New cat pees 5-6 times every 24 hours...is this a concern?

My new girl that I adopted on the weekend; she's about 1-2 yrs old. Very healthy. While she's been in my spare room and isolated from my other cats, I've been better able to keep an eye on her litterbox habits, to note any concerns.

It seems that each day I'm scooping out the box and there's a good 5-6 normal sized clumps (maybe a little tiny smaller than a golf ball size clump) in the box. My older cats have always peed 2, maybe 3 times a day max (usually once in the morning prior to feed time, then once in the evening).

She's definitely not straining, no repeated trips to the box.....she pees a normal amount so I'm really not worried about a UTI or any such issue, but just curious if this is a normal frequency? Maybe younger cats pee more often because their overall metabolism is higher?

She eats 1 can of Fancy Feast in the morning and 1 can at night...and is able to nibble on Wellness Dry throughout the day (she seems to eat more of the canned food, which is good). I do also always add a little water to canned food, do that for all my cats. Could this be why she seems to pee more times a day?

Thx

Two things. You need to have kidney function, liver function and blood glucose checked. In short, kitty needs complete blood work. At her age peeing that much is not normal.
Also, put away the dry food and see if that makes a difference. Give her no dry food at all. Two cans of FF a day is just about enough. No need to add water to it either. Maybe if you do all that, her peeing will become normal for her age in a few days. But anyway, she needs to have a complete chemistry profile done as soon as possible.

I'd still have her checked out - that's not really normal. Ours probably pee 2 or 3 times a day at the most.

Originally Posted by Violet

Two things. You need to have kidney function, liver function and blood glucose checked. In short, kitty needs complete blood work. At her age peeing that much is not normal.
Also, put away the dry food and see if that makes a difference. Give her no dry food at all. Two cans of FF a day is just about enough. No need to add water to it either. Maybe if you do all that, her peeing will become normal for her age in a few days. But anyway, she needs to have a complete chemistry profile done as soon as possible.

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I have a One Touch Ultra, leftover from my angel kitty who had diabetes. I can check her glucose level this evening. Why would she need to have her liver function checked, in this kind of case? Not sure what the liver would have to do with anything. That's never been something I've had checked when there was any kind of suspected urinary or kidney issue? I can see having her BUN and Creat done, though. Crap. That would be my luck; I just lost my dear old cat to CRF (passed away last week) and here I go adopting a new cat that I really didn't need who maybe has kidney issues. Ugh.

I just checked her glucose level; it's totally normal at 69.

I guess she should have a urinalysis done. Also, the day I adopted her, I stopped by my regular Vet on the way home to have him give her a check, and give a rabies shot. Her temp at there was 40C. That kind of concerned me but he reassured me that she seemed very healthy in all ways and it was likely at the high end of normal due to the fact that she'd been through a lot that day and was pretty rangy at the Vet. Maybe she has a UTI and that's why her temp was elevated? She's certainly not seemed ill at all; so full of spunk it's amazing; Great appetite, no sneezing or sniffles, etc. He told me that if she exhibited no symptoms like these that it wasn't anything to be concerned about. Hmmm.

No way I can check her temp, she'd never stay still long enough for me to do so.

I guess I'll have to try and get her in tomorrow evening for kidney function and urinalysis.

I don't see her drinking a lot of water; the level of her water dish doesn't change much when I refresh it each day.

She's a tiny girl, 6.5 lbs. Maybe I overestimated the size of the clumps; they're not like the size of a golf ball...more of a walnut maybe? There were 4 clumps in it when I scooped out after work. Will see what's there tomorrow at that time.

She really doesn't eat much of the dry food.

cats vary .. i have two that four times a day is normal ... one does have liver issues the other is perfect ... of course have her checked but she may just be younger than estimated

Liver disease can make a cat thirsty, drink more water than a cat normally would, which in turn leads to more peeing. The only way to find out if the liver is completely healthy is to look at blood work results.

In some cats dry food causes what one would have to call abnormal thirst. And, of course, more drinking, more peeing. After stopping dry food, thirst/drinking and peeing become normal in three days. That's why stopping dry food is worth a try before making an appointment.

