Best Tips for Pets, Baby, Kitchen

The Blog Share Tips, Tricks, LifeStyle For You

  • Write For Us
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Cooking
  • Garden
  • Pets
    • Dogs
      • Dog Breeds
      • Dog Nutrition
      • Dog Grooming & Care
    • Cats
      • Cat Nutrition
      • Cat Grooming & Care
    • Fish and Aquariums
    • Hamster
    • Rabbits
    • Gerbil
    • Guinea Pigs
  • Sewing, Art, Crafts
You are here: Home / Pets / Cats / Cat Grooming & Care / How Long Can a Cat Go Without Food or Water and What To Do About It?

How Long Can a Cat Go Without Food or Water and What To Do About It?

September 22, 2021 by admin 2 Comments

How long can a cat go without food or water? This question is often asked as a result of curiosity. You, as a responsible, loving, and caring cat parent, don’t want your adorable pet to be in danger due to the lack of adequate nutrition and water. You understand that such a travesty should be avoided at all costs.

The reasons for asking the question, how long can a cat survive without water, are many. But the most common one is that your feline is sick. So he/he doesn’t feel like eating food or drinking water. So let’s find out the correct answer right away!

Table of Contents

  • How Long Can a Cat Go Without Food?
  • How Long Can a Cat Go Without Water?
  • Cat Refuses to Drink Water or Eat Food: How To Deal With This?
  • Conclusion

How Long Can a Cat Go Without Food?

how long can a cat go without food

Photo credit: CATS Pamuk on Flickr

There’s no one right or universal timetable when it comes to the food or diet of cats. Even so, all felines are bound to experience the same physical and mental changes when no food goes into their system.

The lack of adequate nutrition encourages the utilization of fat in the body for finding energy. The liver is the only organ that helps in processing body fat into your energy reserve. So when the liver fails to receive enough protein, it ceases to function properly. This is what causes liver failure.

Starvation has the ability to give rise to such organ damage. And that put’s your cat’s life in serious danger. The process takes several days to occur. But on average, cats can survive without food for 1-2 weeks. However, this hugely depends on his/her water intake and overall health.

Factors that influence your cat’s survival rate are as follows:

  • Genetic heritage.
  • Weather.
  • Age.
  • Emotional state.
  • Surroundings.

Older cats don’t last as long as the younger ones, obviously. At the same time, even kittens cannot go on for so long without food. So it certainly does depend on your pet’s age. Along with hot or cold weather conditions, stress, genetic heritage, and activity levels.

How Long Can a Cat Go Without Water?

how long can a cat go without water

Image by rihaij from Pixabay

You might think that food is more essential in comparison to water. That’s not true though. So how long can a cat live without water?

Outdoor or stray cats have the ability to survive for a longer time without water. And that’s because they receive enough fluids from every prey they capture. However, generally speaking, cats can live without water for only 3 to 4 days. After that, organ failure is inevitable.

For survival, water is very important. Particularly when the loss of appetite takes form and your cat refuses to eat anything. It’s quite unfortunate to find out that felines don’t feel dehydration to a great extent.

When your cat is eating food but not drinking enough water, even then his/her health is highly likely to enter damage territory. This is why wet food is a more suitable choice at such times. Canned wet food contains more moisture. And that makes it easier for your cat to stay without water for a longer time.

Just keep in mind that hyperactive cats and kittens tend to burn fluids quicker than their lazier furry friends. So you cannot expect the former to survive for long without drinking any water. The lack of it instantly worsens any present health conditions they might be suffering from.

Cat Refuses to Drink Water or Eat Food: How To Deal With This?

how to get a cat to drink water when sick

Image by Nadim Parvez Khan from Pixabay

Before I tell you what to do about this problem, here’s something you might want to look into first. If your pet isn’t drinking water or eating food as much as it usually does, don’t dismiss it as not urgent. There might be an underlying cause. So it’s best to pay a visit to your veterinarian as soon as possible. In the meantime, let’s address the problem at hand.

