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Health Tips for Cats

Water Tips

Your cat needs to drink water. If your cat is not drinking water, it will dehydrate.

To check to see if your cat is dehydrated, loosely pinch and stretch the skin of the neck. If the skin goes back into place quickly, your cat is probably not dehydrated. If the skin does not go back quickly, there may be a problem.

Some reasons your cat may not be drinking enough water:



* Plastic water bowls



* Dirty water bowls



* Water not available



* Illness



Best type of water bowls:

* Glass

* Stainless Steel

* Glazed Ceramic



This health tips are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.



Dehydration is a serious problem.

Tips on cleaning:

* Clean daily (or more often)

* Clean with hottest temperature available (dishwasher, boiling water rinse, etc)

* Ensure all cleansing chemicals are rinsed from the bowl

* Do not use bleach, lysol or other harsh chemicals

* Use vinegar to sanitize, and use the hot water rinse to remove the vinegar odor (vinegar will disinfect but is safer than harsh chemicals)

Water Sources: (The best sources are those that are not manipulated or contain additives.)

* Bottled Water (best for traveling)
(usually does not have added chemicals, read the label)

* Filtered Tap Water (may remove some minerals and some filters contain additives)

* Tap or Well Water (may have added chemicals)

* Distilled Water (the latest is that this is safe to drink, but remember, distilling may remove minerals)

Last Update - 15 September 2007