Cat hydration tips for senior cats on a budget

Making homemade broth for your cat is a genuinely thoughtful idea — and at 8 years old, your Domestic Longhair is at exactly the age where hydration starts to matter most. Cats evolved in arid environments and have a naturally low thirst drive, so most cats on dry food are chronically underhydrated without their owners realising. That's a real problem because kidney disease is the leading cause of death in older cats — and keeping them well-hydrated is one of the best preventative steps you can take. Wet food and water fountains are the two most effective solutions. Can you tell me: is your cat currently on dry or wet food, do they have any kidney or urinary history, and have they tried a water fountain before?

The homemade broth trick is genuinely smart — mixing it into kibble does increase moisture intake, and unsalted is exactly right. But here's the honest comparison: broth-soaked dry food still delivers far less moisture than actual wet food, because the kibble absorbs some and dry food is only around 10% water to begin with. Wet food sits at around 70–80% water, so it's a much more efficient hydration vehicle. The good news is that wet food doesn't have to be expensive. What's her current dry food costing you per month roughly, and how many pouches of wet are you giving her at the moment?

It can add up, but there's a middle-ground that works really well for budget-conscious owners: replace one of the two daily dry meals with a wet pouch, rather than going fully wet overnight. That alone makes a big difference to hydration. For a senior cat where you're watching your budget, I'd recommend Encore Cat Food Pouches — specifically the multipack variety boxes. They're made with high-quality, named meat or fish in natural broth, very low in additives, and you can find 32-packs on Amazon UK for around £18–22. That works out to roughly 55–70p per pouch, which keeps you well within budget while getting your girl the moisture she needs. The broth inside the pouches also counts toward her fluid intake, which is a bonus.

Coat type doesn't really affect food requirements — longhair vs shorthair is about grooming, not nutrition. Senior-labelled foods are worth considering at 8, but honestly the most important things at her age are: adequate protein, high moisture, and low phosphorus if kidneys ever become a concern. Encore ticks all of those — it's high-meat, high-moisture, and not loaded with fillers or synthetic additives. If she develops any kidney issues down the line, you'd look at a prescription renal diet, but right now for a healthy 8-year-old, Encore is a solid everyday choice. Keep doing the broth top-ups on days you use dry food — that combination is genuinely good practice.

You're doing all the right things already — the broth idea shows you're paying attention. Switching to one wet meal a day with Encore, keeping the broth trick for dry-food days, and you'll have her hydration in a really good place heading into her senior years. Worth getting kidney values checked at her next vet visit just as a baseline — totally routine at 8, and it gives you a number to track. Good luck with her!