Water Restrictions and Your Pets

Drinking water is not where you save

A medium dog drinks around a litre a day and a cat a few hundred millilitres. Across a household that is a rounding error against a single shower.

Never restrict drinking water. Dehydration in a South African summer moves to kidney damage and heatstroke quickly, and in cats it worsens kidney disease and urinary blockage risk.

If anything, put out more bowls in more places during restrictions, not fewer.

Where you can actually save

• Skip baths — most dogs need bathing far less often than people think, and cats essentially never
• Use a waterless shampoo or a damp cloth between baths
• Empty the paddling pool onto the garden rather than down the drain
• Sweep runs and paving rather than hosing
• Catch shower warm-up water for cleaning kennels and bowls

Greywater cautions

Greywater from baths and washing machines is fine on the garden but should not be drunk by pets. Dogs drink from puddles and from wherever the greywater collects.

Detergents, fabric softener and bleach residue cause gastrointestinal upset and worse. Direct greywater into beds where it soaks away rather than allowing it to pool.

Keep pets away from any area treated with pool backwash.

Pools and tanks

A pool allowed to go green is a hazard. Blue-green algae blooms produce toxins that can kill a dog within hours of drinking.

If a pool is not being maintained, fence it or drain it. Do not simply let it stand.

Cover water tanks. Cats and small dogs drown in open tanks, and an uncovered tank collects mosquito larvae and debris.

Keeping cool with less water

Shade, airflow and timing do more than water. Walk early or late, provide deep shade, and use a fan.

Cooling mats and a wet towel on a tiled floor use very little water. A frozen bottle wrapped in a cloth gives a cool spot to lie against and costs nothing.

Watch for heatstroke signs regardless: heavy panting that does not settle, bright red gums, drooling, unsteadiness. That is an emergency at any water tariff.