I have never seen a cat beg for water,...until now!

[fsttrk]

I just don't know what to think about my cat Spaz anymore. Every time I go in the kitchen, he's there, just sitting by the sink, beggin me(meowing loudly)for me to give him some fresh water. He won't drink out of his bowl, which is a Freshflow that I clean every other day, but any cups you lay down are not safe if he's awake! He even follows me upstairs at nigh and sleeps in the bedroom/bathroom doorway. He wants me to turn the bath water on so he can drink some. I know this because when I go in there at 4am, sometimes he's just chillin in the bathtub!??
It was because of these symptoms, which came out of nowhere, that I took him to the vet two months ago and found out he has pretty mild hepatic lipadois, if you can think of liver disease as being mild at all. But he's not anemic according to the blood work and his kidney levels are fine?? My vet thinks that it is a psychological thing, but he is not stressed or depressed as far as I can tell. His only other problem is his skin which is flakey, but that can also be contributed to the liver problem.
I just don't know

. Has anyone heard of a cat craving water like this?

ps. sorry for the long post,I'm just worried.

 

[golden_moon_luv]

Ive heard that some cats prefere fresh water over bowl water. When I go to my vet they always have the faucet at a very slow flow, I fund out they had a kennel cat who will just drink from it. I thought wow I wish mine would do it. All they do is look at the water flowing down.


Ashley

 

[fsttrk]

Yeah, all my others just watch it too. but I have that freshflow fountain and I haven't seen him drink out of it in days.

The main thing I'm worried about is the amount of water he drinks. If he pees twice in one litter box HALF the little will be soaked! And my litterboxes are huge.

 

[amy-dhh]

Maybe a second opinion from another vet is in order. That sounds like an awful lot of pee (but I'm no expert).

That said, my guy has the same peculiar habits when it comes to water. He prefers drinking from a running faucet, bathtub (has done the bathtub sit), toilet, sprinkler outside -- almost anywhere but his bowl. And he's followed me around, and meowed at me to turn on water for him. He'll even jump into the shower right after I've gotten out to drink the droplets on the floor.

He'll ONLY drink from his bowl if there's no other option.

 

[gayef]

I would say that another trip to the vet is in order. Have them do bloodwork that shows organ function including blood glucose levels. The symptoms you are describing sound exactly like my cat before she was diagnosed with diabetes.

Please let us know how it goes,

~gf~

 

[mandini]

YES. My cat Booker, who I had to put to sleep last week, was this way. She was suffering from diabetes and suspected kidney failure, as well as other unknown ailments, which could have included hyperthyroidism and tumors. She would jump up on the sink and drink for 10 minutes at a time. I had to leave it on all night. In the morning, her giant litter box was soaked with urine. She would then pee on the rug but it was just like water, it had no color or smell.

After about 6 months of insulin shots and treatment for the diabetes, these thirsty symptoms were only getting worse. Her body became bloated and she was having a hard time getting around. She was 15 years old and the vet said even if we could do all the tests to find out what was wrong exactly, we probably wouldn't be able to cure her.

The strange thing is that she needed massive doses of insulin to get a normal blood sugar reading. We started at 2 units once a day and she was up to 16 units twice a day at the end. The vet had never seen anything like it. We fought the good fight but we couldn't win in the end... I miss you Booker!

Anyway, his behavior is telling you that something in his system is not right. Have your vet test again. Good luck.

 

[fsttrk]

I had two blood work ups, the last about 2 1/2 weeks ago and his glucose levels were fine. Two of his liver enzymes were elevated and that was the only problem. I had an ultrasound and liver aspiration done. The liver looked slightey enlarged and brighter than usual, which are the signs for hepatic lipadosis. Thankfully, no tumors or shunt obstructions! Also, Yes, it is ALOT of pee, but keep in mind he's 20 lbs!!

I'm glad to hear that your cat does this too ComeresMom! Did he just start it one day or has he done it all along?

