Warning signs when cats get thirsty
Paws & Claws Malcolm Anderson
You boil the water. You get bottled water. You put the nice new bowl through the dishwasher every day. And you even try tainting the water with a bit of milk. But no, that little whiskered feline won’t touch it, preferring to slum it outside and drink out of a puddle or lick the water around the shower or bath plug.
At least dogs appreciate your efforts, even though they, too, can be found with their heads down the toilet. There are lots of theories about why cats prefer to drink from puddles, but none seems consistent.
It’s a good idea to leave a bowl or dish outside for them, maybe under the outside tap. It is unusual for owners to notice a cat drinking more frequently. Dogs can increase their intake when we get a hot day, but, again, if they are standing over the water bowl for most of the day then it is definitely something for us to check at the hospital.
Common causes include:
❚ Kidney disease
❚ Diabetes
❚ High temperature.
There are a lot of other causes, but kidney disease would be tops in cats, and diabetes would be next in both dogs and cats.
Puddie is a ferocious 5-year-old black and white feline spitfire who was orphan-raised after her mother died when she was 2 weeks old. Hannah had noticed she was drinking from the shower and around the basin plug, and salivating a lot with breath that would knock you over.
For Puddie’s comfort – and our fingers – we sedated her to collect blood and urine samples. These indicated Puddie’s kidneys were struggling to conserve water and filter her blood. One of these unfiltered products is urea, which builds up and causes ulceration in the mouth. This causes dribbling and bad breath.
Puddie received intravenous fluids and oral medication and, luckily, after five days she is recovering. She will have to be closely monitored for the next month or two, but we are confident she will lead a normal life.
Such a recovery from kidney disease is not always possible, especially in older cats, who have lost a lot of their normal functioning kidney tissue as a result of deterioration with age. These older patients are often presented to us as being thirsty, thin and, sometimes, vomiting.
If we see these patients early enough there are several treatments that can help them and improve their lives for some time, including intravenous fluids, injectable drugs and a new liquid oral medication for some cases.
Unfortunately, kidney transplants – as per Jonah Lomu – for cats or dogs are not yet readily available, although they have been performed in the United States and Australia.
Kidney disease is the No 1 disease for older cats and a lot of research is being done to find out why. There are also new prescription foods specially formulated to help older cats or those with kidney disease.
During the warmer months some of these borderline kidneyfailure felines struggle to drink enough water and become ill. Maybe put a few old saucers around outside and top them up every day to help some of our older friends, especially as the weather warms up during the next months.
Another awesome development is a new blood test that is far more sensitive at picking up early kidney changes. We are including this in all our blood tests and would recommend it for any older patient, screening on a yearly basis to pick up early changes we can help them with.
And if you notice your guests drinking then call them a taxi.
I hope everyone has an awesome week and that you get to spend some fun moments with your fourlegged friends, as well as your twolegged family and friends before the crazy D month. Remember, it’s all the little things in life.
Have fun every day from the crazy crew at Andersons.