Is It Safe For Cats and Dogs To Drink Tap Water?

Is It Safe For Cats and Dogs To Drink Tap Water?

For a lot of us, pets are a valuable possession. They bring an unheard level of fun and pleasure to our regular day-to-day activities and our families—also the sheer comfort and emotional help they give. And the amount they help relieve our feelings of anxiety and feeling of depression.

Nearly 70% of American households have at least one pet. Nonetheless, their hydration likely isn't something we invest a lot of energy in considering. Much like people, our furry best friends are made up for most of the water. And are greatly dependent on it for ideal well-being. The main concern is, in case you're worried about the water you're taking in your body, you should give that similar worry to any dogs or cats drinking similar water. 

Keeping Pets Hydrated

In certain cases, animals are composed of so much or more water than humans. This makes appropriate pet hydration fundamentally significant. In addition to other things, water aids prevent contamination and illness, increase energy levels, keep up stable body heat level and blood circulation, filter waste, process food, and speed up the recovery time from sickness, medical procedure, or injury.
How much water should your pet drink every day? 
In case you're thinking about how much water to give your pet on some random day, the ASPCA suggests at any rate one ounce of water for each pound of body weight. More water might be essential when replacing different factors like temperature and the amount of activity your pet performs, particularly during the summer. It's critical to keep a close track of your pet's water consumption.
How can you tell if your pet is dehydrated?
A survey conducted by PetSafe found that over 70% of pet owners wouldn't know how to recognize if their pet was dehydrated. Manifestations of dehydration in pets include: 
  • Hollow eyes
  • Lack of energy or enthusiasm
  • Loss of appetite
  • Dry mouth
When you think that your pet is dehydrated, give them new, clean water. And bring them to the veterinarian at the earliest opportunity.

Tap water is frequently the most widely recognized source for dogs and pet drinking water. While that is not innately an awful thing, it warrants some additional work to guarantee that water is clean and safe for your pets.

In the wilderness, creatures can use their exceptional sense of smell to recognize which water is best for them to drink. They normally keep away from water that contains chemicals and other noticeable contaminants. Yet, since not all tap water is safe, you could be giving polluted water to your pets, which could be harmful to them. To worsen the situation, our domesticated pets practically need to drink the water we give. Or else they'll take a chance getting dehydrated. 

This is why we've chosen to emphasize the significance of clean drinking water for pets and what you can do to guarantee that your water is without contaminants before it arrives at your pet's water dish or drinking fountain.

Is It Safe For Cats and Dogs To Drink Tap Water?

Is It Safe For Cats and Dogs To Drink Tap Water

Regardless of whether your water originates from a community, a well, a waterway, or some other source, there's consistently the possibility that it is filled with contaminants to a certain extent. When consumed, toxins hiding in contaminated tap water sources can prompt many negative health impacts in your pets and even death. 

It is difficult to determine whether your tap water is safe for your pets by simply smelling it, tasting it, or taking a look at it. Yet, there are a few things that we need to consider to make an exact estimate. Above all else, we need to consider the potential existence of harmful toxins like chemicals, pesticides, metals, pharmaceuticals, microbes, infections, protozoans, parasites, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radiological contaminants, for example, plutonium and uranium, and even sewer floods and wastewater. Besides, water hardness can likewise be a possible danger to the health of certain pets. Furthermore, to wrap things up, we should not overlook the cancer-causing water fluoridation. 

Considering all the risky contamination available in untreated tap water (in certain areas), it isn't safe for people to drink and undependable for your pets. If you wouldn't drink water from your tap, it is extremely unlikely on earth you should offer it to your pets.