 

[byclops]

My cats come running if they hear a sink running. They're not allowed on the kitchen bench, but I let them drink from the bathrooms and laundry if they want.

As I understand it, it's a wild defense mechanism whereby cats will prefer running water as they understand it to be fresh.

I change my cats waterbowl - and they do rink from it at times, but much prefer the running water!

 

[stormy]

My cat Blackie used to always drink from a faucet never a bowl. He would sit on the bathroom sink and meow when someone walked by for a drink.
I asked the vet about it and he said it was fine as some cats can't see water in the bowl.

It was when he started to drink water from a bowl that I found out he had renal failure

so if your kitties thrist has increased I would highly recommend more testing just to be sure.

 

[juniper]

Phineas is exactly like this! Except that he's more picky, he only wants to drink from the faucet in the bathroom sink, but he is contantly begging for me to turn them on - the first thing he'll do when I come home in the evening is run to the bathroom, hop up on the sink, and start meowing insistently for me to turn the faucet on for him. Every time I go into the bathroom he runs in too (even if he's asleep, he'll wake up and rush in there!) and 'asks' for the faucet to be turned on, and several times a day he'll go in there on his own and meow until I come in and turn it on for him. And Phineas is in perfect health, so yes, it can just be a psychological thing. However, since there are other health issues with your kitty, I would maybe get a second opinion from a different vet or run further tests just to be on the safe side.

 

[fsttrk]

Well, I took Spaz in yesterday for another blood panel and got the results today. All of the liver enzymes that were high have all dropped to a more acceptable level, but there still high. That's the good news. His blood sugar level was 450.

The vet said it could have jumped up due to the stress of bringing him to the vet,(he is soooo scared of car rides) or he has diabetes. They are going to do a test with the blood that he got yesterday that tells them what his sugar levels have been for the last 2 weeks, but I won't know the answer for 2-3 days. I just don't understand it. His levels were fine on all the other panels!?!?

Please pray for him that he'll be OK untill we find out what's wrong. My grandfather has had diabetes for 40 years and he's eighty now, so I'm optimistic that if Spaz does have it that it can be well managed. My grandfather told me that liver disease was one problem that can occur with diabetes, so my guess it that that's the main problem and the liver disease is a secondary problem brought on by it. I haven't done any research into diabetes in cats, but I'm sure there is a ton of info here about it so I'll be looking around.

Mandini, I'm so sorry that Booker couldn't be treated succesfully for long, but I know that he's in a happy place and feeling no more pain.

 

[jen]

A cat I was fostering, who is now back at the shelter, didn't drink an overload of water, but it did always have to be fresh. When I was at the sink, she would jump up and meow for me to turn it on and let her drink right from the faucet. She would drink from a bowl I leave out too, but she just prefered it to be running. She would get her whole face under there and let the water drip down her neck. It was so cute.

 

[fsttrk]

I thought it was endearing at first as well untill I found out it was caused by a disease.

I'm so worried about him going into a coma now. I keep waking him up every five minutes. I know that that's silly, he could have been haveing this problem for years and I never knew it untill he started drinking too much.

I

 

[gayef]

Originally Posted by fsttrk

I thought it was endearing at first as well untill I found out it was caused by a disease.

I'm so worried about him going into a coma now. I keep waking him up every five minutes. I know that that's silly, he could have been haveing this problem for years and I never knew it untill he started drinking too much.

I

I am sorry to hear of your cat's illness. I was so hoping it wouldn't be the case.

Please know that treating a cat for diabetes is something that can be done if you are willing to make that committment. I treated a diabetic cat for six years with a lot of success, so if I can provide any assistance to you, don't hesitate to let me know.

~gf~

 

[fsttrk]

Thank you gayef, and yes I will do whatever I have to to keep him well for as long as I have to. Like I said before, I've seen it all my life with my grandfather( I grew up with my grandparents) and it really won't be too much of a hassle to treat him even if it's twice a day. I'll just hate that he has to get poked twice a every day. Where do you get blood samples from on a cat, their paws, and what about the injection site.?? My grandpa uses his belly

. I'm gonna have to look that one up.

