My senior cat drinks a lot, pees often, and seems to be in pain. Why?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Pepper! 20 years old is amazing! It's hard to say why Peppers back legs are having so much trouble. It could be from weakness from progressive kidney disease or a new problem like high blood pressure, diabetes, anemia. She likely has arthritis at her age. Sometimes older pets can have strokes or even brain tumors as well that can cause behavioral and gait changes. It sounds like she is extremely thirsty (trying to get in to the tub). If Pepper hasn't had her blood work checked in a while I would call your vet monday and have her seen. If you think she is suffering take her to an Emergency hospital today for evaluation, they can run the blood work today in house. I hope this helps and I wish you and Pepper the best!

It is fairly rare, but ask your veterinarian if your kitty may be suffering from Cushing's disease or liver disease. Also sometimes cats can still be hyperthyroid, even though the thyroid parameters are within normal limits (this is called euthyroid sick). He could also have a tumor. In any case, this needs to be investigated further.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Cody is super cute! I have never diagnosed Cushing's in a cat. It is exceedingly rare in cats. The most common causes for increased thirst/urination in older cats are: diabetes, kidney failure, hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), cancer, liver disease and cancer. I recommend taking Cody to the Vet for full blood work (includes T4 and urine), it will rule out almost all of the above. I hope this helps and I wish you and Cody the best!

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! From your description of signs, I would strongly suspect that Flynn may have diabetes. This very commonly causes increased thirst and urination, sticky urine (from the sugar in the urine) and weight loss. Other common causes of weight loss and increased thirst and urination in cats are kidney disease and thyroid disease. I have seen many cats that have more than one of these diseases at the same time. I would strongly recommend taking Flynn to a veterinarian for blood work and urinalysis. This will be the first step in diagnosing his actual condition so that you know how to treat him. I hope this helps and that Flynn gets feeling better soon!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. With the symptoms you are describing I would recommend having Oscar examined by your veterinarian and have further testing done to help determine what the problem could be. The kidneys may not be the problem. This could be infectious or if he ate something and it is now stuck in his GI tract could be the problem. Further testing such as abdominal x-rays and blood work should be performed. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

I would recommend the bloodwork if possible. Many of the symptoms your describe could be due to hyperthyroidism which can often be managed with diet or medication. Renal disease diabetes are also concerns. Speak with your vet to determine what they suspect is most likely and find out if it is possible to test for one thing at a time instead of running a full panel at once. The vet will suggest the best options but often if you explain financial constraints we can work with owners. If unable to do the diagnostic testing then euthanasia is a reasonable option to prevent her from suffering. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

Increased thirst and urination can be commom symptoms of many disease processes and you are right that the first things we check for are metabolic (kidney disease, diabetes, etc.). The answer to your question is both. A urinalysis should always be performed as part of a blood panel, otherwise you are missing crucial information. Your vet will likely order a senior kitty wellness panel from an outside lab which will include cbc, chemistry panel, thyroid testing, and urinalysis. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!