From whiskers and night vision to paws with retractable claws house, cats
and lions have a lot in common, including the tendency to become
dehydrated.
Their sandpaper tongues are great for grooming but
are not meant to lap up water. A feline body is meant to extract its
hydration from its food.
Just as house cats are fed commercial foods and need another source of water, captive lions also need extra water. "We
basically check their water all the time, because they hydration is
super important.
We make sure they always have water, clean water, fresh
water so we monitor it constantly because that is a big thing with
them. They definitely need to have their water," said Jeff Taylor, owner
and operator of The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango, N.Y.
Through
computer simulation and watching slow motion video of cats drinking,
researchers at MIT discovered that big cats and house cats just use the
tip of their tongue to drink by bending the tip under to draw water in
while lapping up the liquid. House cats lap four times per second, while
lions lap just twice per second.
To help your cats get more
water, try mixing soft food with hard food. Give them a cat fountain and
try placing bowls at different heights.
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