Drinking LOTS of water/bloated belly

Rupert is 5 month old. I just got him 2 weeks ago. He was initially infected with tapeworms and a cold. He has been cured of that.

I'm worried about him now because he is always sooo thirsty. He drinks and drinks. Sometimes he just lays on the floor in front of the water bowl and drinks. He is using the litter box fine. He also eats a lot!!! I was feeding him only dry food, but just today I started feeding him wet as well. He just eats and eats. Now his belly seems very bloated. Do you think there could be something wrong with him? Or does he just like to drink lots and lots of water? I've been to the vet so many times latey with my sick cats.....I really don't want to go yet again (at least not right now).

time for another visit with the DR

Originally Posted by sharky

time for another visit with the DR

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Please - take him to the vet ASAP.

Well, growing kittens do eat a lot, and if he's thirsty he'll also drink a lot, but I agree with the other posters: he may have something clinical going on, and I'd strongly suggest you let his doctor check him out, for his health and your peace of mind.

Did the vet give him steroids or prednisone or something that sounds like that to get rid of the cold or tapeworms? If so, I wouldn't worry. If they gave you steroids to give to him, that will very much make him thirsty. I haven't given my cats any lately, but the last time my dog was on them, he drank so much water I couldn't let him out enough. I think finally he had to go and couldn't warn us in time, and he peed on the floor. He knew he wasn't supposed to. It was completely clear from all of the water he had been drinking. When he stopped the meds, he went back to normal.

The next time I was at the vet, I asked them about it, and they said it was completely normal. Humans are that way too. That's why you may gain weight if you are put on them because they make you really hungry too.

I hope this may be what is going on. Otherwise, keep us posted. My dog is drinking LOTS of water right now too, but I am thinking it is just the heat. I dunno though. He is on thyroid meds now, so that might make him thirsty too. Not nearly as much as the steroids though.

OK, good luck! Sorry so long! Didn't realize I had that much to say!

I wonder...was he treated for other parasites,like hookworm or roundworm?

yes he was, before I got him. The vet tested his poop and it didn't show anything else. He is still dinking sooooo much water!!! Yesterday he almost fell asleep laying at the water bowl.

This is a emergency ... GET to the VET ....

ask for a float test fecal ( correct me if this is not the more accurate test

From this site: http://www.petservice.com/ask_the_ve...e_cat_vet.html

Increased Thirst

A cat that seems to suddenly be drinking an excessive amount of water and using the litterbox more often (or litter appears more saturated than usual) should be seen by your veterinarian. Diabetes, kidney disease, adrenal tumors, and many viral infections can result in increased thirst. If it is an excessively hot day, this may be the cause of the increased thirst but it should only last a day or so. See your vet if your cat's drinking and urination patterns change.

Thanks for that URL -- bookmarked it! That is good advice.

tape worms require two doses of the wormer,
unless the vet used something else?


altho i am not aware of any other treatment for tapeworms

in kittens tapeworms can cause a bloated stomach, but the excessive drinking and eating may be totally separate

he is pretty young for this, but all of the cats that i've know with those symptoms, that severe, had diabetes (i've had two cats with diabetes)

other causes are more common in older cats too but kidney problems arent totally unheard of in younger cats, altho loss of appetite is the norm for kidney issues

does he seem to be urinating about as much as he is drinking? this can be very hard to tell, but because he is so young, he can get dehydrated very quickly.

unfortunately he will need a vet visit, but in the meantime if you can get some of the test strips that diabetics use to check their urine for sugar, diastix i am pretty sure they are,
you can hold the strip in the stream of pee, if he'll let you, or put a ladel under him when he pies, or a pie pan or whatever will work! and catch some pee and dip the strip in it
follow the directions on the bottle to match the color of the strip to the color of the bottle
normally cats should NOT have any sugar (glucose) in their urine at all.

if he does, its very likely he has diabetes (not 100% but far more likely than not)


there is a more accurate way to test his blood sugar, using a human glucose meter if you know some one who is a diabetic perhaps they will let you borrow theirs

you poke a tiny hole on the very outside edge of his ear (this only feels like a mosquito bite to him, or he may not even notice it at all)

follow the instructions for getting the drop of blood that should appear, onto the test strip (any diabetic can show you how)
the meter will give a reading, and for a non diabetic cat is should be under 100, or not very much above

stress can bring it up higher but if you get anything over 200, he needs to see a vet
anything up around 300 to 400 or more and he is in danger of a life threatening condition called ketoacidosis

sorry this is so long and hopefully not scaring you, it is very uncommon for a kitten to have diabetes,
but it does happen

please let us know how you make out!!!

Thank you for all of your replies. I took Rupert to the vet today and they took a blood sample. I will know what is wrong with him tomorrow morning. I am very upset and worried.....the doctor mentioned FIP

If he has this.....he is dead. Please pray that this is NOT what he has. Thanks.

Prayers and healing that it's not FIP. Please keep us updated!

I'm praying it's not FIP. Diabetes or FIP were the first two things that popped to my mind when reading your initial post. IF it has to be anything, I hope it's diabetes.

Please keep us posted!

(((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))

Laurie

I initially thought of FIP as well. 5 months is when my first Smudge got it. Please keep us updated and we will send lots of prayers your way!

Originally Posted by Barblynnp

Thank you for all of your replies. I took Rupert to the vet today and they took a blood sample. I will know what is wrong with him tomorrow morning. I am very upset and worried.....the doctor mentioned FIP

If he has this.....he is dead. Please pray that this is NOT what he has. Thanks.

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I'm sorry to say the first thing I thought of was FIP. Mostly because of the bloated belly. But other things could cause that too. and I don't know if a kitten with FIP would eat a lot like you said your cat is doing. I don't know.... but let's hope it is something else. Unfortunately a blood test won't diagnose FIP. There really isn't a diagnostic test that will for sure. But an Xray would tell if it is fluid in his abdomen and that would make it more likely to be FIP. I hope not because that is very contagious.

Bloodwork is partialy in.

FCV Exposure Titer is pending.

Phosphorus is 11.4 (very high)
Potassium is 5.7 (high)
BUN/Creatinine Ratio is 36 (high)
CPK is 617 high
WBC (white blood count) is 24.1 (very high)

The vet is concerned about the white blood cells and the phosphorus and Potassium. He says Ruperts kidneys are working hard. He gave us more Clavamox for now because of the indication of infection. He didn't say anything else. We are waiting for the coronavirus antibody test result to see if there is the possibility of FIP.

I don't know what all this means. If anyone is experienced and knows what could be wrong....please, please, help Rupert!!!

Bless his heart!! I hope it's just a bad kidney infection. Here is a good link that explains some of the results of his bloodwork.

http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=350

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, Rupert! I'm not an expert, but I did want to let you know he and you are in our prayers and healing thoughts, and echo the other poster's thoughts.

I hope Rupert is ok. Good vibes...