I posted earlier but really was wondering if any owner out there has a cat that started drinking a lot more water than usual. We did urine, blood and T4 vet said he was fine. I have read that some cats do it out of stress or nervousness or perhaps he knows its good for him as he had UTI and bacteria back in August and possibly longer. He eats very well weight is very good and seems quite content 12 year old male. So what is one to think. Doing a blood test took a lot out of him so do not want to keep digging for a problem when there is none. Actually its probably good he's drinking water due to past UTI
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increased water intake
- Thread starter batrice
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It's good you did blood tests so you know it's not crf ..Do you actually know by how much he's increased his water intake? If it's a substantial amount I'd keep searching for what's wrong..
It happened several times with my cats. With one cat, people food higher in sodium than her own cat foods (and getting up in age) was the reason, that's why I posted the salt related info for you. She didn't drink more water from the same foods when she was younger, so even though her blood work results are still okay, I've made some changes and she is not getting any more salty foods. She loves chicken, so I even cook the chicken with hardly any added salt with her treats in mind.
It's reassuring that your kitty is eating very well and his weight is good. Changes in weight and appetite would be warning signs that something is seriously wrong. Thank God you don't see any. (Lymphoma caused one of my cats to drink enormous amounts of water, and two others were drinking enormous amounts of water with liver and kidney disease. )
If I were you I would cut way down on the salt and see if it makes a difference in the drinking. You would know in about a day, but definitely within three days, whether the drinking was caused by too much salt in the diet.
If there is no significant change, I would think some more about his diet and I would also get a copy of his blood work results and go over the numbers very carefully. You might see something you'd want to follow up on.
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His tests look good except for three items. Total protein range is 5.9>8.5 his was 8.7 also BUN was 35 range is 15-34 also Monocytes range 1-4% his was 5 . Is being a little out of range okay. He does eat a little bit of evo dry and he eats the grain free wellness, chicken, turkey, chicken and herring and beef and liver sometimes.
I'd keep a VERY close eye on this. My Woody started drinking a lot of water and my vet said it could be a sign that his kidneys were starting to shut down. His kidneys were small and we ran every test in the world and nothing was conclusive. His liver counts were a bit high is all. He developed diarrehea and vomiting and after x-rays determined that he may have IBD due to a food intolerance. This is not a pretty picture. He went from a beautiful 15 lb bruiser to a barely alive 7.5 skeleton. He's still hanging in there though with steriods and a complete food change. This may not be the case with your kitty but it's definitely something to be aware of.
DWMeowMix
DWMeowMix
Watch the numbers.
Thats what my crf cat did before she had crf.
Thats what my crf cat did before she had crf.
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Yes, the numbers could be stress but with the other symtoms I am with the others Watch...Is it possible to get rid of the dry all together ??
Batrice, these numbers are really not very good. Something could be going on that would warrant further investigation. I have a little bit of info for you, hopefully it will be helpful to you.
The first article deals with diet. I found it yesterday but was hesitant to post it for you because I thought your kitty was way too young for having an age related problem with protein in the diet. But you might want to read the info anyway. You'll find it under The Elderly Cat Diet Requirements.
Link to the article: http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-diet.htm
On the possible causes of elevated Total Protein, you'll find info in this article, under PROTEIN (Albumin and Globulin)
http://www.nwlabs.co.uk/testinterp2.htm
And in this article:
http://www.petplace.com/cats/underst...s-2/page1.aspx
About monocytes you'll find some info in these articles:
http://www.provet.co.uk/geriatrics/5a65d34.htm
http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-labtests.htm
Hopefully nothing serious is going on and, perhaps, getting rid of the dry food from the diet will take care of the increased thirst and help lower the slightly elevated blood values as well.
Wet food will help if this is a kidney problem, because of the water content... But what makes me confused is that she is already drinking a lot of water, so that might not be the issue??
Canned foods in general have a lot of sodium, used as preservatives - I would try to get some low sodium food.
Also, Has she been tested for Diabetes?
Sharky: Correct if I am wrong - isn't grain free/high protein foods sometimes a concern for CRF Kitties? Should she be eating foods with some grains in in, and reduce protein intake a bit?
Canned foods in general have a lot of sodium, used as preservatives - I would try to get some low sodium food.
Also, Has she been tested for Diabetes?
Sharky: Correct if I am wrong - isn't grain free/high protein foods sometimes a concern for CRF Kitties? Should she be eating foods with some grains in in, and reduce protein intake a bit?
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- #11
Thats an interesting post about grain free. I use to use Innova canned and calif natural Dry. But after the UTI i took him off the calif natural (not grain free) then started wellness canned Grain free. I know dry is bad and I use very little . I started using Evo dry But I know its very high protein so I'll try to stop it and was mixing in a little of the innova dry to get him off the evo. He loves a little crunch now and then. Its funny my vet said he was fine probably because she didn't want me to worry, who knows. That why I got a copy to do my own research. Violet thanks for your insight will investigate . Also it was total protein the figure I gave. Also I guess every lab is different with ranges i guess. But believe me you have to do your own research in this world some doctors/vets just are clueless.
