Ask the Vets this week!

[Karen]

Thanks, I will add that in!

[Moesha]

I wonder what the vets think of checking your diabetic animal's blood sugar at home, specifically a cat in my case.

[phesina]

Karen, would you please ask the vets what they think about giving cats tap water to drink?

I use a Brita filter pitcher for my own drinking water. The water tastes better, if nothing else. For a while I was giving my cats this water too, and then I happened to think: Wait a minute, they use their tongues as toilet paper! And surely tap water wasn't going to be worse than that, so I started giving them the tap water instead.

Then one day a few months ago someone said to me that the chlorine in tap water can cause real serious harm to cats ( kidneys maybe? I forget which organ she said), so I've been giving them the Brita filtered water again since then.

My question is: is that true? or are there other impurities in tap water that are potentially harmful to them?

The tap water in Ann Arbor is supposedly very pure as tap water goes.

Thanks very much,
Pat

[Karen]

Will work these in!

[phesina]

Thank you!

[Karen]

So, besides the anal glands question I missed last week, anyone with any new vet questions this week?

[Karen]

So anyone else any questions?

[cassiesmom]

Karen, would you please ask the vets what they think about giving cats tap water to drink?

I use a Brita filter pitcher for my own drinking water. The water tastes better, if nothing else. For a while I was giving my cats this water too, and then I happened to think: Wait a minute, they use their tongues as toilet paper! And surely tap water wasn't going to be worse than that, so I started giving them the tap water instead.

Then one day a few months ago someone said to me that the chlorine in tap water can cause real serious harm to cats ( kidneys maybe? I forget which organ she said), so I've been giving them the Brita filtered water again since then.

My question is: is that true? or are there other impurities in tap water that are potentially harmful to them?

The tap water in Ann Arbor is supposedly very pure as tap water goes.

Thanks very much,
Pat

What was the answer to the question about water? The water in my building has an odd chlorine-y smell, especially the cold water. Sometimes I buy drinking water at the supermarket and sometimes I boil tap water and let it cool, which seems to help. We get Lake Michigan water. Other residents in my building have noticed the same problem and a lot of people use bottled water.

Thank you,
Elyse

[Karen]

What was the answer to the question about water? The water in my building has an odd chlorine-y smell, especially the cold water. Sometimes I buy drinking water at the supermarket and sometimes I boil tap water and let it cool, which seems to help. We get Lake Michigan water. Other residents in my building have noticed the same problem and a lot of people use bottled water.

Thank you,
Elyse

The answer was basically, if you don't want to drink it, don't make your cats drink it. Getting a filtered pitcher is better, less expensive than bottled for the long run ...

[krazyaboutkatz]

Okay, I'll send you the audio files when I get them, because they discussed other things than pumpkin, that's just the one that stuck in my head!

Thanks Karen.

The answer was basically, if you don't want to drink it, don't make your cats drink it. Getting a filtered pitcher is better, less expensive than bottled for the long run ...

I saw something similar on the internet. A doctor was asked the question is tap water better for you than bottled water? His answer was that tap water was better for you because it's tested much more thoroughly than bottled water. He said that if you hate the taste then just get something to filter it with. I have very hard water and I don't drink my water. I do filter it by osmosis sp? and then I drink it. I give my cats this water in the main area. I've been just giving my cats in my bedroom plain old tap water. They all seem to like the water that I've been giving them.

[Karen]

Thanks Karen.


I saw something similar on the internet. A doctor was asked the question is tap water better for you than bottled water? His answer was that tap water was better for you because it's tested much more thoroughly than bottled water. He said that if you hate the taste then just get something to filter it with. I have very hard water and I don't drink my water. I do filter it by osmosis sp? and then I drink it. I give my cats this water in the main area. I've been just giving my cats in my bedroom plain old tap water. They all seem to like the water that I've been giving them.

The more complete answer, which will be in the audio files is, the quality of tap water varies from community to community, and can even vary from home to home depending on whether people use a municipal water source or a local or individual well. So whether "tap" water is okay really depends on your own situation.

[Moesha]

Don't know if I am in time for this week or not, but I just learned that Vetsulin insulin is back on the market and is half the price of the Prozinc. The vet said that the dosage would have to be readjusted for the switch. Morgan was on Vetsulin when he was diagnosed with diabetes. That was about 6 or 7 years ago before it was pulled. Maybe the vets could discuss the difference in these insulins. I wonder if they have a preference.

[Karen]

If I can, I'll sneak that in if we have time!

[Karen]

Moesha, didn't get that one in this week, but will hold it for next time!