Is it normal for my cat to drink a lot of water?

En general, that a cat drinks more water than usual is not normal and it’s usually a sign that something is not right. A medium cat of 4 kilos of weight should take an approximate amount of 180 ml / day, if it exceeds it and, in addition, urinates too much, it means that something is happening and we should go to the veterinarian. The exception is when we are on very hot days, in which the animal must compensate the body temperature and loss of liquid by increasing the water intake, something quite common in all animals. Especially if we talk about very active cats, this may be the reason.

However, it is not common to see a cat that, by itself, drinks large amounts of water. In fact, on many occasions it is the tutors who should encourage the animal to ingest the minimum daily amount. This small consumption in felines comes from their ancestors, cats that lived in the desert and adapted to survive in this habitat. This does not mean that the cat does not need water to live, because, currently, due to the industrialization of the food and other changes in the routine of the domestic cat, we know that the intake of water is essential to bring a good quality of life. However, when a cat takes more water than usual, and it does so suddenly, it is normal for us to become alarmed. Therefore, we will talk about why your cat drinks a lot of water and how to proceed.

How much water does a cat drink a day?

First of all, it is important to consider the amount of normal water that a cat should drink per day. For this, it is necessary to know the routine of the cat and its personality, since the polydipsia (when the cat takes more water than normal) and the resulting polyuria (when the cat urinates more than necessary) are symptoms that can go unnoticed and , therefore, the tutors may take some time to realize that something is not right.

How much water should a cat drink a day?

The intake of water considered normal in a domestic cat is 45 ml / kg / day, an increase of this quantity will also produce an increase in the urine excreted, so if a cat urinates too much, probably the consumption of water has also risen. As this sign is often the first symptom perceived by the animal’s tutor, the veterinarian may choose to perform a series of laboratory tests to examine the cat’s urine and calculate the difference between water consumption and the amount excreted with the cat. the goal of reaching a better diagnosis and prescribing the correct treatment. Some procedures sometimes require sedation and the passage of a tube through the urethral canal, so that only a specialist is able to carry them out.

However, there is a method you can do at home to check if your cat is taking more water than normal. This technique is none other than use a sprue with measurements, or measure yourself with a separate meter the amount you put in the bowl at the beginning of the day, and the amount you have drunk at the end of the day. Once obtained the amount taken, you simply divide this value by the weight of your cat. If the final result is higher than the 45 ml per kilo, go to the veterinarian. Of course, for this method to work, you should check that your cat only consumes water from its bowl, and is not one of those who prefers to drink water from other sources, such as glasses, plants, faucets, etc. Also, if you live with more than one cat and everyone uses the same bowl of water, the result will not be reliable.

Why does my cat drink a lot of water and urinate a lot?

As we have pointed out previously, polydipsia and polyuria are symptoms, not diseases. So, if your cat drinks a lot of water and urinates a lot, these are common signs of the following problems of health:

• Diabetes.
• Kidney or urinary infections.
• Diseases of the thyroid.
• Liver failure.
• Hyper or hypoadrenocorticism.

Furthermore, the use of certain medications Like steroids and some anti-inflammatory drugs, they also cause an increase in the amount of urine in the animal, which attempts to compensate with an increase in water intake.

On the other hand, if your cat is an adult, suffers from obesity and has noticed that it takes a lot of water and urine more than necessary, do not hesitate to go to the veterinarian as soon as possible, because if the cause of the problem is not treated in time, the suffered pathology could become deadly.

My kitten takes a lot of water, is that normal?

If you just adopted a kitten and you noticed that it takes a lot of water and also urinates too much, consultation with the veterinarian the possibility of suffering some aforementioned dysfunction, as well as the presence of infections in the urinary tract. If the problem is detected in time, the animal will carry the entire treatment process better. Also, if for example you are diagnosed with diabetes or a disease related to the thyroid, the sooner you start the new changes concerning your daily routine of feeding and care, better for him, since for these problems there is no cure.

My cat drinks a lot of water and vomits

As we have already said, often the symptoms presented by cats are not perceived by the tutors in time, a fact that complicates the clinical picture and contributes to the imbalance of the organism as a whole, leading the animal to worsen the initial signs and present other related signs, such as vomiting, apathy, loss of appetite, etc. This way, if your cat drinks a lot of water and does not eat, or eat little, it may be because the underlying cause is advanced.

For all the above, the first symptom you detect in your cat, whether it is an increase in water consumption, an increase in urine, vomiting, lack of appetite, weight loss. Go to the veterinarian immediately, as the pathologies cited in previous sections should be treated as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we recommend you consult the following article to know “What to do if your cat vomits” and apply first aid.

This article is merely informative, in .com we do not have the faculty to prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.

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