Why You Shouldn’t Give Your Cat Bottled Water
When it comes to taking care of your cat, you might think that giving him bottled water is one of the best things that you can do. After all, humans from all walks of life have a tendency to consume this type of water in such enormous amounts that it sometimes boggles the mind. As such, you probably think that you’re doing your feline friend a favor by always having some bottled water on hand, should he want it. You might be surprised to learn that in reality, you shouldn’t be giving your cat bottled water at all. Keep reading to find out why.
There Is an Issue With the Plastic Water Bottle
The biggest reason that you shouldn’t be giving bottled water to your cat is because of the plastic water bottle that it is contained in. As a matter of fact, you really should be steering clear of any and all plastics for your cat. That means feeding nothing that comes out of a plastic container, refraining from buying plastic food and water bowls and of course, no liquids from a plastic container, either. Why is plastic such a problem? It all comes down to the chemicals that are used to create it. In most cases, these plastics have something called BPA. It’s a certain chemical that is used to make the plastic bottles, bowls, food dishes, so on and so forth. The problem is, this BPA is a chemical that can actually leach out into the food or water that your cat is consuming. Unless the plastic you are using specifically says that it is BPA-free, it simply isn’t safe to do so. For that reason, you should always use extreme caution if you are giving your cat bottled water. It’s very rare to find bottled water that has been placed into BPA-free containers because it is too expensive to be practical when it comes to mass production. Therefore, you could be inadvertently causing harm to your cat, as these chemicals can cause a variety of health problems. Under severe circumstances, it could even shorten your cat’s life span.
Other Issues With Bottled Water
Even if you manage to correctly address the problem with the BPA chemicals, bottled water may still not be safe for your cat. This is where things get very confusing, because it depends on the type of water that you are giving your cat. For example, it might be perfectly acceptable to give your cat bottled water that is spring water from a BPA-free container. Some would even argue that doing so is beneficial to your cat’s health. That said, giving your cat distilled water from a BPA-free container can still be harmful. If you’re curious about the reason why, it all comes down to the amount of minerals in the water itself. Cats don’t metabolize things in the same way that human beings do. Giving your cat distilled water as drinking water is dangerous because the mineral content is so high that your cat may not be able to process it. This could cause kidney damage which can then cause a whole host of other problems. Therefore, it might be best to steer clear of bottled water all together, especially if you are not sure exactly which type of water it is or exactly what source it was bottled from.
Straight from the Vet’s Mouth to Your Ears
If you are still confused, it’s understandable. It can be exceptionally difficult to know whether or not you’re doing the right thing for your pets. Even something as simple as the type of water you give can have a dramatic impact on the lifespan of your pet, not to mention his quality of life. If you allow yourself to think about it for too long, you’ll probably end up more confused than ever, as well as so fearful about what to do next that you’re practically paralyzed. So what do most veterinarians say about the decision to give bottled water or not to your cat? Just as previously discussed, the overwhelming majority of them echo concerns about the potential for harmful chemicals in bottled water, both because of the mineral content of the water itself and the chemicals from the plastic in the bottle. At the end of the day, most of them recommend refraining from giving your cat bottled water in any capacity, largely because you don’t know exactly where that water came from, how many minerals are in it or whether or not the bottle that claims to be BPA-free is actually free from harmful chemicals.
What You Should Do Instead
If you aren’t supposed to give your cat bottled water, what should you be doing? Many people would argue that giving your cat tap water isn’t any safer than bottled water. If you can’t give water from a bottle or from the tap, that doesn’t exactly leave you a lot of options, does it? As it happens, it’s actually safer to give your cat tap water, provided that water is filtered. You can buy a whole home filter system or a simple filter that attaches to the water faucet in the kitchen, for example. The latter will provide you with filtered water from that particular faucet. Once the water is filtered, you don’t have to worry as much about potentially harmful chemicals in your tap water, such as chlorine. Most experts agree that this is the safest route to take because it minimizes the chemicals in the water and you know exactly where the water you are giving your cat is coming from.
At the end of the day, it is all about taking the best care of your cat that you possibly can. Unfortunately, a lot of misguided individuals think that giving them drinking water exclusively from a bottle is the best way to do that. In reality, it’s best to filter the water in your home and steer clear of bottled water all together.
