How much water should my pet drink?
A quick daily water guide for cats and dogs. Pick your pet, set their weight and diet, and see roughly how much they need, and how much of it should come from the bowl.
220–300ml
a day, from food and water combined
- ~250 mlfrom the water bowl
- 1 cupof water a day
12 days of drinking in one 3L NOOKZY
The butter band is one day's drinking from a full tank.General guide for healthy adult cats and dogs, not veterinary advice. Needs go up with heat, exercise, pregnancy, nursing and illness, and kittens, puppies and seniors can differ. If your pet suddenly drinks a lot more or less than usual, see your vet.
How we calculate this
- Total daily water. Healthy cats and dogs need roughly 1 ml of water for every calorie they burn, which works out to about 50 ml per kg of body weight on average. We estimate calories with the standard veterinary formula, 70 × weight in kg0.75, multiplied by 1.0–1.4 for adult cats and 1.4–1.8 for adult dogs. The range shown covers that spread, from less active or desexed pets to active ones. Smaller pets need more water per kg than bigger ones.
- Water from food. Dry food is around 10% water and about 3.8 calories per gram. Wet food is around 78% water and about 1 calorie per gram. We take away the water your pet gets from their food to estimate how much should come from the bowl. That’s why cats on wet food can drink very little and still be well hydrated.
- When to see your vet. Drinking more than about 100 ml per kg a day is a recognised sign of excessive thirst (polydipsia) and is worth a vet check, as is a sudden change in how much your pet drinks.
Sources: MSD Veterinary Manual · Hill’s Pet Nutrition · Encyclopedia of Feline Clinical Nutrition · Thomas et al., Journal of Nutritional Science (2017) · International Cat Care
Still water gets ignored.
Plenty of cats and dogs turn their nose up at a bowl that's been sitting all day. Here's the same bowl at 9am, 1pm and 6pm.
- Hair and dust settle on the surface
- Kibble crumbs turn it cloudy
- Flat, warm water a lot of pets just ignore
