Cat drinking a lot of water?
by Michael
This is almost invariably about kidney malfunction/failure.... "Cat drinking a lot of water?" is something that comes up as a query on the Internet. Other search terms are: "cat drinking too much water" and "cat excessive vocalizations and drinking". Sometimes cats drink out of the toilet and basin but this does not necessarily imply that the cat is drinking excessively. It might simply be that the cat prefers that source as it is fresher and free flowing (it mimics more accurately the wild state). However, when a cat drinks what we consider to be too much water we need to take the cat to the veterinarian provided our assessment is correct. We should have a pretty good idea of what the normal intake is. I would like briefly to quote the best book on feline health, Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook by Drs Giffin and Carlson (and others): "One of the first signs of kidney failure is an increase in the frequency of voiding..." "The large urine output must be compensated for by increased fluid intake...." The cat will, therefore drink a lot more that usual. It is worth noting that a "a considerable amount of damage occurs before an signs are noted.." In short the kidney is considerably diseased before the cat drinks excessively. Acute kidney failure can be reversed if the cause is dealt with before permanent damage has occurred. Another disease that can cause a cat to drink lots of water is sugar diabetes. "The signs of early diabetes are frequent urination, drinking lots of water, a large appetite....." Please buy this book. It is highly readable as it is designed to be read by a layperson and to be easily understood. And I always say that if we have a greater understanding of our cat's health we are more able make proper and speedy decisions as to when to take our cat to the veterinarian. Of course knowledge should be used wisely and we should know when to treat our cat ourselves and when to take our cat to the veterinarian. As to excessive drinking and vocalisation the latter may be linked to the former and be an expression of pain - cat crying. Associated pages: Feline Kidney DIsease (blogger site - page opens in new window) Feline Diabetes
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