IMPACT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF WATER FOUNTAINS IN URINE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF DOMESTIC FELINES

Purpose : The increase in water intake has been studied as a method to decrease urine specific gravity in order to prevent urolithiasis, interstitial cystitis and feline urethral obstruction. This stud aims to understand if the type of drinking fountain will reflect in the increase of water intake and how this will influence the urine specific gravity and possible prevention of the diseases mentioned above. Methods: This study proposes to compare the amount of water ingested and which type of waterfall is preferred by felines through camera recording. Thirty healthy cats with a body weight of 3 to 6 kg (score 5 to 6) and range from 2 to 5 years. Results: To date, 22 animals have been evaluated, where partial results have shown that the feline normally has a preference for its usual source and new sources interfere in a negative way in its ingestion, in addition, it was observed that places where there is more than one animal, dominant feline is the one that ingests greater amount of water and prevents other felines from ingesting it, generating fear in the others. Conclusions: Thus, the implementation of new sources tends to be a disadvantage among felines and the dominance factor between them also interferes in these results.