Why is my cat so thirsty? An Expert Vet answer.

Hi this is Dr. Jim. Periodically I’ll be posting some cat related videos on little fat kitten as it pertains to some veterinary health issues.

 

 

What’s wrong with my cat?

I had a call today from Mary lost her cat, Duca. Is a twelve year old Domestic Shorthair. She notice who flooded the litter pan and upon further questioning, not only was Duca urinating a lot, Duca was drinking a lot. And that is a common thing we see on older cats that is a real red flag for a number of different problems.

 

What is the cause of excessive thirst and excessive urinating?

Three major most common causes of excessive thirst and excessive urination in an older cat would be Kidney Disease, Hyperthyroidism or Diabetes.  There are some other things that could cause, this is a whole list of things that could cause Liver Disease could cause excessive thirst, urination, certain drugs that your cat maybe on. Like Prednisone, Corticosteroid or any anticonvulsants will certainly cause that.

 

What is Kidney Disease, Hyperthyroidism or Diabetes on cats?

You know, in some cases where older cats have Cancer and their Calcium level is high, well that can cause excessive thirst and urination but by far the most common three are… One, Kidney Disease. Just as it relates to deterioration of the Kidneys and Renal failure or also can be an infection on the Kidneys is what we call Pyelonephritis that you will most likely see. In addition, maybe some change in appetite or your cat isn’t eating as well, or maybe some vomiting and weight loss. Hyperthyroidism will also cause weight loss because their metabolism is greatly increased and often times with Hyperthyroidism you’ll notice the cat that is very active and again losing weight. And then thirdly, the three common causes would be Diabetes. Where the blood sugar level was high. Here you may see your cat is eating more but losing weight and certainly has an increase in their thirst and urination.

 

What should I do?

Anytime you see that your cat is drinking excessively, urinating excessively it’s time to bring that to the attention of your veterinarian.