My cat only licks gravy from wet food. How to keep her hydrated?

Without knowing the age and type of pet, it is difficult to know. I am assuming it is a cat and if she isn't eating than she could have a problem with her teeth, gastrointestinal issue, pancreatitis, infection, endocrine disease, liver/kidney disease. It is continues, she needs to be seen by a vet to determine the cause and treat her problem. Your vet can run lab work and take an -x-ray, if needed, to help diagnose and prescribe medications to help. Hope she starts eating soon,

Congratulations on your new addition! If you haven't previously fed 100% canned food before, you may not be used to how infrequently cats will drink water. My cats are also on a 100% canned food diet, and I rarely see them drink water (maybe once a week). That is because they get almost all the moisture they need from the canned food. It is important to have fresh water available to her at all times, but I would not be worried about not seeing a cat on 100% canned food not drink. If you're concerned, you might consider adding some water to her caned food or adding a running fountain since most cats prefer that to drink from. If Bronte seems stressed otherwise, you could try a couple of things. One option for decreasing stress is to add a Feliway Diffuser ( https://www.feliway.com ) to your house. This is a calming pheromone that will work for a month. I have also had luck with Rescue Remedy ( http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ ) which can be added to the food. You could also consider calming music specifically for cats ( http://throughadogsear.com/tace/through-a-cats-ear-1-music-for-calming/ ). Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I'd feed Cupquake canned food, or add some low sodium gently warmed chicken broth to her dry food. I'd also recommend getting her a pet water fountain. It provides a continuous source of fresh water, and encourages the cat to drink. I have one for my cats, and they love it. You can get one at a pet store. I hope this helps.

I would feed a small amount of wet food twice daily with added water in it. Continue to leave out fresh water and you can try a cat water fountain too. That circulates water and encourages cats to drink more. Most cats will drink what they need daily so I’m not overly concerned about this if he’s acting normal, has a shiny coat, and is a normal weight. If he’s lethargic, thin or not grooming well then he may have an underlying medical problem that needs treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Topher.

Many cats who did not get wet food when they were kittens never will eat wet food. You can continue with a small amount of wet food once daily and cut back on the dry to see if they will eat more when they are hungry. I like giving some wet food as it makes them take in more fluids. Dry is fine just make sure they have access to plenty of fresh water. You can try adding some canned pumpkin also. It will increase their fiber uptake and increase the fluid also. My cat loves it so he gets if with every meal. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your cats.

Drinking a lot more means that she is also urinating a lot more. This is called Polydipsia and polyuria or PU PD. There are various reasons for PU PD and they need to be investigated by a veterinarian, especially in an older cat. Blood work can rule out any of those. 1) diabetes---a urinalysis and blood test will be able to rule it in or out. Diabetes is usually treated with diet and insulin. Weight loss is a cardinal sign. 2) Kidney disease, treated with diet and supportive treatment 3)diabetes insipidus, usually tested with a water deprivation test and treated with a medication called Minirin. You will need to make an appointment with your vet for an exam and blood tests. I am sure your vet will find the cause of the PU PD. Apart from that feeding your kitty pate-style wet food is usually better than the food with gravy as cats tend to lick the gravy off, which they cannot do with pate style wet food.

Wet food is actually biologically a better food for cats. Dry food is easier for humans, but cats are desert animals and tend to run a little dehydrated if fed only a dry food diet. Since Spunkers already likes wet food, you should be able to easily transition her over to a wet food diet. However, since you have noticed that Spunkers is drinking more water than normal, I would recommend having her evaluated by your veterinarian and run some routine bloodwork and a urinalysis to make sure there aren't any metabolic changes that are causing the change in her water intake. A canned food diet is always a good idea for cats, but we also need to make sure there isn't anything else going on that needs to be treated. I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.