Cat Drinking Water

Merlin (owned by Karen Wilkinson) Drinking

Merlin (owned by Karen Wilkinson) Drinking Water

Is your cat drinking water? A lot of it? Not enough of it? Any change in your cat’s behavior often raises a red flag.

One of the first things an owner needs to take notice of is when it is your cat drinks water. Is it after some intense playtime? Is it after some time in the sun?

Another thing to think about if you feel your cat drinks water excessively is what kind of food he eats. Cats that eat dry food are more likely to consume more water than cats that eat wet food. Wet food provides cats with added moisture (TIP!: You can add water to your cat’s wet food and mix it into the food). If you recently switched brands of food, compare the sodium content in the new food to that of the old food you had been feeding. If the new food is higher than the old food that could be the reason for the increased thirst.

While it could be something simple like intense activity or a change in diet, there is always the possibility that there is a medical reason for your cat to increase his water intake. Three major medical reasons are:

It is very important if you notice your cat drinking water more then usual that you make an appointment with your vet to rule out those possibilities.

Cats with thyroid problems have an array of symptoms, which can include an increased thirst. Other signs of thyroid problems are increased appetite, loss of weight and problems with fur. They might have frequent mats or excessive shedding. However, there are treatments options for cats with hyperthyroidism.

Some of the symptoms you can see in feline diabetes are an increased thirst with increased urination. There can also be intense lethargy that can get so bad you will see difficulty walking. Like the thyroid problems you will see an increase appetite with lose of weight.

Kidney failure is a very scary and a very common issue. It is one of the leading causes of death and illness in older cats, side effects include anemia. While often times signs do not show up until the later stages, an increased thirst is one of the first. Is your cat old? Is your cat drinking water? If not enough, you might need to administer fluids.

There could be many causes for your cat to be drinking more water or not drinking water. You know your cat better then anyone else, so if it is something that is out of the ordinary a trip to the vet will help answer your questions and be sure to check your cat’s water dish.

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Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,

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2 Comments

  1. My cat always comes to my bathroom sink and drinks a lot of water like twice a day! Is that good or bad? She’s 3 years old and had a bladder infection before. Since that I have switched her to friskies can food. When she comes to drink water she always drinks a good bit then jumps down. I hope she’s ok. She’s not urinating outside of the litter box or anything and she still plays when she’s in the mood for playing time.

    1. Necie,

      Things to look out for also are – has the amount of pee in her litter box changed? In other words does she pee a lot more than normal? Are the clumps that you pull from the litter box a lot more?

      My guess is at 3 years old she is OK – but if you are concerned at all, then you definitely want to take her to your vet and have her kidney values checked out.

      My cat, Rags, drank water like your kitty and lived a healthy life until 16 – he got cancer – rec’d chemo and lived to 19.5.

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