Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine output?

[Michele&Errol]

I have 1 diabetic cat (OTJ since 24/12/13) who is being diet controlled, so my question isn't about him but about my other cat who I am changing over to wet food as he is also overweight and was on the same dry food (Hills Light) which I believe caused the FD in the first place.
2nd kitty is pretty tubby around the tummy and he's a small built chap so he could lose 1.5 - 2kgs. He loathes wet food - can only get him to nibble at lean beef strips and a tiny amount of Whiskas sachets or Pamper (Friskies) in jelly (the latter 2 are a step forward because he wouldn't look at them a few weeks ago!). We'll get there, but it will take longer than kitty #1 who transitioned quite quickly onto the raw diet.
Kitty #2 drinks quite a bit but doesn't urinate excessively - his urine output is totally normal. I tested his BG last Monday for the first time and it was 3.3mmoL/L or 59.4 which is perfectly normal.
My question is, what other health issues should I look out for, apart from diabetes, would cause him to be drinking more water than I think he should be?

 

[Barb & Mr. Frog]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Kidneys would be my first thought

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

How much is "quite a lot" of water? given he eats dry food he will need more. Has he always drunk this much or is it more now?

 

[Dusty Bones]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

My non-diabetic cat who is pretty skinny and just eats wet food with my diabetic cat, loves to drink water. He's always been a water drinker, more during the dry food days but even now eating strictly wet food he still drinks water. His pee output is normal too. :mrgreen:

 

[BJM]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Drinks a lot - measured how?

How much is he urinating, ie what size are the urine clumps in the litterbox?

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Hyperthyroid can also cause excess water intake. My cat Libby would drink 1.5 to 2 cups of water a day. She had Hyperthyroidism and water consumption went down a bit once she was on methimazole.

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

I have quite small hands and his pee is smaller than the palm of my hand, the litter clump (clay) is around 2 - 3 tablespoons? So it's not a lot of urine at all, perfectly normal amount I think.

I don't honestly know if it's ''more'', or if it's just that I notice it because he will only drink running water from the tap and not the bowl and he tends to ask for the tap on almost every morning and every evening.

I saw that hyperthyroidism means weightloss? He definitely doesn't have any weightloss, I am trying to trim him down, he needs to lose a kilo or 2 however even though I am feeding him the bare minimum he is not losing weight which worries me. He doesn't have any of the typical symptoms of hyperthyroidism which is why I was wondering if there was anything else it could be?

He was diagnosed with Feline hyperesthesia syndrome early last year. It's not severe, and it seems to go through patches where he doesn't show any symptoms and then brief periods where he has episodes a few times a day. I might be clutching at straws but I'm hoping that when I convert him to the raw food diet it might help (I'm afraid I blame the dry kibble for almost everything these days :-x )

Thing is, he's fat but he doesn't eat a lot. Was on Hills Light (dry) for 2 years and it did absolutely no good whatsoever wrt weight loss.

 

[BJM]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

The dry food will result in more water consumption because its dry. Some of the water goes out in the feces. The half cup or so of wet litter is normal.

Definitely need to get a low carb diet going; it is likely to result in weight loss if you switch to either canned or raw low carb food. Friskies pates are 1 inexpensive, canned low carb option. Slowly change the food 20-25% new food per day to reduce stomach upset.

Transitioning can be tough. If offering canned or raw doesn't work right away, you might try a gradual change to one of the few low carb dry foods as a start.
- Evo Cat and Kitten
- Stella and Chewey's freeze dried (no crunch, can be gradually hydrated)
- Young Again 0 Carb (actual 5% calories from carbohydrate and internet order only)

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Thing is, he's fat but he doesn't eat a lot. Was on Hills Light (dry) for 2 years and it did absolutely no good whatsoever wrt weight loss.

Yeah, my civie Monet was on the same food and kept gaining weight, until I cut down the portion to such a tiny amount he was letting me know he was hungry all the time. Since I've switched to the wet food, it's been easier to portion control, fewer calories in the wet, makes him feel fuller, more water in the wet to keep him hydrated and stave off those urinary crystals. His coat is sleeker and shinier too. I just wish I had switched him from the dry to the wet earlier. It would have made the weight loss easier.

De. Lisa Pierson has a nice article on weight loss over on her website, catinfo.org. Here is the link to that article on Feline Obesity.

With you being in South Africa, some of those foods mentioned probably are not available. Sounds to me like the raw diet is the way to go for you and your "tubby" kitty. What's his name?

You've probably seen this transitioning dry food addicts article by Dr.Lisa Pierson, but just in case you have not, here is the link. Transitioning Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food

p.s. Somehow,your signature got messed up and I can't see the profile anymore. You might want to fix that link when you have a chance.