 

[gayef]

Originally Posted by fsttrk

Thank you gayef, and yes I will do whatever I have to to keep him well for as long as I have to. Like I said before, I've seen it all my life with my grandfather( I grew up with my grandparents) and it really won't be too much of a hassle to treat him even if it's twice a day. I'll just hate that he has to get poked twice a every day. Where do you get blood samples from on a cat, their paws, and what about the injection site.?? My grandpa uses his belly

. I'm gonna have to look that one up.

Most diabetic cat owners who home-blood test will take a sample from the ear ... while I never had any great success with that, there are those who do and swear by it. As I understand it, there is a small blood vessel that runs along the outter rim of the ear and if you poke the lancet NEAR (not ON) that area, you can get a small droplet which is enough to test. I also understand it helps to warm the ear up with a warm washcloth and then use the washcloth as your "surface" when poking the ear. Put the cloth on the underside of where you want to poke and it provides a more rigid surface underneath as well as the warmth needed to get the blood moving in the ear. If you decide to go this route, see if your grandfather has an old blood meter he isn't using anymore. Go to the pharmacy and buy a new meter. Most of them have coupons inside the box where if you send them the old meter, they will rebate the entire cost of your new one. Also, go the the web site for BD syringes ... there is a sign-up there where you can get on their mailing list and they will send you coupons for BD syringes. If you use Humulin insulin, go to the Eli Lily web site and sign up there too - they also send you information, coupons and rebate offers. It might help some.

For me, it was much easier (not to mention much less stress on my cat) to observe behavior. Arming myself with knowledge about the disease and it's symptoms enabled me to observe my cat's behavior and know what she needed better than any blood test could tell me. But that may not be the case for you or for your cat.

The blood test you mentioned in an earlier post - the one that gives you an average of the glucose values over the past 10 days to 2 weeks (why can't my 40-something brain think of the name of that test at the moment????) was the one I counted on. I would have my cat in to the vet once a month and have that test for her. It was beneficial on many levels for us - we got the results of the blood test and the vet was able to catch any other issue that came up before it got to be a real problem.

The cost was prohibitive though. When all was said and done, her normal monthly expenses for treatment, testing, prescription foods and medicines were about $200 to $300 a month, sometimes more, sometimes less depending. I was lucky that my husband was very willing to help me finance her care or else it wouldn't have been the way it was. I did give up some of what I considered my "luxuries" to cover a part of this - I no longer had my hair done every two weeks (at the time I was dying it blond), I no longer went each week to have my nails done and I stopped going to my weekly date with the girls to see a movie and have dinner out. I gave up my extra phone line in the house for the second computer to have internet access and I began putting all of my change in a big jar instead of just leaving it wherever it fell. I skimmed about $25 a week off of our normal grocery shopping and cut back severely on buying snacks, sodas and all the little treats that we normally enjoyed. I cleaned out closets and storage areas and held a big yard sale ... which actually not only helped my cat with her expenses, but it cleaned out my house! It was a fun Saturday for my family and we all pitched in. My son, who was a young teenager at the time, offered to cut neighbors yards in the summer months and shovel snow off of porches and walkways in the winter - and give me half the money he made for her care. *wiping tears away* My husband gave me $150 a month to help and I was able to come up with the rest. There were times that my cat required a stay in-hospital that I couldn't cover the cost - and I had to work out a payment plan with my vet. But that was able to be done and today, nearly a year and a half after this kitty left for the Rainbow Bridge from a non-diabetes related cause, I am almost done paying it off.

Feel free to either email or PM me if you want. I have loads of info on ways to help.

Best of luck,

Gaye

 

[fsttrk]

WoW. What a WONDERFUL family you have.

And you are a saint for sacraficing all you did for your baby. Of course when you love them as much as a child there's no question of doing all you can to save them.

I belicve that test was called blood serum something?? And it cost 45$. Not too bad.

