? Lola drinking more water than I think she should

[Pookie (GA)]

Lola's on day 11 of her OTJ trial.

However, I've been concerned that she continues to drink a lot of water. I measured (as best I could) her consumption yesterday and it was 8 fl oz. Her diet has been 100% canned food up until yesterday when I started adding ~1 tbsp of soaked-until-soggy Dr. Elsey's clean protein kibble to the mix.

At the time of her diabetes dx on 9/14 she was also testing positive for an infection -- my recollection is that the vet said kidney, but my notes say UTI. I'll call the office when it opens and clarify. CONFIRMED: It was a kidney infection

She received a Cefovecin injection on the 14th, so she's now 2 weeks out from that shot.

Do you think there's cause for concern?

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Have you tested her? The proof is in the numbers.

 

[Pookie (GA)]

She's running solidly in the green. I'm worried that the kidney infection might need to be addressed further.

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Sounds like a trip to the vet is in order. sigh Was she put on AB's maybe they will give you another script??

 

[majandra]

What does her urine output look like in comparison to how much she is drinking?

Pulled from a webpage: In general, adult cats should consume anywhere between 5 to 10 fluid ounces of water per day, depending on their size, activity level, type of food and other factors, such as overall health and ambient temperature

Let us know what the vet says!

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Enid,

It's very hard to find anything very definitive online about how much water a cat should consume each day. Based on my digging round the intertube, I work on the recommendation that, as a minimum, fluid intake should be 1ml per kcal eaten each day.

An average cat (c.10lb weight) will consume roughly 200kcal per day so should consume c.200ml water per day. Converting 8 US fl oz to millilitres gives c.240ml, but that's the water Lola's drinking. As she's been fed a 100% wet diet then c.80% of her food will also be water and count towards the daily total. A 3oz can of a typical paté cat food contains c.80% water, 84ml per can. If our theoretical kitty were to eat, say, 2 cans per day it would be taking in 168ml water, so the 'top-up' needed from the water bowl should be 32ml (hence why cats on wet food seem to ignore their water bowls most of the time).

At the moment Lola's drinking c.240ml of water. When that gets added to the water she's consuming in her food, I think that the daily total is worthy of your concern. Her BG levels look great so the likelihood that the apparent excessive thirst is due to FD is unlikely. There are several conditions that have polydipsia as a symptom. With a known urinary tract issue in the mix I'd suggest starting there and have a chat with the vet. Also maybe ask whether the Cefovecin can increase urination/thirst as a side effect (it stays in the system for a very long time).

She received a Cefovecin injection on the 14th,

Cefovecin (aka Convenia) is used widely by vets but it's only really effective against skin infections. I'd suggest checking to see whether the UTI is still present (cystocentesis with culture and sensitivity is best way to determine presence of infection and also the appropriate antibiotic with which to treat it).


Mogs
.

 

[Pookie (GA)]

Thanks for all of that, Mogs. That confirms my sense that something's not quite right.

Enid

 

[THH & Snowcrash (GA)]

I agree. Urinalysis with culture is your best bet. If the urine is dilute from any kidney issues, bacteria can be missed in a urinalysis; so culture is important to be sure there's no infection (and if there is, your vet will know the best antibiotic to use for it).