Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure I want to try the broth just yet, as sodium could ultimately make her dehydrated, right? (unless she is drinking water to compensate). I added even more water than normal yesterday and today to the wet food, so that the mixture was pretty soupy, but my cat slurped it all up so I guess that may just be the way to go. I really want to avoid another UTI if I can help it.

And of course I will keep the Catit out so that if my cat wants fresh water, it is always available, but yeah, I have yet to see her drink from it!

I want to weigh in here with what Sha' is saying. You should make your cat drink water: your cat should get moisture from the food it eats. I have had my cats on a raw diet for almost 9 years, and they are in wonderful health, including the 15 year olds.

Catnutrition.org is a great resource for raw feeding, as are:

www.blakkatz.com/natural.html - This website has awesome information on everything concerning natural cat care, and is run by the author of one of my absolute favorite books on cat care, Raising Cats Naturally, Michelle Bernard. I highly recommend her book -- for more on that, see www.raisingcatsnaturally.com

www.felinefuture.com - This magnificent company sells a terrific product that can be used to prepare a raw diet for cats. If you're intrigued about the idea of making homemade food but perhaps a bit overwhelmed at the idea of doing it all yourself from scratch, this is a fabulous resource.

www.felinespride.com -- This company sells a pre-made raw, grain-free, vegetable-free food that's top-notch. If you're persuaded by the idea of feeding a raw diet but can't or won't make it yourself, this company is as good as they come (in my book).

(quoted from Anne at Catnutrition.org)

As she says,

* Stay away from dry food. It's wholly inappropriate for carnivores. While the grain-free dry foods (there are one or two) at least have the grainlessness going for them, they still lack the moisture that a cat needs in her diet. A cat eating dry food, even with supplemental water drinking, only gets about half the total moisture intake as a cat on canned or raw food. The moisture that's in canned food is NOT useless filler.

* Don't take what the mainstream pet food industry says at face value. Demand straight answers. Question everything.

* Be a zealous guardian of your cats' health by staying on top of the latest unbiased research and information that's out there on the nutritional needs of obligate carnivores. If the information is coming from the mainstream pet food industry, think twice before you take it at face value.

* Don't let anyone sell you nutritional products that have no place in a carnivore's diet.

* Be skeptical, always, of claims that any specialty diet for a given problem or malady that is not true to the carnivorous heritage of carnivores can do much more than empty your pocket after offering lots of empty promises that have no substantiation.

Thanks for all the feedback. I am more reassured now-- my cat does get probably a good 2-3 tablespoons of water added to the wet, 2x per day, and she always laps it all up. I have also noticed the crystal litter getting dirtier more quickly, but I don't mind that, since I know it is cutting down on the risk of another UTI. I don't have the energy to go raw, but I think the Evo wet + water is a very good compromise, since it takes little effort and is made of human-grade ingredients.

A lot of cats are like that. They instinctually look for flowing water, because flowing water in the wild equals fresh water, as opposed to still, stagnant water. The pet fountains work well for cats because of this.