Every cat food at the pet store makes the claim that it is the absolute best for your cat. How do you choose? Take a peek at the nutrition label and making note of the moisture content. Cats have very unique nutritional needs including the need for high-quality animal protein, moderate fat content, and high levels of moisture. Choosing a moisture rich food could make a world of difference for your cat.
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Cats Don’t Drink Enough Water
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Most people are familiar with the idea that humans need to drink more water. The Mayo Clinic suggests 2.2 liters of water per day for women and 3 liters of water per day for men but says the eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day adage works fine. If we allow ourselves to become dehydrated, then our bodies can’t function the way that they are supposed to.
The same idea is true with cats only with one small catch – cats get most of their water from food. Since cats originated as desert animals, they have a much lower thirst drive than humans or other non-desert animals. How would an animal survive in an environment where collected water is sparsely available? Rather than drinking the water their bodies need directly, cats in the wild hunt moisture rich prey like mice (about 75% moisture) and consume the water while eating.
How would an animal survive in an environment where collected water is sparsely available? Rather than drinking the water their bodies need directly, cats in the wild hunt moisture rich prey like mice (about 75% moisture) and consume the water while eating.
According to Dr. Karen Becker, DVM, cats eating a diet of dry food drink more water, but still only consume about half of the water that cats on a wet food diet do. Cats on dry food (typically only 5-10% moisture) are likely not getting their “8 glasses of water per day.” The way to get those kitties hydrated is to feed them a food with more moisture in it. Wet and raw cat foods often have moisture levels of 70% or more.
The Urinary Tact: A Moisture Rich Diet Makes a Difference
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The urinary tract system is a series of organs, including the kidneys and bladder, whose purpose is the removal of waste products from the body. As the organs sift all of the waste (dead cells, harmful bacteria, viruses, etc) out of the bloodstream, the water making it into the system flushes the waste through the organs and out of the body. If the body isn’t taking in enough water – and consistently – this system doesn’t work very well.
For your cat, not taking in enough moisture could mean that all of those waste products are just building up in the kidneys and bladder. Urinary tract infections become more common because bacteria is allowed to build up. Cats have crystals that build up in their urinary tract system too if they can’t be broken down and flushed away. Painful and dangerous blockages can occur in the urinary tract system because of those crystals. If your cat already has urinary tract problems, talk to your veterinarian, adding moisture to you cat’s diet may help to resolve those problems.
Making a good cat food choice.
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Buying a moisture rich cat food doesn’t mean you have to purchase the most expensive cat food on the shelf. Any wet food will have more moisture than any dry food. If your cat is a dry food kind of cat, you may have to wean him/her onto the wet food even if it is the same brand and flavor. The process of weaning may take a while, but it will be worth it in the end.
How much moisture is in your cat’s food?
Hi! My name is Robin. I'm a creative kitty mommy that that loves laughter and education. My cats, Manna and Dexter, inspire all I do on Playful Kitty. 
I had an issue with my male kitty about a year ago. He had a blockage and luckily I got him to the vet in time. They drained his bladder etc . . . put him on antibiotics and Valium to relax him. We got him through it thank goodness. It was scary to see him the way he was. I do feed a high quality food, but after that he was put on prescription wet food for a while, now he eats his regular dry food with wet mixed in it.
Great informative post today and thanks for sharing!.
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your story. I’m glad to hear your kitty made it through! That would be really hard on a kitty mom. I lost a cat to a ruptured bladder. I was going to include my story in the post, but I felt that it made the post too long. It was devastating. I wish I could have known way back then what I know now. Obi Wan might have been another one of my resident Playful Kitties for this blog. *Hugs*
This is a WONDERFUL article and something that I feel very strongly about. Growing up, my family had three cats, two of which have crossed the rainbow bridge now. Those two both died because of kidney failure and other urinary tract problems. At the time, neither my mom nor I were educated on a proper feline diet and had no idea that they weren’t getting enough water. Now that we both have done some research, we both feed a wet food (and raw) diet to our cats. Thank you for spreading such great information. It can truly save lives!
Thank you so much! I lost a cat to a ruptured bladder before I got Cinco and Manna. It was a devastating loss. I didn’t know then what I know now. In fact, it was with in the past year or so that I learned about this. Cinco and Manna are slowly, but surely making the switch to wet food. I don’t want to see any more kitties die the way Obi Wan died.
We’re getting wet food in the morning and in the evening and some dry food in between… Have a PURRFECT weekend, sweeties! 🙂 xoxo Roxy & Tigerlino <3
That is pretty much where Cinco and Manna are. I have been trying to wean them onto wet food. They are coming along nicely 🙂 I hope you kitties have a wonderful weekend ! <3
Thanks for this very informative post. Have a great weekend. XO, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giuiletta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
You are very welcome. I want to help kitties to be healthy and happy 🙂
Thank You for that very informative post. I guess I learned something new every day. Have a good weekend.
You are welcome 🙂 I learn something new every day too. Most of the time I learn things from doing the research for articles on this blog.
This is such helpful information. My 3 boys eat wet food for the reasons you pointed out, but it is very hard to convince an owner who serves only dry food to their cats.
Thank you! People are such creatures of habit that they never want to change anything. I think that people don’t necessarily understand that while a cat is not human, they have a lot of complicated nutritional needs just like we do. If all we ever ate was cereal, we wouldn’t be doing all that well either.
^_^ Good to know, we give wet on occasion, (Reservists pay is not as good as active duty pay so budget is limited), so our kitties get dry food. BUT, we do have a two gallon water fountain in the kitchen that all four kitties LOVE! You’d be surprised how much MORE water cats will drink if it’s moving!
So true! Kitties do drink more water when it is moving. My kitties are still transitioning from dry to wet. They have gotten to the point where they will eat mostly wet, but they still won’t let me take away the dry yet. At least we’re moving in the right direction. I know what you mean about the whole budget issue. My husband is a school bus driver, so we don’t have a lot coming in either. You just have to do the best you can do.