I recently read a writer's assertion that cats should not be fed dry food. Cats do not assimilate dry foods well and should only eat wet foods. The writer went on to state that regular water's minerals causes UTI in cats.
Is such a thing possible for dogs, too? Is there any harm in giving dogs only distilled water? Would the use of distilled water stop persistent UTIs in dogs? Thanks.
Use of distilled water
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: Use of distilled water
Thats a tad vague - (the writer, not you), what do they mean by 'regular water'.
MY tap water is very soft, tastes nice (ish! its not Evian by any means!) to drink and you can make a decent cup of tea with it.
The tap water from my Dads well is bl**dy horrible to drink as it is, fairly horrible if you put cordial in it, makes a FOUL cup of tea and you can even taste it when you make coffee with it... because it is incredibly hard and full of minerals.
Which is better? - Well... his comes straight out of the ground, its been tested and is safe to drink but because it isnt mains water its not been treated with all the chemicals and bleuuuurgh that water companies put in it. We have to use a filter though to make it more drinkable! (Removes some of the mineral content mm and reduces teh KH)..
My water tastes nicer and you can wash your hair in it (forget getting any sort of a lather with hard water!) ... but is full of all manner of water company nasties, doesnt need to be filtered because the water companies say the levels of minerals and metals in it is fine...
Distilled water has NOTHING in it whatsoever - I would be surprised if cats and dogs wanted to drink it quite honestly, it isnt very nice stuff.
Bottled water from a natural spring may be better than your tap water but it entirely depends on what YOUR tap water is like. My dads friend is just a few miles away - his water again comes from a natural spring rather than a water company and is in fact the same spring that serves the Schweppes 'Malvern Spring Water plant (which is on the other side of the hill) - so effectively they not only drink, but wash up, bath, wash their clothes and flush the toilet with posh spring water!
So i think you need to know what your particular water is like to know whether some other water is better!
MY tap water is very soft, tastes nice (ish! its not Evian by any means!) to drink and you can make a decent cup of tea with it.
The tap water from my Dads well is bl**dy horrible to drink as it is, fairly horrible if you put cordial in it, makes a FOUL cup of tea and you can even taste it when you make coffee with it... because it is incredibly hard and full of minerals.
Which is better? - Well... his comes straight out of the ground, its been tested and is safe to drink but because it isnt mains water its not been treated with all the chemicals and bleuuuurgh that water companies put in it. We have to use a filter though to make it more drinkable! (Removes some of the mineral content mm and reduces teh KH)..
My water tastes nicer and you can wash your hair in it (forget getting any sort of a lather with hard water!) ... but is full of all manner of water company nasties, doesnt need to be filtered because the water companies say the levels of minerals and metals in it is fine...
Distilled water has NOTHING in it whatsoever - I would be surprised if cats and dogs wanted to drink it quite honestly, it isnt very nice stuff.
Bottled water from a natural spring may be better than your tap water but it entirely depends on what YOUR tap water is like. My dads friend is just a few miles away - his water again comes from a natural spring rather than a water company and is in fact the same spring that serves the Schweppes 'Malvern Spring Water plant (which is on the other side of the hill) - so effectively they not only drink, but wash up, bath, wash their clothes and flush the toilet with posh spring water!
So i think you need to know what your particular water is like to know whether some other water is better!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: Use of distilled water
I think the writer wanted to point-out the water's mineral content CAUSING UTIs. A worse situation for cats according to him.
My dog seems to get persistent UTIs and I'm trying to find the cause. I feed her BRAVO (containing stated nutrition, meats, fruits, veggies, no grains), WELLNESS (also no grains), diversified raw meats (beef, chicken, livers, hearts) and bones. Aside from taste if that is an issue, would distilled water in any way harm a dog if it is otherwise getting proper nutrition from diversified sources?
My dog seems to get persistent UTIs and I'm trying to find the cause. I feed her BRAVO (containing stated nutrition, meats, fruits, veggies, no grains), WELLNESS (also no grains), diversified raw meats (beef, chicken, livers, hearts) and bones. Aside from taste if that is an issue, would distilled water in any way harm a dog if it is otherwise getting proper nutrition from diversified sources?
Re: Use of distilled water
I cant see how it can do any harm if the dog is getting all he needs elsewhere... I would try it in your case and carefully monitor your dogs health, and discuss it with a vet.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: Use of distilled water
I actually worked briefly in water purification. distilled water is harmless and the best purification method out there. It often tastes flat or un-tasty because we have gotten used to all the "stuff" found in well water, tap water, mineral water, spring water and lesser water purification technics that still leave some stuff in the water. If done right, distilled water is actually the cleanest safest water you can drink, and if a nice carbon filter is the last thing the water flows through before it goes into your bottle, it will actually have a slight sweet taste to it.
People often think you don't get the minerals you need if you drink distilled water and that it will "leach" minerals from your body. This is actually not true. You get your minerals and nutrience from your food, where water is to flush you out and and hydrate you. Not "feed you". The cleaner the water, the better it can do it's job.
Also, keep in mind, water in nature starts out as distilled (ground water evaporates, goes into the atmosphere, cools and comes back as pure water...or at least it did until we got air pollution) and any naturally occurring minerals in water comes from the fact it flowed across or through something as it moved in underground steams or aquifers and may not actually be something your body can process or benefit from. heck it may even be small amounts deemed "safe" by the Government, but still something you don't want in you.
It's all I drink when given a choice. And it's what I give my dog Jack and he has no problems with it.
People often think you don't get the minerals you need if you drink distilled water and that it will "leach" minerals from your body. This is actually not true. You get your minerals and nutrience from your food, where water is to flush you out and and hydrate you. Not "feed you". The cleaner the water, the better it can do it's job.
Also, keep in mind, water in nature starts out as distilled (ground water evaporates, goes into the atmosphere, cools and comes back as pure water...or at least it did until we got air pollution) and any naturally occurring minerals in water comes from the fact it flowed across or through something as it moved in underground steams or aquifers and may not actually be something your body can process or benefit from. heck it may even be small amounts deemed "safe" by the Government, but still something you don't want in you.
It's all I drink when given a choice. And it's what I give my dog Jack and he has no problems with it.
