Why is my cat drinking a lot more water than usual? Should I worry?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Excessive thirst in cats is always a concern and should be investigated. Squishy may drink a lot of water because of diabetes, kidney problems, overactive thyroid gland, liver disease or even tumor development. You should take Squishy to your local vets for an appointment as she will need full clinical examination and possibly a blood test to find out what the problem is. In the meantime, you should let her drink as much as wants to maintain normal hydration - she will not get into any problems because of that.

It's definitely unusual for cats to noticeably drink a lot of water, since they usually don't drink much at all - this can be a sign of many different illnesses, including liver or kidney disease, diabetes, or a thyroid problem. If you feel that Lucky's water intake has increased lately and is more than normal, I would recommend taking him to the vet for an exam as soon as you are able to. Your vet can do blood work and a urinalysis to help determine if anything is wrong, and get him started on appropriate treatment if any problems are found.

Some cats prefer dry food (biscuits) and when they eat only dry food they drink much more water. staring is not an uncommon behavior for cats so i don't think this is a problem. If you think her appetites is going down and that she is after all drinking much more than she should, i would recommend taking her to the vet for a checkup and blood test.

If your kitten is eating well and is playful and otherwise normal, I would not be too concerned. However, if he is drinking so much that he is vomiting up water or urinating excessively, then I would recommend an examination by your veterinarian.

It definitely can be from the environment. Texas has a lot more humidity then Nevada. I would recommend trying to water down her food or giving her wet food. If you feel she really is drinking too much then letting a veterinarian look at her and perform blood work to check her kidneys. With her age and your recent move it sounds more like the environment then something with her organs. Congratulations on the move and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It appears that you are a very astute cat owner and it's possible that something is off, but I would not worry too much right now. We see frequent drinking in cases of hyperthyroidism, kidney failure and other diseases, but this is normally seen over a long period of time and there would be other signs of illness. The fact that she has diarrhea is a bit concerning, but it's normal for them to have diarrhea occasionally. Usually the diarrhea is not severe and will resolve within three days. Here is a helpful article about diarrhea in cats: https://www.petcoach.co/article/most-common-causes-of-diarrhea-in-cats/ If Oona is otherwise acting fine and you are not continuing to notice frequent drinking, then it's OK to wait a day or two and see if she goes back to normal. If she continues to have problems with eating and diarrhea for longer than 2 days, then it would be best to have her seen by a veterinarian. I hope that helps and Oona gets better soon.

Water intake can fluctuate a bit even in normal, healthy animals, based on their activity level, environmental temperature, and how much moisture is in their food. As long as a pet is eating well, and playful and happy with a normal energy level, then a decrease in drinking doesn't concern me. The more worrisome change would be a consistent increase in water consumption. If you notice that Moosh seems to suddenly have a consistent increase in his drinking habits, that warrants a vet visit. I only worry about a decrease in drinking if it is also accompanied by a decrease in appetite. As a general rule, if a pet is eating normally, they're drinking enough for their body's needs. But an increase in water consumption is always worth investigating, as it can indicate kidney disease, diabetes, or other internal concerns.