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

That gives me hope, I'm really trying to get him on to the wet only but boy is he stubborn. I won't give up though. His name is Sylvester and he is a black and white tuxedo. I was at a fleamarket when I heard a kitten crying pitifully. Went around the corner and there he was in a filthy pigeon cage, pacing up and down, a tiny, skinny little scrap about 6 weeks old, starving. The other kittens had all been bought and he was left. They were going to toss him at the end of the day if no one bought him. I had to pay for him, a measly couple $, and the guy got more than he bargained for with a long lecture about sterilising and inhumane treatment of animals. And I should add, I couldn't love this cat more if I gave birth to him myself

What you describe is exactly what I've experienced, he was getting so little Hills Light and still not losing weight.
Unfortunately, we don't have access to any of the wonderful canned foods you do - it's really limited here. No FF or Friskies pates. The regular FF are available but would be too expensive to feed all 3 kitties that, so I agree, raw food will be the best option. I have one who loves it (Errol) and another who's about to convert over totally (Molly) and I'm trying to get Sylvester to eat a little every day but he is really finicky.

I noticed that my profile link isn't working, you have to cut & paste.. would you know how I can fix it? Really not clued up

 

[BJM]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Can you import something like Bozita? That's a low carb from Europe.

Otherwise, making your own, raw or cooked, is going to be the only way to do it.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Hi Sylvester! Come on and eat those wet foods. They're good for you. Really. ;-) You'll love it if you try it!

It took me 6 weeks to transition Wink from dry to wet food and I thought that was really fast. He was a hard core dry food addict. I probably used most of those tips in the Transitioning doc I gave you a link to. I had to convince Wink that the wet foods were edible. Sometimes, it's the texture that can make all the difference. Or perhaps, one particular flavor will tickle their palate and get them to eat the wet. Persistence is the key.

The one trick that worked wonders for me, was to crumble a freeze dried chicken treat over the canned food. Wink would do just about anything for a taste of the Halo Liv-a-little freeze dried chicken treats.

Try this for fixing the profile link.Go to your user control panel, Profile tab, edit signature. Highlight the link you have,to select all that text for the profile link. Then click on the URL box above the free form edit box. It's just to the left of the word Normal.

That should have put brackets and url text at the beginning and the end of the highlighted text. That's how you make something a link.

So,it should look like this link text here

Hope that helps.

 

[Jill and Remi]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

I have a chunky cat, Abigail, that likes to drink running water as well. We have 2 fountains but if we go into the bathroom she always goes to the sink for water, though sometimes she doesn't drink much. She does drink form the fountains too so maybe you can try getting one and see how he likes it.
Anyway, she does have allergies which I have heard can cause them to drink more(of course I can't remember where I heard that right now). Maybe Sylvester is the same. They are all so different and special. Good luck on the wet food transition!

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Can you import something like Bozita? That's a low carb from Europe.

Otherwise, making your own, raw or cooked, is going to be the only way to do it.

Hi BJM, we have really strict laws on importing food so I can't. It has to go through all manner of tests and be approved etc which makes it a really drawn-out and expensive process, and after speaking to some people I believe anything with meat in it is prohibited altogether.

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Hi Sylvester! Come on and eat those wet foods. They're good for you. Really. ;-) You'll love it if you try it!

It took me 6 weeks to transition Wink from dry to wet food and I thought that was really fast. He was a hard core dry food addict. I probably used most of those tips in the Transitioning doc I gave you a link to. I had to convince Wink that the wet foods were edible. Sometimes, it's the texture that can make all the difference. Or perhaps, one particular flavor will tickle their palate and get them to eat the wet. Persistence is the key.

The one trick that worked wonders for me, was to crumble a freeze dried chicken treat over the canned food. Wink would do just about anything for a taste of the Halo Liv-a-little freeze dried chicken treats.

Try this for fixing the profile link.Go to your user control panel, Profile tab, edit signature. Highlight the link you have,to select all that text for the profile link. Then click on the URL box above the free form edit box. It's just to the left of the word Normal.

That should have put brackets and url text at the beginning and the end of the highlighted text. That's how you make something a link.

So,it should look like this link text here

Hope that helps.

I will tell Sylvester :lol:
Thanks for the info on fixing the link, will go and try to do it now.
I have heard how they love the freeze dried chicken and salmon treats, just wish we could get them here. The only dried kitty food we get are those teeny little dried fishes which mine aren't that wild about as they don't like fish much. I tried the Parmesan sprinkled over it and he really enjoyed that. Yesterday and today I managed to get him to eat quite a bit [for him] of lean beef strips. Still not too keen on lamb kidney or chicken gizzards & hearts or minced chicken neck, but neither was Errol in the beginning.
Now that I've bought an electric mincer flip_cat I will hopefully get him to eat more of a variety. He is pretty keen on 3 flavours of Whiskas sachets, so it's a start.

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

I have a chunky cat, Abigail, that likes to drink running water as well. We have 2 fountains but if we go into the bathroom she always goes to the sink for water, though sometimes she doesn't drink much. She does drink form the fountains too so maybe you can try getting one and see how he likes it.
Anyway, she does have allergies which I have heard can cause them to drink more(of course I can't remember where I heard that right now). Maybe Sylvester is the same. They are all so different and special. Good luck on the wet food transition!

