Crew Of 4 Drinking Notably More Water....

Is now my 3rd summer with current group of cats. Is summer in Phoenix (desert climate), so is getting hot. But none of them ever go outside, so for them, summer should be same as winter.

I've noticed, over the last month or so, a 'significant' increase in water consumption. I've been rotating brands and flavors of canned food, trying to find what flavors and consistencies they will eat, since my local stores stopped carrying and having sales on their #1 and #2 favorites....At the moment, they are getting Merrick Purrfect Bistro Duck and Salmon flavors. In addition to Halo Indoor Chicken dry, as a free-feed supplement (this has not changed in well over 1 year).

The water consumption is just....more than usual. I give them a cat bowl, but also a human-sized 8oz glass, because they seemed to prefer drinking from human glasses, so why not give them what they want? They also get second 8-oz glass on my night-stand. Those 2 glasses used to be "full" for 2 or 3 days at a time. Now, they can be drained 50% in 1 day.

Otherwise, all is normal. All cats have normal activity, behavior is normal, interactions are fine, litterbox results are ok. FYI, their ages are: Hobo (12yo, male), Dory (4-5yo, female), Violet (3yo, female), and Blue (3yo, female).

Getting Dory, Violet, or Blue to the vet is a very traumatic experience, for all involved (including the vet staff!). So I won't do this unless really necessary!

Just wondering, when to panic?

Check their hydration level: pull the neck skin up as far as it will go and let go. If the skin snaps back immediately, the cats are well hydrated. If the skin slowly sinks back down, you'll need a trip to the vet for treatment with fluids.

Warmer temperatures can cause any animal or person to drink more water. You lose fluids through normal evaporation of sweat.

Warmer weather means more water consumption because it is still more likely consistently warmer in the house then winter. I would be more concerned if it is just ONE cat consistently drinking more indication diabetes, kidney problems, or any number of diseases, so you might observe for a few days and see if it is all drinking more (no problem) or just one.

I think Di and Bob has a good point. If it were one cat drinking more it would be one thing but the fact that they are all doing it is to me, just an indication of the humidity or dryness in the air. I understand that it's summer and you probably have central air, but I think that our homes are still affected by humidity levels in ways we may not notice.
And sure, it could be the new food. If your cats don't do well at the vet, seem ok, if it were me, I'd keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

As above. Air conditioning works in part by removing the humidity from the air. It's the same thing your freezer does. A vet check never hurts.

Timmer said:

If it were one cat drinking more it would be one thing but the fact that they are all doing it is to me, just an indication of the humidity or dryness in the air. I understand that it's summer and you probably have central air, but I think that our homes are still affected by humidity levels in ways we may not notice.
And sure, it could be the new food. If your cats don't do well at the vet, seem ok, if it were me, I'd keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

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Thanks. I often observe 3 of mine drinking water from the glasses. Blue, especially, seems to drink more than the others, but she's also the most active / crazy!

I think now is mostly perception on my part, that they are drinking more from the glasses than from the bowl, which is making it seem like they are drinking a lot more.

Do you know if they did the same in previous summers? If all of them drink more than they do in hot weather so it's more than their own summer average, I would first suspect of their food. Maybe they changed the formula and the current one makes them get more thirsty.

If you don't really remember previous summers, I agree with the others it's probably just the weather/humidity or season. Going with 'going into heat' logic, I suspect cats act like what they are supposed to act like in a certain circumstance even if that doesn't really exist. Like indoor cats go into heat in like Autumn too although they are not supposed to, because apparently they can't really tell the length of sunlight so can't be sure about the season and they mistake Autumn as Spring. My cat always sleeps in curled up positions to reserve heat when it's even 25C degrees in the house in the winter, but in the summer when it's 25C she sleeps all spread out. It makes me think sometimes they just act like what they are supposed to over the wrong thing and not what needed over reality. Like drinking more water when it's hot outside, maybe :-)

Did you happen to switch from a swamp cooler to an air conditioner?