Cat drinks water and pees *all the time*

CamillaRhodes

I have a young cat (big kitten really), about 9 months old, who wants to drink loads of water, very regularly, with the result being that she pees loads. Litter boxes (i have two) are regular filled with an inch or more of liquid, litter and newspaper having already reached 100% absorption, by the time I get home from work / first thing in the morning. I have one other cat who pees at what I would consider a 'regular' amount.

I was worried she might have diabetes or something, but the vet says there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her and she just seems to like drinking water. But honestly, the amount of pee is driving me a bit crazy. But it would seem cruel to limit the amount of water she coudl drink? (Not to mention that this would also limit the water available to the other cat).

Any suggestions? Should I just get used to the idea of changing the two litter trays three times a day? *sigh*

(BTW, I have another issue with the same cat, which I'm posting here as well, though I don't think the two are related!!!)

mike65

What type of food are they eating - if its dry thats prolly the issue here.

anniehoo

IMO the amount shes drinking and urinating sounds completely abnormal and seems a very excessive amount to be changing the litter tray also. I wouldve queried diabetes too but presuming your vet did a urinalysis i cant think of anything else really. I personally wouldnt recommend curtailing the water supply, shes obviously thirsty and to limit it would be unfair. What exactly did your vet say?

Baybay

I'm so sorry for you and the kitten.

I've read both your posts about this cat and I'm wondering if the two issues might actually be connected.

Initially I thought it sounded like a kidney infection but your vet must have been able to rule that out fairly quickly.

Our cat, though very much older, had a similar problem in the last months of his life. Not nightmares exactly but suddenly dashing from room to room from dozing or resting states and generally seeming to be getting a new lease on life in terms of activity.
After numerous tests, as well as antibiotics for the kidney infection he had which was why he was drinking so much water (he never liked milk unless it was from leftover cornflakes that had had sugar added!), the vet discovered he had age related heart issues which meant not enough blood was being pumped around. His brain was affected, hence the sudden starts and so were his lungs.
I'm in tears writing this.

Anyway, we decided it was less cruel for him to put him to sleep but very difficult for us. He was 13.
The point is that if your cat has congenital issues anyway, might the two problems stem from the same source?

Rancid

This sounds like Degenerative Kidney Disease which is basically renal failure.
I think is usually occurs in older cats but a friend's cat, not quite 2 years old also suffered from it. In her case, I think her vet suggested that severe malnutrition in the first year of life was partly responsible.

My 14 year old neutered male had this condition for almost a year before he died, and also showed some of the symptoms you mention in your other post, sudden dashes from place to place looking almost confused when he got there, wanting to sit or sleep in unusual places, generally not being himself.

Your vet should be able to diagnose this, so I would take your kitten back as soon as possible.

Ruby Soho

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about kidney failure just yet, she is still very young, it may just be a behavioural issue. But if you are worried and the vet agrees, kidney disease can be confirmed or ruled out with a quick blood test, should cost about 30-50 quid depending on your vet, and kidney function can be assessed straight away. There are lots of things that cause pu/pd in cats (excessive drinking and urination) but the vet should rule out a kidney issue or diabetes mellitus first, then proceed with further investigation.

Alun

Rancid wrote: »

This sounds like Degenerative Kidney Disease which is basically renal failure.

It sounded like it to me too, but like you say that's mostly a disease of (much) older cats.

Could it have been brought on by poisoning of some sort, maybe?

Rancid

Alun wrote: »

It sounded like it to me too, but like you say that's mostly a disease of (much) older cats.

Could it have been brought on by poisoning of some sort, maybe?

Valid point, I agree.
If a cat survives a poisoning there would be some kidney damage as a result, no doubt.

CamillaRhodes

Hi all, thanks for the many thoughtful responses. To give some answer to your questions:

- Food: She (and the other cat) get a small amount of tinned food (half a tin between the two of them) in the morning and then some dry food later in the day (which they tend to nibble at rather than eat huge amounts).

- Vet: When I asked the vet about it, he didn't actually do a blood test on her. However, he said that if there was something wrong with her kidneys, or if it was diabetes, she would be displaying other symptoms and would show signs of discomfort, which she doesn't. He said it was probably just behavioural, but if she showed any other signs of sickness or discomfort I should go back to him. But apart from this (and the nightmares, mentioned in my other post) she's a very happy, playful young cat.

In fact, she doesn't seem bothered in anyway by the amount she drinks and pees - on occasions when the water has run out during the day, or when I had to take her on a long car journey and she couldn't drink water for a few hours, she didn't cry or howl for it or anything. It's just, when it's available, she goes and has a nice long drink. And then a nice long pee.

