Chronic renal insuficiency (CRI) is a common pathology in cats, especially those middle aged or older. It is one of the most important causes of disease and death in cats and estimates indicate that roughly 30% of cats over 12 years are affected. It is an irreversible and progressive condition with variable evolution between individual cats as it is also very dependant on other external factors such as nutrition, exercise and the amount of water consumed.
The domestic cat doesn't drink a lot of water for natural evolutionary and physiological reasons: its kidneys are able to produce highly concentrated urine and therefore their bodies are extremely efficient in conserving water. This characteristic, which constitutes a biological advantage in the extremely dry environments from which they originated, still persists and leads to the frequent urinary problems we see in cats today.
It is therefore absolutely fundamental that we stimulate cats to drink water by placing multiple drinking bowls or using drinking fountains. It is also very important to promote physical exercise by using toys, platforms, towers and other new stimuli.