Yes, perhaps he developed an allergy while on the 'diet' food - I wouldn't be surprised looking at the ingredients, and that could also be the cause of his Feline hyperesthesia which seemed to only appear when he was a few years old.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

I think you may need to change the permissions on your google doc for the profile, so you 'share with anyone with the link' so we have read only access. It's telling me I need to sign in to view the profile. You did get the link fixed, no more cut and paste to view it. Now this one last step and I think that should fix it.

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Hi Deb, thanks, ok I think I've fixed it
In desperation, after trying all the 'good' makes of tinned and sachet cat food, I bought a couple of sachets of one that I wouldn't consider 'good' :lol: Guess what? Yes, you guessed. He LOVED it. Scoffed it down with mouth wide open. Only 3 flavours and only 1 he wasn't wild about, but the other 2 he ate with as much gusto as dry. I tried to wean him off that on to the good quality one, but he didn't fall for that for long, so I will stop in at the store today and get more - I remember reading that even low quality wet food is preferable to any dry food. So there is hope, even if it feels like one step forward and two steps back at the moment.
Oh, and the day he ate the sachets, he didn't drink water from the bath for 2 1/2 days. Definitely says something..

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Hi Michele!

Yes, I can access the profile for Errol now. Good job on fixing the link. Wasn't sure if my instructions were clear enough, but you did fix the link.

In desperation, after trying all the 'good' makes of tinned and sachet cat food, I bought a couple of sachets of one that I wouldn't consider 'good' :lol: Guess what? Yes, you guessed. He LOVED it. Scoffed it down with mouth wide open. Only 3 flavours and only 1 he wasn't wild about, but the other 2 he ate with as much gusto as dry.

Looks like civie Sylvester has opted for the food he likes, instead of the higher quality food. ohmygod_smile

I remember reading that even low quality wet food is preferable to any dry food. So there is hope, even if it feels like one step forward and two steps back at the moment.

It was Dr. Lisa Pierson, over at http://www.catinfo.org/ that said basically any canned food is better than any dry food.

I would much rather see a cat eating an all-by-product canned food than any dry food. This is because even the cheaper canned foods have the 'Big Three' covered:

1) high in water
2) usually low in carbohydrates
3) the protein is from animals - not plants

So, guess civie Sylvester will be getting 'his way' in what he eats. My Wink still loves the Fancy Feast pates, which are by-product based canned foods. I'd rather see him eat something he likes, than try to force feed something he doesn't like. Hopefully, your Sylvester will get svelte after eating the canned food. You still need to portion control, but it's usually much easier for an overweight cat to lose the weight on the canned food. It makes them feel fuller. Adding a bit of extra water to the food may help him to feel fuller also.

While I was here reading, I took a peek at Errol's SS and he still looks to be in those nice green numbers without insulin. Hope his remission continues for a long time.

 

[Michele&Errol]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

Thanks Deb, me too. I don't take anything for granted and am so grateful for those greens when I test him. Your instructions were just right.

Sylvester, otoh, has now decided I'm trying to poison him with the food he liked the other day - AFTER I went and stocked up on it.!! cat(2)_steam so now I'm back to square one. I hold out as long as I can before I cave in and give him the Orijens, but I can't starve him. Last night I tried putting him to bed on the verandah with his food in the hopes that he would decide to snack at night without the other 2 eating it for him (Errol will hoover up everyone's given half a chance) and that lasted about an hour as I couldn't sleep with Sylvester's pitiful little mews. When he was very small, he was lying on my lap and 'talking' whilst I was on the phone to someone and they thought he sounded like a crocodile hatchling, so that gives you an idea of the sound :lol: Not something one can sleep through :smile:

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Overweight cat drinks quite a bit, has normal urine outp

I tried to use my cat Wink's natural hunger drive to help me out when I was transitioning him from dry food to wet. That helped some, to meal feed instead of free feeding.

It took a lot of experimenting on my part to find a flavor he liked. Finally, the Turkey & Giblet was a hit. Not right away, but slowly he liked that flavor best. Then, I was so worried about what would happen if he decided he didn't like that single flavor. ohmygod_smile

So, I started to mix small amounts of other flavors into his food, or put a tiny portion of a new food in a separate dish. Sometimes, the kitty smorgasboard had 3 flavors available for his nomming pleasure. Crumbling his favorite Halo Liv-a-little freeze dried treats would tempt him to try a new flavor too. He loved rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, still does ;-) , and would try a new flavor with some shredded chicken on top.

Sylvester will eventually try other flavors, but it can be weeks or even longer before he gets more consistent about eating the canned food.

For me, I think the key was to keep trying. Sometimes, I would hold the dish right in front of his face, to encourage him to eat more. :shock: Wink kind of got to be a bit of a spoiled kitty for a bit. I was feeding him in a separate room, so that helped that my other two civies could not interrupt him and chase him away from his food.