• burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de
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      6 hours ago

      Dehydration is a common cause for cats to be ‘ill’ and brought to the vet,* so it could be that their piss reeks because they are having to concentrate it so much in the first place.

      *source: a dimly remembered conversation with a vet friend when I asked her why she was adding water to the already wet food for her cat. She said her cat could never be encouraged to drink enough, so it was her way of staving off the annoyance of giving iv fluids to her own animal someday.

      • Komodo Rodeo@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        That makes sense, I wonder if it’s the case and how common it is. I’ll have to ask a vet tech that I know.

      • jamesjams@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        It’s absolutely a thing, I’ve had several cats in my life look nearly on the brink of death before basically forcing them to drink or eat turned them around completely. They can be very stubborn. Fountains help a lot because in nature moving water is typically cleaner than standing water, so if your cat always refuses to drink, get a $10 cat fountain on Amazon, it works!