DIPSIC BEHAVIOR AND DRINKING IN THE CAT

When the dietary needs of domestic carnivores are studied, the water r equirements often forgotten, water being frequently supplied ad libitu m. Water is nevertheless a primordial nutrient for the organism, from a quantitative (first constituent of the organism) and from a chronolo gical (no storage and high sensitivity to dehydration) point of view a nd because of its functional roles. In this review, the authors envisa ge firstly, to estimate the flux of water in the organism within the d ifferent compartments; endogenous water, exogenous water and losses by the different excretory organs. This allows the establishment of a qu antitative evaluation and a numeric estimation of the daily requiremen t. Secondly, the satisfaction of the water requirement implies that th e mechanisms of thirst (activation and regulation) and the numerous di psic behaviour manifestations should be taken into account, together w ith their variation factors related for example to climatic environmen t and feeding. Finally, bearing in mind their dramatic consequences on animal health the principle disturbances of water intake are presente d, even though they are relatively rare.