How much water does a cat need?

[varihbfla]

I have a cat that is about 13 years old. He just recently injured his back. He hasn't been the same since. He was doing pretty good, eating and drinking and getting around alright. When we went on vacation last week he decided to stop eating and drinking. When we found out we had the person who was taking care of him take him to the vet. He was already dehydrated, he had to stay overnight and get fluids with an IV. The vet said he turned around quickly and was doing much better. We picked him up yesterday morning. They said he had eaten and drank that morning on his own. He is going back to the vet tomorrow and his blood work will be in. I still have not been able to get him to drink. He has been eating, he ate some wet food just a little while ago. For today I have been giving him water with the syringe that they gave me for his pain medicine. I just don't really know how much he needs or if I haven given him enough. Does anyone know off hand approximately how much water a cat should get a day? I am glad he goes back to the vet tomorrow and I will ask them but if anyone knows it would be helpful for now. Thank you, varihbfal

[badger]

If he is eating canned food, he will probably be OK. One thing you could do to increase his water consumption is to add even more water to his food, to make a kind of thick soup. My Badger, who is a good drinker, loves soupy food. What did they say about his back? Was it just a strain?

[varihbfla]

I took Butch back to the vet today and there happened to be a different vet in the office for the day. I dropped him off for a while so they could look at him again. This vet said that he has a large tumor on his liver. Like liver cancer. He gave him some medication to increase his appetite. He said if in a couple of days he doesn't starting eating and drinking on his own that we should put him to sleep. He also said that even if he does start to eat and drink that he will not live much longer at all. What he said makes much more sense. I believe the other vet misdiagnosed him. This vet was much older and seemed to have much more experience, he said he had been doing this for 35 years. I just have to hope he improves a little. Thanks for the response, sorry I did't get back to you last night. That is a great idea and I am going to try it tonight.
Thank you,
varihbfla

[badger]

How sad. But it's a good age for a cat, not that that makes a speck of difference when it comes to losing our pets. I hope you can spoil him for a little longer and send him off when the time comes, knowing that you did everything you could and he had a good life.