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Our feral boy gets a huge raw food filled bowl 3x/day of -- water & raw Radcat -- food.
He licks the WHOLE bowl meaning it is like a soup bowl w/ alot of h20. If your cat is hungry enough, adding a good portion of water to either raw or canned -- please NO kibble if you can help it -- really makes a BIG diff in health, especially for male cats prone to kidney disorders/probs.
Just a finding of mine & FYI. I really keep him drinking as, when he's hungry enough -- & wants food -- he needs sift thru a ton of h20 to get the meaty chunks.
I do that by using a tablespoon of bone broth to their raw diet- (which if it has been sitting in the fridge is jellied and has turned into consumee)- I make with meat and bones and herbs- especially Nettles, Comfrey and a Bay leaf and garlic. I also usually throw in carrots and parsley and sometimes celery. I make big batches in the pressure cooker and freeze them in 16 oz containers. This way they get not only the water but easily absorbable nutrients in a whole herb form which is a lot better and safer, with all the natural buffers, than the "standardized extracts" of "natural" vitamin and mineral supplements manufactured by man.
Agreed that water is CRUCIAL for a male cat. The first health issue I had to deal with was Feline Urologic Syndrome in my first cat I had as an adult. I was clueless about how to care for it and naively listened to and followed the vet's advise about EVERYTHING. The recommendation was to neuter him at too young of an age; feed him "Science Diet Dry" "because it is good for the teeth" WRONG! I also did all the vaccinations which I now avoid like the plague. Sadly I didn't "WAKE UP" and realize a whole world of real health through NATURE was available until he'd already developed FUS and had had multiple midnight emergency hospitalizations. THANK-YOU ORTHODOX VETERINARIANS [NOT]!
I wish veterinarians (along with medical doctors for humans) could be honest with their patients care givers/patients about their limitations of their training as well as their strengths from the start. They only are honest about it when you start talking about all you've been able to do using Natural methods which goes right over their heads....and then they say, "I don't know anything about that".
If you are in an area where there are no resources for natural care, you can do like I do and use the orthodox vet for diagnosis purposes only. I let them do bloodwork and xrays etc - anything that isn't invasive. I draw the line at exploratory surgery. The non-invasive diagnostics can tell you enough to put you on the right path if you are going to be using herbs or homeopathics.
Hi Emily, yes a good deal avoiding vets ideas when nutrition is involved.
Yes, male cats have issues often w/ urological function & hydration is needed for ALL cats but MALES really must be watched. I learned hard way in '08 seeing our 8yr old male die from renal fail. It woke me & never again will a cat get dry or not get huge amounts of water, if added forcibly in their wet/raw food if need be. He drinks often a bit in the water bowl next his food bowl, but has no choice if hungry to slurp the water in food bowl to get to the food.
Ha, I was like this as a kid. Ate my spaghetti 1st & saved the meat (meatballs) for last as the MAIN thing I liked. LOL
Hi Emily, yes a good deal avoiding vets ideas when nutrition is involved.
Yes, male cats have issues often w/ urological function & hydration is needed for ALL cats but MALES really must be watched. I learned hard way in '08 seeing our 8yr old male die from renal fail. It woke me & never again will a cat get dry or not get huge amounts of water, if added forcibly in their wet/raw food if need be. He drinks often a bit in the water bowl next his food bowl, but has no choice if hungry to slurp the water in food bowl to get to the food.
Ha, I was like this as a kid. Ate my spaghetti 1st & saved the meat (meatballs) for last as the MAIN thing I liked. LOL
There are several PU Surgery threads, on this forum, about the dangers of dry feeding... male cats especially.
MOST of those surgeries could have been avoided. THANKFULLY I had a vet that had a clue about wet food, and saved my male (and my pocket book) from such surgery.
I always mix some water with the wet food, to the consistency of chili.
About how many ounces of water should a male cat get per day?
Fast answer; as MUCH as he'll drink.
Keep adding to tolerance. He'll reject food that is too wet but only way is trial & error. The more the better as you know for him, period. He can not overpee but can underpee. Hence, add as much as you can as long as he eats it up.
Water is an essential nutrient for life, health and vitality, and our cats' need for water cannot be overemphasized. The cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the digestive tract, the kidneys and liver, the brain and peripheral nervous system – every aspect of the body depends on adequate hydration to function effectively.
Even cats eating a wet-food only diet can need up to double the amount of water they consume in their food for ideal hydration! Cats need 8 to 27 *tablespoons* of water (or more) a day for an ideal rate of hydration (depending on environment, health status, and activity level). A typical serving of kibble for an average adult cat provides just one-half tablespoon of water. Canned or homemade with a moisture content of 77% provides 6 to 9 tablespoons of water (based on average consumption by most cats).
Here in AZ we have super dry conditions in winter (as in now). Thus, I really push water to our indoor girl & outdoor boy. Both drink up all the water in their wet food.
Catsmom, as usual, adds the v valuable science & the WHY. But I KNEW you'd be here sooner than later.
PS -- Can't rep you yet, but again, Merry Christmas & fill me in as to your doings when you can.
I have a male indoor cat that only drinks the liquid from the wet catfood. Very hard to get him to eat meat of any kind.
But recently I found a trick...
When thawing uncooked, unseasoned meat, blood pools in the bottom of the styrofoam container. He began coming in kitchen and crying when I take one out to thaw. At first I didn't know what was up, but within a few days, I figured it out.
Now I give him all the blood that pools in those containers. He laps it up like candy.
*By the way, the cat is normal weight, and lean muscle. Very healthy. How he does it living on just liquids from catfood and blood from thawed dinner meat, is beyond me.
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But I KNEW you'd be here sooner than later. 
