Older cat drinking lots of water- Kidneys fine

[amandakittens]

Hello,

My 14 year old siamese is at the water bowl about 3 times a day for a minute or more drinking. I have had his kidneys checked 3 times between last year and this due to surgery and everything looks fine. No signs of any diseases kidney or otherwise. He doesn't really seem to be peeing more. Does this seem like a normal amount of water to drink? It's just much more than my other 2 kitties. Also, in case it matters, they all eat wet food. 

Thanks!

 

[cinqchats]

Put your older cat in one room with a bowl of measured water. That night, measure the water again so you can see how much he's drinking. You could do this a few times if you want to average it out. This way you'll have an objective measurement.

It seems to me that some cats are better at drinking water than others. I mean granted NOW Smoochie has kidney failure, but all of her life she's been good at drinking. Ms Jilly is also good at it. The other kitties, not so much.

 

[verna davies]

Have you though to have him tested for hyperthyroidism. My old cat was drinking lots and had a blood test that was positive for hyperthyroidism. A Visalia tablet daily soon had her back to normal

 

[donutte]

When did the excessive drinking start, and when was the last time blood work was done? I have had two cats go from normal to stage 4 renal failure in a very short span of time. How is appetite, litter habits, weight? I see someone suggested T4, would also add check for diabetes.

If it's been more than a month since the last set of labs, and this started since then, I'd suggest getting another set.

 

[verna davies]

Not sure how long her increase in drinking had been going on, few months at a guess but her appetite had also increased. She also had lost a little weight but I put that down to old age (she was nearly 15). The vet tested her for diabities, hyperthyroid and two other things but I can't remember what.
When the test came back positive for hyperthyroidism she went onto the tablets and within a few weeks she improved. She was tesTed the following month to make sure her count was down. It was originally 32 and it dropped
10. After that she was tested 3 months later then every 6 months. She did really well on the tablets. ( they were called vidalta not as it said in my previous message. Predicted text altered it). She even put weight on which is unusual. Unfortunately she died last year but not because of the hyperthyroidism. She had several things go wrong and she was 17. They can live for years on the correct medication.

It is worth having a word with your vet to see what he thinks.

Has your cat got an increased appetite and list any weight?

 

[helen725]

My cat Monte has been diagnosed with kidney issues and he's on the K/D (wet and dry food)
I notice that he'll sometimes drink water for a couple of minutes after he has eaten.
Is it good for cats with kidney issues to drink more water? Or should we be concerned?

 

[donutte]

Monte will definitely need to be monitoring if he has been diagnosed with kidney issues. Kidney cats will drink a lot more water than usual, and that is needed to help with flushing out the toxins, since their kidneys are not functioning very well anymore. So Monte should have access to as much fresh water as he needs. As the disease progresses, you'll probably notice that he drinks a lot more down the line.

To answer your question about being concerned, since you are already aware of his kidney disease, no, you don't need to be concerned. If he was drinking a lot of water and you didn't know about it yet, then I'd say you should be. But it's perfectly normal with feline kidney disease.

 

[Blakeney Green]

To the OP: It could be the weather? My cats and the shelter cats are all drinking a lot of water right now because of the temperature. I'm just thinking that if medical causes seem to be ruled out, it could be environmental. I would just keep an eye on it.

Regarding the kidney cat: Drinking lots of fluids is good for cats with CKD. Definitely monitor the disease with bloodwork, but your cat drinking more water is a positive thing.