Also, some cats are far more sensitive to carbs than others. If this kitty has had dry food all her life (before you got her), and she is having dry food now, her body might be reacting to the carbs.

Just saw your most recent post. I'm wondering if you got correct results. 69 is fasting level. Low fasting level. Normal blood sugar would be around 110-120, perhaps even somewhat higher with dry food in the diet.

Originally Posted by Violet

Liver disease can make a cat thirsty, drink more water than a cat normally would, which in turn leads to more peeing. The only way to find out if the liver is completely healthy is to look at blood work results.

In some cats dry food causes what one would have to call abnormal thirst. And, of course, more drinking, more peeing. After stopping dry food, thirst/drinking and peeing become normal in three days. That's why stopping dry food is worth a try before making an appointment.

Also, some cats are far more sensitive to carbs than others. If this kitty has had dry food all her life (before you got her), and she is having dry food now, her body might be reacting to the carbs.

Just saw your most recent post. I'm wondering if you got correct results. 69 is fasting level. Low fasting level. Normal blood sugar would be around 110-120, perhaps even somewhat higher with dry food in the diet.

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I'd never heard of liver issues causing increased thirst. I'll have to do some reading.

At the Humane Society, I'm sure they fed her crap food, likely Science Diet dry and I'm doubtful she got any canned. She had kittens in October and was sent to a foster home until she'd weaned the kittens; the notes show they'd fed her crappy Science Diet kitten food (dry) and Friskies canned twice a day. The H.S. gave me a coupon for Science Diet and they did mention I could feed her that so I suspect its' likely what they fed. I wouldn't feed that crap to my pet rock.

The Wellness dry she has is the grain-free so shouldn't be that high in carbs. And truly she doesn't seem to be eating much of it; I haven't even had to fill up her little dish of it....seems she pigs out on the canned and only nibbles on the dry. I can take it away, though.

She's definitely not drinking excessively because each morning I change the water bowl and the level barely changes.

I'm confident the glucose reading I got is correct. When I had my diabetic cat for 6 yrs (err, he was diabetic for the last 6 yrs of his life, on insulin twice a day), I was so paranoid about one of my other 3 older cats developing diabetes that I often did random checks of their glucose levels, just to be on top of things. It was common for me to get readings of anywhere from 45 to 75. The 'normal range' in a non-diabetic cat seems to vary depending on the source; I've seen 60-120, 80-120, 75-150.

I personally think she's younger than they estimate. The H.S. first estimated her at 4 yrs.....on their website. When I decided to adopt her, their info showed when she first came in she was estimated at 1 yr, just due to her size but later was estimated at 3 yrs. My regular Vet said according to her teeth and the amount of staining, he'd guess she's between 1-2 yrs. She's so small. Apparently when she delivered her kittens she had difficulty and they had to have the vet assist with the delivery of the first kitten. Not sure if that's usual but given the petite size of her frame I'm not surprised at all. So either she's younger than we think or maybe was just the runt of her own litter? She looks like a kitten to me.

Will try taking away her dry food.

I would feel better to have her temp rechecked though. I was told that 40 was at the high end of the normal range but from what I've been reading recently, the high end of the normal range is about 39.2 or 39.5C. My Vet is very passive and tends to take the 'wait and see' approach which sometimes is a bit frustrating unless I really push because my gut says push.

40 C is 104 F, which is fever in a cat. I would have the temperature rechecked and if it's still elevated, I would ask for a CBC as well.

And some important info

http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=...needcannedfood

Dry food typically contains 35-50% carbohydrates, mostly as starch. (The new "grain-free" foods may be as little as 20% carbohydrate). This is necessary because the equipment that makes dry food requires a high-starch, low-fat dough for proper processing. Cereal grains provide an inexpensive and plentiful source of calories, which allows manufacturers to produce foods containing adequate calories at an affordable price. A few dry foods provide less carbohydrates, in some cases substituting starchy vegetables and soy for cereal grains; but they are still heavily processed and just as dehydrating (if not more so) than regular dry food.

