A guide to how and when to add bone broth to your pet’s meals — plus tips on avoiding dehydration altogether.
To entice your picky eater. If your pet is a picky or poor eater, you may be able to stimulate their appetite with a bone broth topper. This product is a dry powder made of bone broth that can be sprinkled on top of your pet’s food to encourage them to eat. However, bone broth toppers should be used with caution, especially if your pet has certain medical conditions. Before trying one, make sure to talk to your vet about an appetite stimulant or prescription food your pet might like more than their current option.
To get elderly dogs or cats to eat. Senior dogs and cats sometimes eat less than they once did and need something more enticing. Again, your vet may recommend easing your pet into a different kind of pet food or trying an appetite stimulant before opting for a bone broth topper.
To encourage sick dogs to eat. If your pet is sick, it’s important to first take them to your local vet to get them the tests and treatments they need. Bone broth can encourage a sick pet to eat, but it can also exacerbate certain conditions and illnesses, so it likely won’t be your vet’s first course of action. If your pet is dehydrated from vomiting or diarrhea, bone broth mixed in with their food or water could encourage them to drink more fluids. But it’s important to check with your vet before making any changes to your pet’s diet.
To boost hydration. If your dog or cat is not drinking enough water to ensure healthy hydration, bone broth toppers can be added to their food to improve its palatability or to their water to encourage fluid intake.
👉 Remember: Picky eaters are different from dogs or cats who suddenly stop eating, which can be a sign something more serious is wrong. Always consult your vet when you notice changes in your pup’s mealtime behavior.
Dogs should drink one ounce of water per pound of body weight (Trusted Source) every day, though this can vary depending on their size, age, and activity level. Young puppies need about a half cup of water every two hours. On an especially active day, your pup may need even more.
Cats need to consume about four ounces of water per five pounds of lean body weight per day. The average 10-pound cat should drink about one cup of water daily.
Just like humans, water is an essential part of your pet’s health and body regulation. Water facilitates metabolic processes like digestion, breathing, blood flow, and brain activity. It also helps clear the body of harmful toxins while transporting oxygen and regulating your pet’s body temperature. Dehydration can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and neurological dysfunction, among other serious health issues. Without water, your pet’s vital organs simply can’t function the way they should.
Diseases that cause increased water loss, such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, or gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, are common causes of dehydration. Pets with kidney disease in particular tend to urinate more often than healthy pets, which can lead to dehydration without proper water intake. In both cats and dogs, appropriate water intake can help by flushing out the kidneys and urinary tract (Trusted Source) . This ultimately helps waste products get excreted rather than building up and forming toxins in the bloodstream.
Other causes of decreased water intake may include lethargy, injury, impaired mobility, decreased appetite, dental issues, territorial issues with other animals in the household, and general lack of access to water.
Cats are more likely to become dehydrated than are dogs. Because cats are historically desert animals that evolved to get most of their moisture from their prey, they don’t instinctively drink water the way dogs do. They’re also a bit pickier and often benefit from a combination of dry and canned food to give them a boost of daily hydration.
Head to the vet right away if you notice any of the following signs in your pet:
👉 Tip: To check their skin elasticity, gently pick up your pet by the loose skin on the back of their neck and release it. If the tented skin goes down quickly, then your pet is likely hydrated. If it’s slow to do so, your pet is likely dehydrated.
Bone broth toppers, which can be served with water or on top of your pet’s favorite dry food, can improve palatability and treat mild cases of dehydration. Before adding it to your pet’s meals, make sure to consult with your local vet to ensure the product you’re introducing is safe.
Native Pet’s Chicken and Beef Bone Broth Toppers are safe for your pets unless they have a food allergy to one of the ingredients or have a pre-existing condition such as kidney disease. Sick pets in need of a bland diet should avoid bone broth and should instead opt for specialized diets and vet-prescribed medication.
Yes, but it’s not very common. Drinking too much water — also called water intoxication, hyperhydration, or water poisoning — can be a sign of more serious health issues, like diabetes or Cushing’s disease. Hyperhydration can occur when pets go swimming or when they play-bite streams of water like garden hoses or sprinklers. Toy breeds and small dogs are at greater risk (Trusted Source) than larger breeds because their small bodies have to work harder to get rid of excess water in their system.
When your pet is overwhelmed with excessive hydration, blood sodium levels outside the cells can be depleted and force the body to rebalance itself by swelling and increasing fluid intake inside the cells. Not every organ, including the brain, can accommodate that swelling. If the pressure on the brain continues to increase and cells start to die off, this can lead to seizures, difficulty breathing, and can ultimately be fatal.
🚨 If you notice signs of dehydration or hyperhydration in your pet, head to your vet’s office immediately.
Bone broth can be a useful addition to your pet’s meals if they are struggling to eat or are dehydrated. That said, if your pet isn’t eating, your vet will likely recommend a special diet or medication before they’d suggest giving your pet bone broth. To feed bone broth to your pet, try mixing some cold or warm broth into their food or serve it as a topping as a way to add moisture to dry kibble. You can also add broth to water to encourage water consumption. During the warmer months, freeze bone broth into ice cubes for a summer day’s treat.
Most broths in grocery stores contain garlic and onion, which are toxic to cats and dogs. If the bone broths in your store are specifically intended for pet consumption and your pet would benefit from the product, then yes. However, it’s important to consult your vet before making changes to your pet’s diet.
Bone broth is generally mild enough that even dogs with upset stomachs can handle it. However, bone broth can be high in fat, which can worsen gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting, and in some cases, even lead to pancreatitis.
Unopened cans of bone broth, when stored properly, can last for years after the best-by date, but both commercial and homemade products should not remain in the fridge for long. Once opened and refrigerated, store-bought broth is safe to consume for an estimated 4-5 days. It’s best to let homemade broth sit in the fridge for no more than 3-4 days. To avoid the issue of spoilage, we suggest using a bone broth topper rather than homemade or store-bought broth for your pup.
No. Not all commercial broth products are recommended for pets. You’ll want to check for ingredients that could potentially be toxic to your pup, including onions and garlic in highly-concentrated forms such as powders. This can lead to vomiting and break down healthy red blood cells.
