Could 1 yr old have diabetes

I have a one year old neutered male. He seems to be drinking a lot of water which I know is a sign of diabetes. I lost my Finster to diabetes a few years back but he was about 6 at the time. Wondered if anybody knows how young a cat can be to be diabetic. He just seems so young to have developed this disorder. Any input would be great. Thanks

what is "a lot of water"? I have one cat that drinks mostly out of a water bottle that has measurements on it - I can tell about how much water she drinks -

are you feeding dry food? if so, a "lot of water" is required

my cats love water, and I feed both dry (as treats) and canned premium food

I always look at the food I'm feeding for clues - remembering what goes into their bodies either helps or hinders their good health

probably a quick visit to the vet would help you know for sure - it seems like he's way too young for this disease to be showing up now ???, but then, I'm not a vet so ????

I work with a woman who I cat sat her cat for her when she went on vacation because her cat needed his unsulin shots 2x a day. He was 1 1/2 when diagnosed with it. He lived to be 15!

You can certainly have a cat that young with diabetes. Doesn't hurt to check but can kill if not checked. Also, if you get a blood panel done it can work as a good baseline to measure future blood work too so the vet can catch any subtle changes BEFORE it becomes costly and unmanageable. So you won't be wasting time or money by getting him his blood work done.

I sincerely hope all is well with him!

I am posting again because something else came to mind. I just had my cat checked because I saw he was drinking more also. His blood work is fine.

The vet said that weight loss is one of the signs of being sick. So watch his weight.

ReeRee has actually GAINED weight. So, he wasn't diabetic but was put on a strict eating schedule.

that is the best news .. just needs a bit of food monitoring...

FYI : ave cat feed dry food drinks 4-6 oz a day

Thanks for all your answers...any help I can get is greatly appreciated. I am pretty new here, but have always had cats and love them dearly. As for how much he drinks, I can't be completely sure. There are two other cats and a dog, and unfortunately he likes to drink the dogs water...no matter how fresh his is. The dogs water is up off the ground and harder to get to, but he will stand on his hind legs just to get to it. I try to make note of how often he drinks and for how long. He will drink for sometimes three minutes at a time...which reminds me of my old cat Finster who had diabetes. Stanley will just keep lapping it up. And I have been finding bigger mounds of liter in the liter box. I think I will make an appointment and take him in to get the blood work done, to ease my mind and to help Stan. I had the kitties on Taste of the Wild, but have noticed that someone had been throwing up. So at the insistance of my mother (FarleyV), I have switched over to wet. I lost my dear Finster to diabetes. We were just never able to get him regulated and it was just a horrible decision for me to make to put him down. I put it off and put it off and finally after the diabetic nueropathy was making it very difficult for him to walk and hold his bowels, we had to send him to rainbow bridge. Stan is so young, and I would hate for this to be the case for him. THanks for your input.