Cat Drinking a Lot of Water – Drinking water is essential for the cat’s survival. Water is the ultimate source of hydration for cats. It helps them eliminate toxins from the body, aids digestion, and maintains a healthy metabolism. We know that cats are known as desert animals.
Therefore, they do not need much water to survive. They can get all the moisture they need from their food (especially raw meat). However, this doesn’t mean that cats should avoid drinking water altogether.
In fact, excessive amounts of water might be harmful to your cat. The key is knowing how much and how often your cat should drink water in order to remain healthy. Keep on reading to find out more about why my cat drinks so much water and what you can do about it.
Why Is My Cat Drinking so Much Water?
Before trying to solve this issue, it is important to identify its cause. Cats usually drink more water when they eat a lot of dry food. This is due to the fact that dry food is very high in carbohydrates.
When your cat eats carbohydrates, the pancreas secretes a lot of insulin. This hormone increases water retention. Therefore, it encourages your cat to drink more water.
Dry food also lacks the moisture that cats need in their daily diet. This is why cats that eat dry food have a strong urge to drink water throughout the day.
When your cat drinks water and doesn’t urinate often, the kidneys reabsorb the extra water. This leads to increased urination and thirst.
What is the Cause of Excessive Water Consumption in Cats?
As we have seen in the previous section, dry food is one of the main causes of excessive water consumption in cats. Therefore, if you feed your cat dry food, you should switch to a portion of high-quality wet food.
Other causes of excessive water intake in cats include the following:
- Urinary tract infection – Cats with UTIs retain water and have a strong desire to drink water.
- Chronic kidney disease – A cat with this disease has to drink a lot of water. The reason for this is that the kidneys are less efficient at retaining water.
- Hyperthyroidism – This disease causes excessive thirst in some cats.
- Diabetes mellitus – Drastically increased blood sugar levels cause excessive thirst in cats.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract – An ulcer or inflammatory bowel disease can cause excessive thirst in cats.
- Certain medications – Cats on certain medications can drink a lot of water. This happens because some drugs stimulate thirst.
- Metabolic disorders – Some metabolic disorders cause a cat to drink a lot of water.
How Much Water Should Your Cat Drink?
To find out how much water your cat should drink, you need to first identify which type of cat you own. Different breeds of cats have different hydration requirements. Cats are highly adaptable animals.
They can thrive in a variety of environments, even if they don’t have access to a fresh water supply. Therefore, your cat will get hydrated even if they only drink water once a week.
However, it is best to give your cat fresh water daily to maintain optimum health. If you have a kitten, you should offer them water as soon as they start eating solid food.
Every day, your cat should drink 3.5 to 4.5 ounces of water for every 5 pounds of body weight. For instance, a cat weighing 10 pounds has to consume 7 to 9 ounces of water each day. You could notice that a cat who frequently consumes wet food doesn’t drink as much water.
What to Do if Your Cat is Drinking a Lot of Water?
If your cat drinks a lot of water and shows other symptoms of dehydration, you should visit your veterinarian. Cats with excessive thirst should be treated with fluids under the skin to correct the dehydration.
In some cases, your veterinarian might prescribe an oral medication. The goal of the medication is to regulate excessive urination.
If your cat is drinking a lot of water and is not showing any signs of dehydration, you can try several things to make them drink less.
- Feed a wet diet – Feeding your cat with wet food will make them drink less. Wet foods are more nutritious than dry foods and have more water.
- Feed smaller portions – Feeding your cat smaller portions will make them drink less as they have to eat less often.
- Increase water intake – If your water supply is low, your cat will have to drink more. You can solve this problem by installing a water fountain. Cats prefer drinking from flowing water as it makes drinking more fun.
- Decrease outdoor activities – If your cat is an indoor cat, they need to drink less.
- Decrease stress – Chronic stress can make your cat drink a lot of water.
What Could Be the Reason for Your Cat’s Excessive Thirst?
Diabetes mellitus, chronic renal disease, and hyperthyroidism are three of the most prevalent reasons for excessive thirst and urination in cats.
Diabetes mellitus
When blood sugar levels are extremely high and sugar leaks into the urine, diabetes mellitus, a hormonal issue, is identified. It is brought on by either a lack of the hormone insulin in the body or by the body developing a resistance to its own insulin.
Chronic Kidney Disease
Older cats frequently suffer from chronic renal disease, although cats of any age can be afflicted. It happens when one or both kidneys exhibit structural or functional abnormalities.
The kidneys perform a number of tasks for the body, including waste removal, electrolyte regulation, the production of certain hormones and vitamins, and water balance maintenance.
Cats begin to pee more frequently and their urine gets more diluted as their kidneys begin to fail. As a result, they need to drink more to stay hydrated.
Hyperthyroidism
When the thyroid glands create too much active thyroid hormones, hyperthyroidism develops.
The two thyroid glands, which are found in the neck near to the trachea or windpipe, typically experience benign hyperplasia (excessive cell development), which is the cause of hyperthyroidism in cats.
The average cat is 12 or 13 years old when symptoms first appear, with the condition often affecting middle-aged to older cats.
Why Is My Cat Drinking And Peeing So Much?
Any cat can exhibit excessive drinking or urinating, although older cat populations are more likely to exhibit polydipsia and polyuria. Most people assume that since they are connected to the urinary system, it must imply a UTI (urinary tract infection).
That does happen occasionally, especially since urinary tract infections are more common in older dogs. But frequently, these are clinical indicators of another illness.
One of these illnesses is diabetes mellitus. Changing the litter box and refilling the water dish more regularly are typically the first signs of diabetes in cats that owners become aware of. Other symptoms might be appetite loss, weight loss, or sticky urine.
Bottom line
As we have seen in the previous sections, excessive thirst can be caused by stress, eating dry food, or an underlying disease. If your cat drinks a lot of water and shows no other signs of dehydration, you should visit your veterinarian. If your cat drinks a lot of water and is showing signs of dehydration, you should visit your veterinarian.
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