[Posting on behalf of customer who posted the question via live chat]
I purchased Stella & Chewy’s Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Cat Food. According to the feeding instruction, the food needs to be rehydrated with water or broth before feeding, but my cat prefers the unhydrated freeze dried morsels. What should I do to encourage her water intake?
The fragrance of unhydrated freeze dried morsels may make the food seem tastier to cats who are picky eaters. With low thirst drive, cats often do not feel the urge to drink water as much as we do. Though cats can survive on less amount of water than other animals, dehydration may lead to feline renal & urinary diseases. Hence, it is necessary to encourage water intake especially if your cats only feed on dry food.
You can slowly transition your cat from unhydrated freeze dried food to fully rehydrated freeze dried food by progressively adding more liquid over time. Start with an extremely small a mount of water first and slowly increase the liquid amount after your cat is used to it. You may also want to consider using chicken broth (with no seasonings) to add more flavors.
The above mentioned method is applicable to almost all freeze dried food which requires rehydration before feeding, such as the ones below.