Do you know if your cat or dog is getting enough moisture? Most pets aren’t getting enough fluids, and simply setting out a bowl of water for them to drink doesn’t solve the problem. Dogs’ and cats’ bodies are 65% moisture, and unlike us, they are designed to get their moisture from their food – not just from their drinking water.
As with humans, water forms the basis for many functions in your pet’s body, assisting with the absorption of nutrients from their food. Water is also essential for circulation, cushioning the joints and spinal cord, waste removal, and much more. When your pet isn’t getting enough fluids, dehydration stresses their kidneys, possibly resulting in kidney disease and even kidney failure.
Kibble only provides between 6-10% of the moisture that pets need in their diet. When a pet is fed a kibble-only diet, they are likely not getting enough moisture to be healthy – even if a water bowl is left out for them. A better solution is providing a diet that already includes moisture, such as a raw diet, which mimics the prey your pet’s ancestors consumed for both food and fluid.
4 Primal ways to add moisture to your pet’s diet:
- Frozen Formulas. All of our raw, frozen formulas include moisture. For example, our Raw Frozen Mix Chicken Formula contains 74% moisture for canines and 73% moisture for felines, making it a great option for adding necessary fluids to your pet’s diet. Check out our other canine and feline raw frozen Formulas for other meal options with plenty of moisture.
- Raw Goat Milk. It’s everything that kibble isn’t. Known as the universal milk, goat milk is easily absorbed by a variety of mammals. It not only adds great moisture to kibble (make a pet cereal!) or our Freeze-Dried Formulas, it also contains vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, proteins, and fatty acids that contribute to your pet’s optimal health. Raw Goat Milk is 79% moisture.
- Bone Broth. Add much-needed moisture to kibble, canned food, dehydrated, freeze-dried, and raw foods with nutritious and delicious Bone Broth. With key benefits including digestion and liver support, joint health, appetite stimulation, and more, supplementing with Bone Broth is an easy way to keep your pet hydrated and healthy. Primal Bone Broth is a whopping 98% moisture.
- Water. Add room temperature or warm water (not hot, or you might cook raw foods) to kibble or to our Freeze-Dried Formulas to soften foods and add fluid to their diet. Be sure to continue to leave out water for your pet to drink in between meals.
What if your pet doesn’t like wet foods? Start by crumbling our Freeze-Dried Formula into a bowl. Serve it dry at first, and then slowly work your way into rehydrating it as directed on the back of the package. Over time, as you add slightly more water to each meal, you may be able to get your pet used to consuming a rehydrated diet.
By feeding your pet a diet that gets them moisture they need, you’ll be protecting their kidneys, tissues, and many other systems for a long, healthy life – just like any good pawrent should. Happy hydrating!