If your cat isn’t willing to drink water, try getting one of those pet fountains now widely available. This actually works if your feline is fond of drinking water from faucets.

Another effective way of tempting your cat to consume more fluids is feeding canned food. You can add more water to it if you like. This definitely provides your kitty with the fluid boost his/her body demands. Canned food also provides nutrition.

As for cats not eating food, you can try giving something new. Like his/her favorite treats or you can reheat canned food. Change the food bowl; maybe get a new, shallow one.

Just don’t panic if your pet cat stops drinking and eating suddenly. The chances are the surroundings have become a little stressful. Or there’s an unfamiliar human, animal, or piece of furniture around.

Whatever the reason, if your feline doesn’t start eating or drinking after 24 hours, time to make an appointment with the vet. Dehydration and malnourishment give rise to fatal outcomes. So please don’t neglect them.

Conclusion

Cats tend to hide or conceal their illnesses. So by the time you notice a problem, the underlying disease may or may not have become a little advanced. But a change or loss of appetite is a very clear red flag. Complete or partial anorexia is often a symptom of kidney and urinary tract disease. Along with pancreatitis, dental problems, arthritis, and even cancer.

How To Tell If Your Cat Is Sick

Your feline’s psychological health also plays a major role when it comes to food and diet. New changes like moving, a new pet or baby, etc. do have an impact on your cat’s appetite.

But you should know that not eating or drinking is something that manifests in the cat only when the illness gets worse. Nevertheless, you must keep a check on your pet’s appetite. And to seek professional medical attention as soon as you notice even the slightest difference. Why wait for the problem to get worse, right?

Now you know how long can a cat go without food or water.

Do You Want to Know More Tips and Trick on TopTipsForHer?

  1. How Much Penicillin to Give a Cat? (Safety Tips You Need To Know)
  2. Can Adult Cats Eat Kitten Food? (All You Need To Know About Nutrition)

Filed Under: Cat Grooming & Care Tagged With: how long can a cat go without food, how long can a cat go without food or water, how long can a cat go without water

About admin

Hi, my name is Lisa. This is my blog https://toptipsforher.com. The blog sharing the Tips, Tricks and hack for life become easier.

Comments

  1. Willow Blackwell says

    July 21, 2022 at 8:20 am

    I have a cute cat named Bi. He is over 2 years old, and he eats and plays, as usual, every day. Last night I started to see that he doesn’t run and play anymore, but he stays in the corner of the house, he doesn’t even eat, he just drinks a little water. I learned that cats cannot fast for more than 24 hours, and I am very worried about their condition.

    Reply
    • admin says

      August 13, 2022 at 4:17 pm

      Hi Willow
      You know well about your cat, so please go to the check up to him/her and sharing your experience for this case
      Wish Bi is best!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending

  • janitor fish benefits
    Fish and Aquariums Janitor Fish: Expectations vs. Reality
  • Can-dogs-eat-Ginger-Snaps
    Dog Nutrition Can Dogs Eat Ginger Snaps? How To Make Dog-Friendly Treats?
  • can cats eat cooked salmon
    Cat Nutrition Can Cats Eat Cooked Salmon? (Cats And Fish: What You Need To Know)
  • Can Dogs Eat Beef Liver
    Dog Nutrition Can Dogs Eat Beef Liver? How to Feed Liver to Dogs? (All You Need To Know)
  • Can Cats Eat Noodles
    Cat Nutrition Can Cats Eat Noodles? Is It Healthy? (All You Need To Know)
  • can cats eat bell peppers
    Cat Nutrition Can Cats Eat Bell Peppers? (What Is Safe? You Need To Know This!)

Recent Posts

  • 9 Signs Your Child Has Reached Their Limit While Camping
  • 5 Stages of Grief After Your Beloved Pet Passes
  • 10 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Baby
  • Ecoflow Delta 2 Vs. Bluetti Ac200p Comparison
  • 9 Things You Probably Forget To Clean In Your Home
  • 9 Gift Ideas for Horse Owners

toptipsforher.com - © 2019–2023