Water Contamination Problems and They Affect Pets

Is It Safe For Cats and Dogs To Drink Tap Water

A few people consider that 5,000 ppm (parts per million) of Total Dissolved Solids in drinking water is worth pets. Although we believe the distinction in drinking water that contains 5,000 ppm of sodium instead of 5,000 ppm of toxic arsenic, we do not completely accept that suggested contaminated level. Instead, it's more consistent with observing the concentration levels of the particular water contaminants just as their familiar health impacts: 

E.coli: Some strains of E. coli bacteria are harmless. However, sometimes, there are those hazardous strains that are found in our public water systems. A pet contaminated with E. coli may show side effects like low body temperature, depression, rapid heart rate, diarrhea, heaving, vomiting, loss of appetite, and weakness. 
Lead: When ingested in high intakes, lead can cause serious stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea in certain pets. If exposed for an extended period, they may suffer fatigue, seizures, poor appetite, vision impairment, extreme anxiety, and behavioral changes. 
Fluoride: Insufficiently high levels, fluoride is hazardous. It can pressure the kidneys to remove it from the body and cause drooling, anxiety, severe infection, weak muscles, stiffness, rapid heart rate, unconsciousness, or even passing. Fluoride in water can likewise cause cancer in pets, like in people. 
Arsenic: High levels of arsenic are seldom found in tap water. However, if it is and your pet swallows a lot of it, it can prompt stomach pains, laziness, or even unconsciousness.
Giardia: This is a parasite passed by releases of fecal waste into water, food, soil, and different surfaces. Giardia can cause loose bowels in animals, just as people. 
Water Hardness: "Hard water" is portrayed as water that contains high levels (17.1 ppm) of dissolved magnesium and calcium. Hard tap water (more than 240 ppm) is bound to make pets experience urinary health problems, similar to incontinence, tract infections, cystitis, and crystalluria.

Why Do Pets Need Clean Water?

Is It Safe For Cats and Dogs To Drink Tap Water

Water is important to the wellness of all mammals, making up 55 to 75 percent of the bodyweight of warm-blooded animals. It goes about as a delicate cooling motor in your pet's body when they discharge water fume through gasping and sweating. When consumed, untreated water flowing through the body can cause a few contaminations and harm the pet's immune system. On the other hand, clean drinking water purifies and detoxifies your pet's whole body. 

Since water is a universal solvent, it can transfer a wide range of substances. The capacity of water to expel toxins from the body makes it equipped for transferring toxic material into the body. In this situation, the contaminants found in untreated tap water can enter the body of your pet. In light of that, you should try and figure out what water is the most beneficial for your pets so they can carry on with longer and healthier life. Nevertheless, don't stress. We've done the research and discovered the ideal answer for your canine, feline, hamster, and so on. This technique won't just keep your pets safe and very much hydrated yet also your whole family.

How To Keep Your Drinking Water Safe for Pets

If your tap water is not healthy for drinking, both people and pets can experience the ill effects of a wide scope of dangerous water-borne illnesses or even death. As a prevention, you can make the accompanying protective measures: 

Is It Safe For Cats and Dogs To Drink Tap Water
Secure a Clean Water Bowl 
Here and there, the issue isn't simply the water, yet the water bowl from which your pet is drinking. When it is not cleaned consistently, bacteria may begin to develop in the bowl and contaminate your pet in the long run. In this manner, you should keep the bowl clean by washing it regularly and possibly, change the water two times every day to keep it nice and fresh. Likewise, steel water containers are a superior option in contrast to plastic bowls as there are worries about toxins filtering from the plastic material into the water.
Pet Water Fountain
It is a water bowl with an automatic fountain to provide a continuous flow of freshwater. The fountain can either vary from a free-falling stream or recirculating water. This encourages the pets to drink more. You may opt to install filters to keep the water free of dirt, food debris, and unpleasant odors.

Verdict

Our pets are our companions as well as our responsibility. Along these lines, we need to do all that we can to guarantee their well-being and safety. That incorporates giving the most excellent water to them to drink and remain happy and hydrated.

Regardless of whether you opt for an entire home water filtration system or a stand-alone system that fits in your kitchen, your pets will thank you when their water is freshly filtered. Then you could have a sigh of relief, realizing your water is protected and healthy for you and your best four-legged companions.



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