Dry is not bad, provided that they drink well, but for kitties with kidney and UTI problems, wet food will provide more water, which is of great importance in their diet... You have been feeding great food, but I know that high protein/grain free foods can be a problem for these kitties. In general, some high quality grains will help...
I would wait for Sharky's response on this one, as she is truly the expert on nutrition in here... She can advise you of some good options about good grain foods.
About the vets... Unfortunately, vets in general are much more knowledgeable on dogs issues than cats... Can you see if you find a cat only vet clinic? You would have much more luck in finding good advice in there...
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- #13
yeah you're right about vets are more dog knowledgebale. My cat hates the carrier so I do not bring him in too often as it stresses him out. I do try to do a consult without the cat since I have all of his tests but not all vets will do so. Would be interested in high end cat food that is best. Maybe I'll go back to cal natural dry even though it has rice in it. Hopefully I'll get some good suggestions from sharkey. Thanks
My cats sister had blockage at a very young age, thats when I did major food investigations. They told me she would be on science diet for a long time. She would not eat it and I will not go near the stuff. So I put her on Innova red can and california natural dry and she has been fine ever since. But once Innova changed their recipe they will not eat it. So wellness works
My cats sister had blockage at a very young age, thats when I did major food investigations. They told me she would be on science diet for a long time. She would not eat it and I will not go near the stuff. So I put her on Innova red can and california natural dry and she has been fine ever since. But once Innova changed their recipe they will not eat it. So wellness works
You are so right!
This is a quote from one of my favorite articles Feline Nutrition - The carnivore connection to nutrition in cats by Debra L Zoran DVM
Link: http://home.earthlink.net/~jacm2/id1.html
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- #15
I see people who just feed cats dry food it makes me sick.I never was a dry food person and never will be. A little crunch or two I feel is fine but not on a regular feeding basis.
I failed to mention. I brought my cats urinary test results to a CAT only vet without the cat. I said he still has stones, she looked at the results and said there was none on the results. But there was 2+ of bacteria which she didn't say anything about. She then gave me the dry Royal Canine prescription S/O (and the canned) he would not eat the canned. He was on that for a month or so plus the wet wellness and thats when he started the increased water drinking. I went back there and asked does that stuff make the cat drink more she said YES. Anyway I took him off it after a month or so and he's till drinking much more than he use to. Got me!!!
I failed to mention. I brought my cats urinary test results to a CAT only vet without the cat. I said he still has stones, she looked at the results and said there was none on the results. But there was 2+ of bacteria which she didn't say anything about. She then gave me the dry Royal Canine prescription S/O (and the canned) he would not eat the canned. He was on that for a month or so plus the wet wellness and thats when he started the increased water drinking. I went back there and asked does that stuff make the cat drink more she said YES. Anyway I took him off it after a month or so and he's till drinking much more than he use to. Got me!!!
I am one of those people that would make you sick - I feed only dry
I am lucky though... The drink really really well, so I am quite happy with the setup, since their food is quite nutritious...
Did her #s get lower on Royal Canine S/O?
Have you tried to take her temperature lately to see if she has a fever?
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What kind of stones?? At this point I actually suggest trying a different vet as it appears this one is treating without you being fully informed of the nature of the issues . will the cat eat human food??
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- #18
No, I know some cats do like only dry didn't mean to sound so tasteless!
My cat is acting fine, he's 18 lbs eats well. He had crystals not stones (sorry) his PH now is 6.5. Just did a urinalysis which is clear, no bacteria no nothing which is good. I feel the other cat vet put him on royal canine when he did not need it at all. I'm beginning to think it did more harm than good.As there was nothing to treat except the bacteria?? This was last august. His numbers are fine now. The blood tests were not all that terrible except for a few which were flagged but not out of range that much. Plus it depends on the lab. The water intake is not like you see when a cat has hyperthyroid and constantly drinking, its just more than it use to be. At least he's drinking it. He does eat my organic chicken once a week. Doing The natures Variety Raw diet is not for me and I doubt him. May go back to Calif natural dry with less protein than EVO and not grain free. Perhaps he needs a little of both grain free and not grain free. He loved the cal Natural but when this started I associated the dry with his problem as he consumed a lot of it. But now it would be very little, measured with his wet. I'm keeping an eye on him.
My cat is acting fine, he's 18 lbs eats well. He had crystals not stones (sorry) his PH now is 6.5. Just did a urinalysis which is clear, no bacteria no nothing which is good. I feel the other cat vet put him on royal canine when he did not need it at all. I'm beginning to think it did more harm than good.As there was nothing to treat except the bacteria?? This was last august. His numbers are fine now. The blood tests were not all that terrible except for a few which were flagged but not out of range that much. Plus it depends on the lab. The water intake is not like you see when a cat has hyperthyroid and constantly drinking, its just more than it use to be. At least he's drinking it. He does eat my organic chicken once a week. Doing The natures Variety Raw diet is not for me and I doubt him. May go back to Calif natural dry with less protein than EVO and not grain free. Perhaps he needs a little of both grain free and not grain free. He loved the cal Natural but when this started I associated the dry with his problem as he consumed a lot of it. But now it would be very little, measured with his wet. I'm keeping an eye on him.
