Our question this week was:

My feline is almost 10 years old. All it does is want to drink water and it urinates like 20 times a day. It was litter trained for over nine years and we never had a problem. Recently it has been going to the bathroom in and out of the litter box.

I don't think that it can control itself because it knows when it does wrong and it will hide in a corner if we walk by or notice a wet spot on the carpet. All that the cat wants to do is drink water. It will cry and wail until it gets water. It seems like drinking water is its only concern. Recently it has been defecating a lot too. It will fill a litter box up 2 times in one day! Is it dying? What can I do?

Please help!

Nick Keller



Answer


Hi – thanks for your email. Based on what you write, you indicated that your cat is drinking a lot of water, urinating a lot as the primary concerns. He is also urinating outside of the litter box.

The first things I'd worry about are DIABETES, DIABETES, DIABETES and maybe KIDNEY DISEASE. I'd recommend having your kitty checked by your veterinarian.

Drinking more and urinating more are common symptoms of pets with diabetes that can be treated. Many cats will also urinate outside of the litter box in this situation.

I'd recommend that you discuss blood tests including CBC, biochemical profile, urinalysis and a thyroid level with your veterinarian. These tests should tell us if we are dealing with diabetes, kidney disease, or thyroid issues.

An article that might be helpful to you is on our Petplace.com is "Diabetes in Cats", "Kidney Disease in Cats" and "Hyperthyroidism in Cats".


Best of luck!



Dr. Jon


P.S. I love learning from my clients. Do you have any tips about this problem or any other general pet tips? I'd love to read it and maybe will even include it in future newsletters. Send me your pet tips!



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