I don't think I'll have a problem affording the care because my grandfather is a smart man and invested my inheritance(my dad died when I was young) and now I have a huge chunk of change. It's is my college money, but I've only got one year left, and the majority of the money is still there. It's going to be my down payment for a house when I graduate, but I'm not going to hesitate to spend it on spaz. And since it's in stocks, the amount I live off of is usually replaced monthly! So I hope that won't be a problem. I don't know what I would do without my grandfather

.

Thank you for your offer, and I will probably be taking you up on it if he is sick. I would love to know the signs to look for to get an idea of how he's doing at any given moment. How old was your kitty when she was diagnosed? My big boy is approching eight. He is also 17.3 pound so he's fat. Is there a chance that if he looses the weight that the diabetes could go away? I know how hard it is to be a diabetic and go on a diet. My grandfather checks his levels twice as much when he's on a diet.

 

[gayef]

I dunno about the being a saint part, but I'll tell ya that once that blond dye starting growing out, I looked pretty bad until I discovered the Hair Color aisle at WalMart! LOL Thank the stars for cheap 40 Volume Peroxide!

My family is wonderful. 'Nuff said.

My son is just starting his Junior year at University on the 18th. So, I imagine you and he are contemporaries. With the dedication to Spaz I sense from your post, you remind me of my boy in the way he loved my little diabetic girl-kitty. Lamb, your grandfather sounds like a lovely man and it is quite obvious that he cares deeply about you, as I know you care for him. He can really be a wealth of assistance for you in dealing with Spaz ... but the best way to learn about diabetes and how Spaz handles it is to spend a lot of time watching Spaz. Keep a journal of events throughout the day - and make life more rigidly routine. You will have to feed him at set times and make sure he has medicine at set times. Write these things down and also ... watch him after these events and write down his behavior. It begins to reveal a pattern if you look for it.

My cat was 12 when she was diagnosed and was also overweight. As I was able to get some of the weight down, the diabetes didn't go away, but her insulin requirments did decline. One of the things that really assisted me was a food that was prescribed by my vet. It is the Purina D/M Formula and from the time I put her on it in early October until the end of that year, her insulin requirements dropped another 2 units per day.

Let me ask you something ... has Spaz been on any medications recently? How do his teeth look?

Oh and the name of the blood test we are referring to is a Serum Fructosamine. YAY! I remembered!

~gf~

 

[zanniesmom]

There are two tests for long term sugar levels. One we use in humans often is the hemoglobin A1c. It tells the level for 6-12 weeks prior. In a human you want the level to be 6 or less. The other test is for fructosamine. It tests for 2-4 week levels and should be in the 200s for people, but I would guess that a little higher would be normal for cats, since normal blood sugars are a little higher in cats than people. Becky

 

[ghostuser]

Merlin has this thing that if he thinks I'm heading for the bathroom - even if he's downstairs - he comes FLYING into the bathroom like a cat with his tail on fire, jump into the bathtub, and stares at the faucet like it's going to turn on by itself.

Just so you know, it can be perfectly normal. I was extremely worried when I brought him home in late June. I was convinced that he was diabetic. He had all the symptoms - 18lbs, excessive thrist, and he peed like crazy. I had a full blood panel run and guess what - he's healthy.

He just has an addiction of drinking from the faucet. In the bathtub (he gets soaked), from the bathroom sink, from the kitchen sink, he's even tried drinking from the shower but he got too wet and didn't like it. I have some great pictures of him that I pass around to friends, and still no one believes it, until they come over to my house and they try to wash their hands or get a glass of water.

Not to mention he drinks at least a bowel full of water a day, on top of probably about 30 minutes total per day of drinking running water. The vet was really happy about hearing it, though it was one of the strangest things he's ever heard. Too many cats are borderline dehydrated from eating dry food and not drinking enough water. For how much water Mer gets he should be able to keep from developing kidney and bladder problems, and just stay generally healthier! (Plus, the faucet drinking won my grandmother's affection in about two seconds, which is an extremely rare feat for a cat!)