Increased Thirst In Dogs And Cats- 12 Reasons8 min read

 In Cats, Dogs, Medical

INCREASED THIRST IN DOGS AND CATS

 

Most people find it difficult to determine if their dog or cat is drinking a normal or abnormal amount of water.  It truly is difficult due to different behaviors exhibited by both species.  Dogs make an absolute mess when it comes to anything to do with water.  When they stand over a water bowl and drink, a lot of water falls out of their mouth on to the floor or the dog shakes its head with a mouthful of water.  Cats are nocturnal animals and drink a lot of water while people are sleeping.  They are also very coy about water.  They walk up to a bowl and take a drink for a second then walk away.  Not much water in one lap!  Cats curl the outer surfaces of their tongues inward to prevent water from sliding off of it. This ensures that the full content of a lap is swallowed.

 

THE THREE TYPES OF WATER

 

Most people think of just water as the liquid stuff that comes out of our kitchen faucet as needed to wash our hands or cook.  In high school chemistry we learned that water (matter) can exist in three states:  liquid, gas and solid (ice).  Physiologically, things are a little different.  Without water there is no life.  In all mammals water is obtained three ways:

  • The liquid form that we all drink every day.
  • Metabolic water.  This type of water is produced via the many biochemical processes in a mammal’s body.  Chemical byproducts of metabolism produce water and other metabolites.
  • Water contained in foods.  This is pretty obvious.  Canned dog or cat food has a moderate amount of water in it.  That water makes the meal tastier and is also used for biochemical processes.

 

Water turnover is the amount of water that any dog or cat (or human) needs daily for the body to function. Dogs and cats require about 50cc/kg of water daily.  So that means that an average 10 pound cat needs about 250 cc of water which is equal to about a cup of water.  An 80 pound Golden Retriever would require about 2 liters of water daily or about 8 cups of water.

 

BASIC DEMANDS CAUSING INCREASED THIRST IN DOGS AND CATS

 

 

INTERNAL MEDICAL ISSUES CAUSING INCREASED THIRST IN DOGS AND CATS

 

There are a handful of internal medical diseases that cause an increased thirst in dogs and cats.  Many of them are due to disease processes in the glandular organs such as the pancreas and thyroid gland.  Glandular organs secrete hormones and those individual hormones act to control blood sugar (insulin and glucagon) and calcium levels (calcitonin & parathyroid hormone) as examples.

 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU NOTICE ANY INCREASE IN THIRST?

 

The obvious answer here is to consult a veterinary professional.  However, someone has to recognize that something is wrong to begin with!  What are the subtle signs that something is really wrong?  We are talking mainly about internal medical problems mentioned earlier.  The most common thing noticed in dogs and cats is that the water bowls are constantly empty. You notice that you are filling them up more frequently when compared to several months prior.  This can get tricky when there are multiple pets or species in the household.  You can isolate the suspect dog or cat with its own water bowl and observe fluid intake increases or look for other signs of disease such as weight loss or an increase or decrease in an animal’s appetite.

Many diseases that cause an increased thirst in dogs and cats also cause an increase in the volume of urine and an increase in the frequency to urinate.  Dogs will often urinate accidentally on linoleum.  It may dry and you step in the area.  It is often sticky.  Bells and whistles should go off!   Undiagnosed or poorly managed diabetics pass bucket loads of sugar in the urine and sugar is sticky!  Cats will literally flood their litter boxes with urine.

If you recognize any of these signs it warrants an immediate trip to a veterinarian.  All dogs and cats will require a physical exam and appropriate blood work plus a urinalysis to get any one of these conditions diagnosed and treated.  Most veterinarians will ask you to measure the amount of water that you put into the pet’s water bowl each day and how much is left at the end of the day.  This method is not perfect but will give the doctor an idea if the animal is drinking too much water or not.

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