Keeping your pets hydrated!

Hello pet people. Rained cats and dogs again the other day at my house. Where that expression came from is unknown, but the most likely source I found is that old sailors thought cats had influence over storms and that dogs were symbols of storms. So in a particularly violent storm it was believed that cats bringing the rain and dogs bringing the wind caused it. It could also just be one of those nonsensical expressions.

I thought it would be appropriate then to discuss the most important nutrient for our pets and that is water. An animal can lose almost all of its storage fat and one half its protein, but a 10% loss of total body water can cause serious illness and 15% loss can cause death.

There are two sources of water, ingested water and metabolic water. Metabolic water is water that is formed during digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. There is quite a bit of water actually produced per calorie of food digested. Obviously it is no where near the body requirement, but is a source and may explain why some animals don’t need to drink as much water as others.

Ingested water is that water acquired by drinking or eating. Pet foods vary as to how much water or moisture is in the diet. Canned food is usually about 75% water. Dry food contains about 12% moisture. Therefore, water intake by drinking will be less in a pet fed a canned ration.

The amount of water that a pet needs can be roughly calculated by taking the weight of the pet, add a zero and multiply by 3. This is the maintenance requirement in milliliters needed in per day. This may become significant if your pet is seemingly always thirsty as you can actually measure the amount it is drinking and determine if that is excessive. As we have discussed, there are many disease process that affect water intake. Bottom line; supply clean fresh water at all times unless directed by your veterinarian to do otherwise. We sometimes want to limit water if excessive vomiting is occurring.

Quality of water is important and it amazes me what pets will drink even if given a fresh clean source. Swimming pool water is my pet’s favorite and the chlorine levels in swimming pools are so diluted that it should not cause a problem. In reality, there is probably as much chlorine in tap water as in swimming pools. Tap water is certainly suitable for pets.

Hard water contains more minerals such as calcium and magnesium. It has been suggested that bladder stones may be caused by drinking hard water, but in reality much more of these minerals are consumed in the diet in comparison to the amount ingested by drinking hard water.

There are many fancy water fountains available for pets these days. The Internet and pet stores are full of them. The outdoor faucet valves that open when the pet licks on them are great for outdoor dogs. Give your pet’s bottled water if you are so inclined. The quality of some bottled water is a debate I will reserve for you and your water purification system salesman.

Dr. James Speas is the owner and Executive Director of Crescenta Cañada Pet Hospital located in La Crescenta, California. He has developed a personal philosophy in the area of veterinary medicine – to always work in the direction of preventing problems before occur. Dr. Speas and his staff are proud to serve the pet communities of La Crescenta, La Canada, Glendale, Pasadena, Sunland, and Tujunga California. Call us at 818-248-3963.