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The rest of the article is also very good.

I would definitely contact the vet, but I would not panic as 5 or 6 times is not that far out of the normal range. It may just be that she is feeling a little stressed and is not quite used to her new environment yet.

You can use an ear thermometer to check her temp. Works like a charm and fairly accurate.

Now it draws my concern too.

My 2 4.5 mos old kitties pee like that too. They have 3 wet meals, sometimes I add some water to the wet food because they like it slightly on the watery side. They have water available to them in a bowl, and I would say they probably drink 6-8 oz of water together since the first day I have had them.

I can scoop out 6-8 golf ball pee clumps each day. I have been thinking it is normal considering their water intake.

koobe Is there a lot of grain in the wet food you're feeding? Are they getting dry food as well?

In my experience, when young healthy indoor cats are on a grain-free wet diet, they don't drink. So I'm wondering if the composition of the wet food could make them thirsty, or they're getting dry food as well that you don't mention in your post. The amount of water they seem to drink wouldn't be normal even for an older cat on a wet diet. So, if I were you, I would check the ingredients in their wet diet and, if they're getting dry as well, I would put that away. If there is a lot of grain in the wet food, I would find a different formula with much less grain (or, even better, a grain-free formula) and then see if that makes a difference. I think it should.

Originally Posted by koobe

Now it draws my concern too.

My 2 4.5 mos old kitties pee like that too. They have 3 wet meals, sometimes I add some water to the wet food because they like it slightly on the watery side. They have water available to them in a bowl, and I would say they probably drink 6-8 oz of water together since the first day I have had them.

I can scoop out 6-8 golf ball pee clumps each day. I have been thinking it is normal considering their water intake.

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that is very Normal.... as the ALL dry cat would typically drink 4-6 oz ... cats eating both wet and dry drink less ... Kitten s go alot more than adults on ave... BUT since you are concerned check with your vet

I add water to wet and noticed that they all drank alot less ... example my three boys share a room and normally drink about 6 oz a day ... when I add water to canned they drink next to nothing..

Originally Posted by Violet

koobe Is there a lot of grain in the wet food you're feeding? Are they getting dry food as well?

In my experience, when young healthy indoor cats are on a grain-free wet diet, they don't drink. So I'm wondering if the composition of the wet food could make them thirsty, or they're getting dry food as well that you don't mention in your post. The amount of water they seem to drink wouldn't be normal even for an older cat on a wet diet. So, if I were you, I would check the ingredients in their wet diet and, if they're getting dry as well, I would put that away. If there is a lot of grain in the wet food, I would find a different formula with much less grain (or, even better, a grain-free formula) and then see if that makes a difference. I think it should.

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Hi Violet.

Yes, I forgot to mention, they have dry food too. I would say they share a little more than 3/4 cup of dry each day. Right now, the dry is a mix of Orijen and Royal Canin Kitten.

I try to buy non-grain wet food. EVO Chicken and Turkey is a routine for them. But I also try other brands because I want to know what they like best and what they can/not eat.

I have tried a few flavors of these brands: Instinct, Authority, Merrick, AvoDerm, California Natural.

Okay, the dry food explains the drinking.

Here's an update.

Between 5:30pm last night and 5:00pm today, she peed 4 times only. I did decide to at least go to the Vet and have them check her temperature; it was 38.6C. I decided to just give myself some peace of mind and had them do a cysto and collect urine and run a urinalysis. It was totally normal, no UTI, he said it was nice and concentrated, no glucose, nothing out of whack, no blood, now wbc, etc. The Vet said that it's definitely not unusual for a cat her age to pee 4-6 times in 24 hrs given that she's in a new environment, might be peeing more to 'mark her territory' (I didn't quite get this; she's only using her own box, not the other cats'). I will relax now. Thanks everyone.

I was also going to say that depending on her size, she may have a smaller bladder. I have 2 cats. One cat always seems to pee larger puddles. She's a larger sized cat, too. My smaller, petite little girl doesn't have such large puddles and she seems to go more often. The one with the larger puddles has kidney issues and the other doesn't. Go figure!