anthelmintics can be given just once, but it is usually recommended to repeat the procedure after 10-14 days.

This is due to the fact that during this time those parasites that were not affected by the first dose reach a different stage of development. And now on it they become sensitive to the active ingredient of the anthelmintic. Be sure to carry out 2 procedures for expelling parasites, even if you do not find any worms in the kitten’s feces or vomit. Perhaps his body contains just the larval stage, which is covered with a dense shell that does not allow the drug to kill the helminth.

Infectious diseases

The little kitten does not eat because an infection has raged in its body. At least remember yourself during the flu. Do you eat a lot? And a baby, especially if he is too early or has just been torn away from his mother, can have a huge number of life-threatening diseases. Any infection clings to his fragile body. The immune system is not yet very developed

That is why it is so important to carry out preventive vaccinations according to age on time. This can save the purr from a lot of problems.

Is it dangerous?

If the kitten receives a sufficient amount of liquid from its diet, then it will not feel a great need to drink.
If the kitten drinks little water while still breastfeeding, then this situation should not cause concern for the owners.
And also, there is no need to worry if your pet’s diet includes canned food, kefir, and dairy products, thanks to which a sufficient amount of liquid enters the cat’s body. Owners of cats should be wary if they hardly drink water, are constantly lying down, lethargic and apathetic. This situation may signal the progression of urolithiasis. If you do not promptly give him medications to replenish the water balance and do not carry out other therapeutic measures, then serious consequences are possible, including the death of the cat. If the cat stops drinking altogether, the lymph becomes very thick, which disrupts water-salt metabolism. It is especially important to give water to a cat that eats dry food, since it contains minimal liquid content.

Which liquid is most useful?

The health of a cat depends not only on the amount of fluid, but also on its quality. Before worrying about the amount of water absorption, you need to think about the best liquid to take for your pet.

Types of water:

1. Boiled;
2. Distilled;
3. Raw type;
4. Tap type;
5. Bottled.

Boiled liquid has the least number of useful substances. Scientists consider such a liquid to be dead, and after several hours after boiling it becomes dangerous due to the attraction of microbes that are nearby.

Experts do not recommend giving your pet boiled liquid not only for this reason, it can lead to the progression of urolithiasis. Distilled water also has almost no benefit.

Tap liquid is endowed with various chloride compounds, bacteria, organisms, salts, and so on. The general composition of tap fluid is not needed by a cat’s body, especially at an early age.

Raw liquid from a spring or well is considered useful, but at the same time it may contain many unnecessary substances.

Bottled liquid is considered the most useless option, but it must be of high quality. It is better to give your pet water from a bottle, which is obtained from underground sources. Such water is most often expensive and not every owner buys it.

ATTENTION! To make working with water, going to the store and making it more difficult to find premium liquids easier, you can give your cat plain tap water. Before pouring it into a saucer, you need to settle it or filter it.

How to determine lack of water?

If a cat does not drink water well, then it is important to pay attention to its general condition and appearance. The problem can be detected by the following indicators:

• Passivity and apathy. The animal stops playing games, rarely laps up water and sometimes does not want to eat. In this case, you should contact the veterinarian and find out whether the cat could have gotten sick.
• Condition of the epidermis and coat. If the water balance is disturbed, the pet looks unhealthy, the skin flakes and bald spots appear. When the owner pulls back the cat’s scruff, but the epidermis does not return to its previous position, this indicates that there is not enough water in the animal’s body.
• Daily number of urinations. If a cat drinks little water, he empties his bladder less often. A healthy individual goes to the tray at least 2 times a day.

How much should a kitten drink depending on its age?

A baby up to 1 month of age needs only breast milk. The cat is 4-6 weeks old and the cat begins weaning it. He gradually switches to soft food, then to solid food. There is a need for additional sources of fluid.

The amount of water consumed depends on the weight of the kitten.

Table: norm of water consumption for a kitten depending on age and weight

Harm from a lack of fluid in a kitten’s body

The owners are worried that the pet doesn’t drink enough. The concern is justified. An insufficient amount of water in a kitten’s body can affect its health:

• there is a high probability of formation of kidney stones;
• dehydration worsens the condition and appearance of the animal;
• insufficient water consumption leads to problems with the coat;
• the mustache falls out or becomes brittle;
• lymph thickens, which leads to disruption of the water-salt balance.

Eating dry food can aggravate dehydration. Lack of water causes inhibition of the animal's mental and physical development.

When feeding dry food, water is vital for animals

The cause of concern may be unfounded if the animal eats natural food that is rich in moisture. Food products suitable for a kitten include dairy products, cereals and eggs. Canned wet food is added here. They contain a sufficient amount of moisture. But if the kitten categorically does not approach the water, the problem cannot be left to chance.