- Poisoning / severe malnutrition early in life: I suppose both of these are possible, since she was a stray as a young kitten (I found her at about 6 weeks old) but when I found her she was (apart from her unopened eyes) healthy in other ways. She was a little underweight but not severely so, and didn't show any signs of having been sick.

- Congenital heart defect (as Baybay mentioned): I suppose this is also a possibility. Could make sense, since clearly something went wrong in her mom's womb with her eyes etc. However, if this was the case, would it be something for which I would have to consider putting her to sleep?!?!?!? That's something I just couldn't face - as I say, she's a very happy, healthy, playful little cat, and other than the blindness and the peeing you would never think there was anything wrong with her. It certainly isn't cruel to keep her alive (I don't believe) it's just a bit of a headache for me dealing with the litter trays!

BTW, attached is a picture of her

anniehoo

Aww shes very cute!
Im very surprised your vet didnt think the quantity she drinks wasnt excessive. If he didnt do a blood test or urinalysis how did he rule out diabetes or kidney problems by just feel alone. Diabetic cats get a distinct yellow tint in their eyes but it takes time to develop. You have to measure glucose in either blood or glucose,protein and ketones in urine to diagnose. I really think its too much peeing and drinking for a cat and id advise a second opinion.

One thing you could do is put her in one room in the house by herself for the day and measure the amount she drinks i.e. pour 200mls at a time and see how long it takes her to drink it all. It would be good to say to the vet, "well shes been drinking 600mls/day" and have one empty litter tray with just a few polystyrene beads/balls for her to scrape. She can pee in the tray but not get absorbed by the polystyrene balls and collect the urine in the tray for testing.

Alun

Personally, I'd be straight to another vet for a second opinion on this. I find it strange that he hasn't done any tests at all.

Ruby Soho

Yeah, I agree, I think its a bit strange alright that no tests have been offered. They're so simple to do, just a small blood sample, most clinics have in-house blood analysers, diabetes and kidney diseases can be ruled out or confirmed very easily. And one of the main reasons that owners present diabetic animals with is pu/pd. Its the single most obvious symptom in my experience. That's the only thing that many owners will notice, its rare that they would report any discomfort, because cats are very good at hiding it. They mightn't have any discomfort at all, just feel a bit strange or nauseous. There's also the condition Diabetes Insipidus (DI), which is quite rare, but I have seen a few confirmed cases. The only symptom of this is extremely excessive drinking and urination. To diagnose this, you need to do whats called a 'water deprivation test' that would need to be carried out in a clinic setting. It doesn't involve anything invasive, its quite easy to do. Bring a urine sample to your vet and get him to test the specific gravity, if its abnormally dilute, you may need to get the ball rolling to test for DI. Note: this can be a congenital condition and can be seen in cats under one year old.
Personally I'd go for a second opinion, or request that the tests are done with your other vet. Even if nothing shows up, its better that you know its not down to a medical issue.

CamillaRhodes

Ok, thanks for the advice guys, I'll go for a second opinion so. The unfortunate truth is that I live in a part of the world which doesn't care much for cats, and I don't think the vets are of a particularly high standard, but I don't really have any options. There is another vet clinic in a town about an hour away, so I'll go there and get their opinion.

I appreciate the time you've all taken to get back to me on this, and will let you know how it goes.

Alun

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

The unfortunate truth is that I live in a part of the world which doesn't care much for cats, and I don't think the vets are of a particularly high standard, but I don't really have any options. There is another vet clinic in a town about an hour away, so I'll go there and get their opinion.

Often the case in the country I'm afraid. Try and find a vet that mainly deals with companion animals, rather than a "horse, sheep and cattle" type vet.

If you let people here know where you're located maybe someone can give you a recommendation.

CamillaRhodes

Am not even in Ireland, unfortunately, but if anyone has vet recommendations in the Kosovo / south Serbia region, please do let me know! (I've been to the vet in Mitrovica so far, will go this weekend to Pristina).

Alun

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

Am not even in Ireland, unfortunately, but if anyone has vet recommendations in the Kosovo / south Serbia region, please do let me know! (I've been to the vet in Mitrovica so far, will go this weekend to Pristina).

Ooops! Mind you, with boards, you never know!

anniehoo

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

if anyone has vet recommendations in the Kosovo / south Serbia region, please do let me know!

Eh...hmmmm....nope sorry cant help ya there! Within a 50 mile radius of Dublin is about my limit