How to keep chronically dehydrated cat, hydrated

[ScaryGoblin]

Hi everyone. I posted a couple days ago asking for advice about my 3 month old male kitten potentially having a neurological condition. We ended up taking him to the vet and they suspect he has toxoplasmosis. We pray that's all it is because we now have him on antibiotics and we hope this helps him. It could be the cause of his neurological symptoms. However, I do believe the neurological condition is giving him chronic dehydration. I think he gets extra sickly when he starts to feel the dehydration and it makes all of his neurological symptoms 5x worse. After he gets an IV of fluids, he acts so much better so that's why I assume he is chronically dehydrated.

But here's the thing, we give him tons of water at every single feeding. We put water IN his food so he is drinking a lot of water daily. He eats about 5/6 times a day so he gets a good amount of water 5/6 times a day. It's the only way he will drink. He will not drink from any type of water source we've even tried fountains and there are plenty of fresh water bowls around the house. He was diagnosed as "slower" than the average cat so we believe that's why he won't drink from a water bowl. We don't think he really knows how or he doesn't have that cat instinct to do it because he clearly has some neurological things going on (we love him dearly, lol).

So could anyone please give me advice on how to keep him more hydrated? He drinks plenty of water yet is still getting dehydrated so should I up the amount of water put into his food? I could make his food more like a soup so he's getting more moisture from it. I could always syringe feed him water but I'd rather do that as a last resort. He isn't ALWAYS dehydrated it just kind of comes out of nowhere. He'll be fine for weeks then all of a sudden he's lethargic and he'll get an IV of fluids then he's acting better. He's still on his antibiotics so hopefully this cures his neurological symptoms because maybe that will cure the random dehydration flares.

I also wonder if giving him that much water is harmful? Will I give him water poisoning?

Yet at the same time will he be able to get hydrated from ONLY having water in his food? Is he simply not getting enough?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Are you doing the skin tent test on him to determine that he is indeed dehydrated in those times when you think he is?

Here is an article on ways to get cats to drink more that might be helpful: Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake – TheCatSite Articles

And, of course, you can always do the sub-q fluids at home. It's much less expensive than going to the Vet to have them done, and with a 3 month old kitten, it shouldn't be too difficult. Many of us here on TCS have done them at home, mainly for cats with kidney disease, but sometimes for other health issues too. Your Vet will probably need to write a prescription for the fluids, then you can fill them at most pharmacies around. We used to get our at Walgreens and they even gave a discount for Pets! We always ordered the needles and IV set-ups that hook to the bags and needles via the internet because they are a whole lot cheaper than getting from the Vet (at least from OUR Vet!)

By nature, cats don't drink much. Those who eat an all wet diet typically don't drink any water and get all of the moisture they need from their food. Like you, I add water to my cats wet food because I am trying to avoid having any more kidney cats. They won't eat it if it's too soupy though. And i only use filtered water. There are actually hydrating products for cats now. They are quite expensive but are made to help with hydration, One that comes to mind is Hydra Care, made by Purina.