What determines the frequency of water consumption in a healthy kitten?

The following factors influence the number of water intakes:

• moisture content in the animal's diet;
• ambient temperature conditions.

Kittens that eat canned and natural food drink less. Babies whose diet consists of dry food experience a lack of fluid in the body. Accordingly, they need an additional source of moisture.

A kitten's drinking behavior depends on environmental factors. If the weather is dry and hot, the amount of water consumption may increase several times. In cool weather, the animal can drink very little.

How to tell if your kitten has enough water

Appearance helps determine whether an animal has enough water. Dehydration is noticeable to the naked eye:

• sunken eyes;
• lethargy, shortness of breath;
• refusal to eat;
• the kitten does not go to the toilet (the norm is 3-4 bowel movements per urination process daily);
• dull coat;
• skin peeling.

To understand whether the animal is experiencing a lack of fluid, it is enough to observe the kitten for some time. A dehydrated animal loses its skin elasticity.

Pull back the kitten's scruff to check if he is lacking fluids.

In addition, the coat should form a single coat, without bald patches. There should be no peeling of the epithelium. A healthy baby is always cheerful and curious.

What to do and how to train it?

In the case when the pet does not want to drink water on its own, you can teach it using a syringe.
If a kitten does not drink water, then perhaps he simply does not know how to do this and then the owner teaches him on his own. It is recommended to keep your pet busy with games that will cause a feeling of thirst. If after this the animal refuses to take liquid, then you can first teach the kitten to drink water from a syringe. It is worth placing the drinking bowl at a distance from the food container so that the former remains clean. It is possible to teach how to drink water in other ways:

• Place several bowls of water in different areas of the room where the cat lives. There is a high probability that he will like at least one place. If the kitten starts drinking from one container, then all other containers are removed, leaving the one chosen by the animal.
• They offer to drink from bowls of different colors, shapes and sizes. Pets can be picky, so if they don't like the dishes, they can easily refuse to drink water.

Veterinarians advise that if a cat does not know how to drink, then during training it is worth offering him water of different temperatures, since some pets prefer cold water, while others choose warmer water.

British fold blue whiskey color

I never tire of admiring the richness and flexibility of the Russian language, in which new verbal formations periodically arise, completely crazy in essence, but absolutely understandable in meaning to most people. Cats have not been left out either, and a striking example of this is the stable phrases British fold cat, British blue kitten and Whiskas cat. So who are they?

British fold

In fact, there are two separate breeds - the British Shorthair and the Scottish Fold. Unlike the British breed, the Scottish Fold appeared much later and the specifics of its breeding are such that a partner with a normal ear shape must be selected to pair with the Fold. Initially, the breed arose from the British, and although several breeds took part in the formation of the modern appearance of the Scottish Fold, in Russia matings with the British were widespread, especially until 2004, when in the most extensive felinological system of the WCF, all straight-eared kittens from such marriages were registered as British people with BRI coding, although their genetics were different. This is difficult to understand for a person inexperienced in matters of breeding, especially considering that due to the numerous connections of the British breed to the Scottish Folds, many animals of an intermediate type and straights and folds of the British type appeared. That is why this strange phrase arose as “British Fold” in conjunction with the British Straight Ear, apparently, since in appearance they were practically no different, only in the shape of the ears. (The photo on the right shows littermate kittens born in 1997, registered as Scottish Fold and British).

British blue

Another essentially incorrect phrase. Yes, the blue color is the most common and recognizable in the British breed, at least among ordinary people, but it also recognizes all colors existing in nature, and the breed is called the British Shorthair, not the British Blue. In contrast to the “Russian Blue” breed, which really exists in a single color variation, blue, which is included in the name of the breed.

Whiskas color or whiskey color

There is no such color! No whiskey, no whiskey. Whiskas is a company that produces products and food for cats, which has chosen British cats of the silver-black patterned color group as advertising for its products. And these are at least three different colors - spotted, brindle and marbled. In the photo on the left, the kittens are not “whiskey”, but black silver spotted (BRI ns 24) and black silver marbled (BRI ns 22) colors!

How to choose?

If the cat does not drink water or, having drunk it, looks for another source to quench its thirst, then the owners should pay attention to the quality of the product. A clean liquid without a strong odor is suitable for drinking for feline pets. The bowl is located in an accessible room; you should not place it in the toilet or bathroom where the doors are closed. Regular water changes are important as they stagnate quickly. It is worth constantly cleaning and cleaning all containers from which your pet eats and drinks. It would be more convenient for people to teach their cat to drink liquid from the tap, but they should not do this, since it contains a lot of chlorine, which will affect the pet’s condition.