If your cat is all of a sudden drinking more water, it is cause for concern. The problem might be a chronic condition that can be treated with special food and medicine, or it might require a vet to prescribe a special medication. Bellow are the 3 main reasons that your cat is likely drinking more water. However, it's wise to head to the vet and have a series of diagnostics run to determine what the particular issue is.
Kidney Disease
This is a dangerous problem that needs to be diagnosed by a vet, like Cat Care Clinic. If your cat is drinking and urinating a lot, losing weight and not eating, then they might have a kidney issue, particularly chronic renal failure. The problem often times does not manifest itself until the disease is very far along. While there is no cure for chronic renal failure, there are things you can do to help slow the damage to the kidneys, such as limiting protein and increasing the moisture content in the cats food.
Diabetes
The symptoms of diabetes mimic those of kidney disease (increased urination, weight loss) so it can be tricky to differentiate. That's why it's necessary to visit a vet. Sometimes the cat will have a change in their gait because the diabetes is damaging their nervous system, but this is not something that happens with every cat, so you can't depend on this symptom.
One obvious symptom of diabetes is vomiting due to the presence of ketones in the blood. This is caused by the cats body breaking down protein and excess ketones flooding their bloodstream and making them sick. This is very dangerous and potential fatal. The treatment for diabetes is a low carb diet often coupled with insulin injections.
Urinary Tract Infection
A urinary tract infection is a bit easier to diagnose because there are some symptoms that are not present in diabetes or kidney disease. While it is common for the cat to have frequent urination, there are other symptoms that are more distinctive such as bloody urine, a strong aroma, urination outside of the litter box, and crying when going to the bathroom due to the pain.
The treatment for a urinary tract infection is to administer antibiotics to the cat. It is important to not neglect the issue if you do suspect it's a urinary tract infection because it can lead to a bladder rupture and even death.
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