What to give to a dehydrated cat?

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Cat Ma

Cat Ma

Member Since 2015
Normally when my cat is dehydrated and electrolytes are low, I give her unflavored Pedialyte. But since that has dextrose, I need something on hand that won't spike up her BG levels.

Any suggestions besides giving fluids?
 
Cat Ma said:
I've been doing that. I am concerned with her electrolytes, though. Would she get enough with water alone?
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I make home made bone broth with nothing added. I use grass-fed beef, lamb, pork bones whatever I can get and boil then simmer for 12 or more hours with about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to 4 cups of water (depending on how many bones you have). The vinegar helps pull out the nutrients from the bones. You end up with a gel-like substance that can be fed as snacks or watered down a bit and added to the food.
This is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and other minerals.
 
You can test for dehydration at home. See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for the skin test and the gum test.
 
I do the same as tuxedo mom except I use chicken bones. I skim off excess fat and freeze the broth in ice cube trays and use as needed. Sheba used to get dehydrated but since I started using the broth she has been fine.
 
Bron and Sheba said:
I do the same as tuxedo mom except I use chicken bones. I skim off excess fat and freeze the broth in ice cube trays and use as needed. Sheba used to get dehydrated but since I started using the broth she has been fine.
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I also make chicken stock but I find I can't quite get that nice jellied texture to it. I suppose I am using too much water. But I will give my Tuxie some of that mixed in with his food as well. It is also loaded with nutrients.
 
Good suggestions. What about baby food? Or a commercially available bone broth without onion and garlic?
 
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BJM said:
You can test for dehydration at home. See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for the skin test and the gum test.
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In reading your helpful post on testing ketones in urine , if ketones are found, what do I do next?
 
If there are more than trace ketones on a fresh urine specimen with the test strip used as directed on the container, get to a vet. Old urine and not monitoring the time before reading the strips will lead to erroneous conclusions.

Too many ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal complication of diabetes, and very expensive to treat as it requires hospitalization.
 
If your cat is dehydrated sub-q fluids might be needed. It is something you can be taught to do at home.
 
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