Can Cats and Dogs Share Water Bowls?
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Staying hydrated is necessary in keeping your pet cat and dog healthy. However, if you have both of these pets in your home, you might wonder whether they can share water bowls, especially when the weather is hot.
Well, although some pet parents have anecdotal tales of cats and dogs sharing their water bowls without any problems, animal experts agree that letting them do so always comes with a risk.
How much water should cats and dogs drink every day?
The amount of water dogs need depends on their current weight and activity level. For example, under normal circumstances, a dog weighing 50 pounds must drink approximately 50 fluid ounces of fresh, clean water daily. However, hyperactive dogs would naturally need more water to stay healthy.
On the other hand, cats may need less water, although the amount also depends on their size, overall health, and activity levels. On average, a cat may drink 5 to 10 fluid ounces daily.
Aside from your pets’ size and activity, their diet, as well as the weather and temperature, can also dictate how much water they need to stay hydrated. In particular, they will need more water if they mostly eat dry food, as well as when the temperature gets warm.
Responsible pet owners should always be aware of their pets’ water intake, as not drinking enough water can lead to health issues like diabetes, kidney disease, or cancer.
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Can cats and dogs drink water from any source?
As with humans, keeping our pets hydrated can be quite challenging. It seems easier to let them drink from whatever nearby water source to help quench their thirst. However, animal experts agree that this practice can endanger your beloved pets, as water is a potential host to various illness-causing pathogens.
In this regard, it’s best to give your beloved pets bottled spring or tap water to hydrate. Since most bottled waters go through the process of purification, you can be assured that your pets are getting clean, healthy water.
The second-best option is water from a tap or a water fountain. Aside from being cheaper than bottled water, they are also more readily available. However, you need to ensure that the water is safe to drink, as hard tap water contains certain minerals that can cause urinary infection in your pets. If in doubt, boil the water first, then let it cool down before giving it to your cat and dog to drink.
In either case, the water bowl must be filled with fresh water and changed at least once a day. You may also place several water bowls in different spots of your house so your dog and cat can access fresh water whenever they need it.
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If they live in the same household, can dogs and cats share a water bowl instead?
In theory, a healthy cat and dog should have no problem sharing water bowls, especially if you diligently replace the water to keep it fresh. However, most vets do not recommend pets sharing bowls, as water can be a rich breeding ground for microbes and other disease-causing organisms.
If you observe how cats and dogs drink, both use their tongue to flick and drag the water to their throat (much like a conveyor belt). Unfortunately, this makes the once-clean-and-fresh-water a pool of your pets’ saliva. Even though you think your pets have good hygiene, many kinds of bacteria and germs still thrive in their saliva.
Some might argue that sharing water bowls (and saliva) should not be a big deal when your pets live in the same household since they’re probably already sharing everything else (e.g., toys, bedding, etc.). However, it’s still possible for your dog or cat to get sick from sharing water bowls. As such, it might be safer to provide separate bowls for them.
Note, though, that providing separate bowls for your pets does not prevent them from accidentally sharing one. Hence, it’s important to wash and dry their bowls before refilling them with fresh water.
Always keep your pets’ water bowls clean
Some pet owners think that because the bowls “only ever contain water anyway,” they no longer need to be washed with soap and water. However, they should always be washed and cleaned at least once a week to prevent contamination.
This is important especially if the water bowl is made of unglazed ceramic or plastic. Both materials tend to give disease-causing bacteria plenty of hiding spaces, so even replacing the water with a fresh one would not be enough to keep your pet from getting sick.
Even if you use stainless steel bowls (the best material to prevent contamination), you still need to wash them with soap and water regularly. You might even want to sanitize them, although many pet owners would probably not want to put their pet’s water bowl in the same dishwasher that they use to clean their food utensils.
What other problems come from your pets sharing water bowls?
Both cats and dogs are territorial by nature, that is, they are quite possessive with things that they own. They can become aggressive when they have to share anything, especially food and water.
You can prevent this problem by putting separate bowls in different places. This gives your pets a sense of ownership. Cats are very particular with their water bowls and would only drink from a bowl of their preference. Some dogs may also have their own preferences, while others may drink out of any bowl. In this regard, observe your pets’ behavior so you can plan on how you can better provide for their needs.
Final Thoughts
Although it may seem cute that your cat and dog get along so well that they even share water bowls, it’s probably not the best idea to let them do so. It can lead to the spread of bacteria, which can in turn cause various health issues. In addition, it can cause some problems with pets that are territorial.
As such, it’s best to give your cat and dog separate water bowls and to place them in different areas of the house. This helps ensure that their water remains clean and that they feel secure in their own space.
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