Constant thirst

cotakitty

cotakitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 20, 2014
Messages
1
Purraise
1
Wondering if anybody has any ideas? My cat is about 7 years old, male, neutered. He is typically very healthy and eats mostly birds and mice in the summer - his kibble consumption goes way down, but it is winter now. He often loses weight in the summer and then eats like crazy in the fall and puts some weight on for winter (we live in Canada and it's cold!) He started losing weight this summer and hasn't really put any back on - I can feel all of his ribs and spine. We de-wormed him about two weeks ago but he needs to put on weight. I have some raw chicken dog food left over from when we had our dog. Would this be suitable to supplement him with? Any ideas on the constant thirst? I know that diabetes can be linked to constant drinking and urination but I have no idea how much he pees. He doesn't meet other risk factors for diabetes - has never been overweight or sedentary. He's outdoors mostly and has a warm house we built him for shelter. We had to find a new home for our dog about two months ago and I am wondering if he had some anxiety around that - might be why he's losing weight? They weren't best friends or anything but still, they were used to each other. Any ideas? 
 
cocheezie

cocheezie

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
954
Purraise
101
Location
Great White North
Overweight is common in diabetic cats, but not a necessity. My cat has never been overweight and still developed diabetes. Make sure he always has access to water. Is he hugging the water bowl?

Sounds like a trip to the vet is in order.
 
stephenq

stephenq

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 19, 2003
Messages
5,672
Purraise
944
Location
East Coast, USA
cotakitty said:
 
Wondering if anybody has any ideas? My cat is about 7 years old, male, neutered. He is typically very healthy and eats mostly birds and mice in the summer - his kibble consumption goes way down, but it is winter now. He often loses weight in the summer and then eats like crazy in the fall and puts some weight on for winter (we live in Canada and it's cold!) He started losing weight this summer and hasn't really put any back on - I can feel all of his ribs and spine. We de-wormed him about two weeks ago but he needs to put on weight. I have some raw chicken dog food left over from when we had our dog. Would this be suitable to supplement him with? Any ideas on the constant thirst? I know that diabetes can be linked to constant drinking and urination but I have no idea how much he pees. He doesn't meet other risk factors for diabetes - has never been overweight or sedentary. He's outdoors mostly and has a warm house we built him for shelter. We had to find a new home for our dog about two months ago and I am wondering if he had some anxiety around that - might be why he's losing weight? They weren't best friends or anything but still, they were used to each other. Any ideas? 
Click to expand...
It could also be kidney disease.  We don't really talk about "risk factors" for cats with diabetes except weight, but the fact that he is loosing weight is a bad sign.  He is ill, and he needs a vet.  He needs blood work and a urine sample and an exam.  You can't fix this yourself or online.  Please see a vet.
 
slykat12

slykat12

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Dec 17, 2013
Messages
484
Purraise
123
Location
Torrance, California
My female cat at 14 started to drink like a fish and it ended up being due to high calcium which meant cancer in her case. Blood test and x-ray confirmed it. She did not eat and only drank a lot, and could only walk 3 feet then had to rest. Do go to the vet ASAP 

I also think urine crystals can cause this.
 
Last edited:
jdollprincess

jdollprincess

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Messages
182
Purraise
49
My 7 year old male Battle Cat, recently started drinking and urinating a lot. I was afraid of diabetes since he's a 20 lb'r so I ran a senior blood panel on him (I work at a vets office). I was surprised when the test came back showing stage 3 kidney failure. Luckily he has no other symptoms yet and I started him on subq fluids at home and changed his diet. You really need to get bloodwork done on your kitty. His symptoms fit a number of different conditions most of which are manageable with immediate treatment. Good luck and please keep us updated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top