How much water is too much?

[ancientgirl]

I've noticed lately that Vlad drinks a lot of water. I'm not sure if it's just the novelty of drinking from the running faucet, but whenever I turn on the faucet in the kitchen and the bathroom he runs and gets a drink. He jumps in the tub after I shower to drink the water. If I have water in my glass he sticks her head in the glass. Oksana is on the other end of the spectrum. She drinks very little, which is one of the big reasons I give them a mix of wet and dry food.

I've got two litter boxes. The one downstairs is hardly used, and the one they use most is the one upstairs. I clean them on a daily basis, but the litter upstairs tells me they pee A LOT. I'm guessing its Vlad more than Oksana, only because I think he drinks more water.

Does it sound like he might have a problem? I'm taking him to the vet, since he's also had a little bit of white mucus that comes out of the corner of his left eye. But I thought I'd ask, about the water here too just to have an idea.

[growler~GateKeeper]

I think it is only concerning if Vlad is drinking a ton of water - then you could be looking a things like kidney failure which doesn't normally occur in young cats unless he has been fed the recall food - but if it just a bit more than normal he should be okay. Some factors could be the heat/humidity of your house too. You can always ask for a urinalysis to ease your mind about crystals etc

from http://www.petngarden.com/cats/cats12.php

Concerning water consumption, recommendation can be expressed: _ on a bodyweight basis: 55 to 70 ml / kg / day _ on the energy consumption basis: 1 ml / kcal of metabolizable energy.

also the same from: http://www.royalcanin.us/articles/wa...ptioncats.html

from http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=715
A little extra water consumption never hurts, but too little can be catastrophic. Animals that eat canned foods get most of their moisture from the food and may drink much less than an animal on dry food.

EDIT: to add most cats do not drink nearly as much as the stated requirements & are fine - they best way for you to tell is if you measure the exact amount he is drinking, perhaps what he is drinking is normal & has just been noticed more cuz he decided he like the faucet

[ancientgirl]

Thank you for your reply.

My friend mentioned the same thing, that its hotter so he might just need more water. But I keep my apartment AC at 70 all day, and I think they both sleep upstairs in my room during the day, because when I get home they come down the stairs.

How the heck do they do a urinalysys on him? It would ease my mind. Oksana has always preferred wet, so she eats more of it and maybe that's why she's not as thirsty.

And you do make a point, he might just prefer to drink from the faucet and doesn't drink from his bowl.

His eye is concerning me as well. I'm taking him in to have it looked at so I'll mention about the water. He's only 8 months old.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by ancientgirl

How the heck do they do a urinalysys on him? It would ease my mind. Oksana has always preferred wet, so she eats more of it and maybe that's why she's not as thirsty.

And you do make a point, he might just prefer to drink from the faucet and doesn't drink from his bowl.

To do a urinalysis they will gather the pee either as a free catch ie he pees they have a bottle under him, collect it off the table/floor, or the more popular more accurate way esp for bacterial/UTI/crystals is by cystocentises - a needle through the bladder to extract pee into syringe (very thin needle - doesn't hurt), it then is sent to the lab for analysis for many many things results usually within 2-3 days

Yes Oksana wouldn't need to free drink as much 1) she's smaller than Vlad 2) she's eating more canned

Some cats prefer running water so a fountain is also an option for you it will pool into a bowl for Oksana too. The first is the kind I have, the last is the kind my sister has

http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Prod...nemerch_1.aspx

http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?sku=784206

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2751805

[ancientgirl]

I like that first one. Do you have to change the water often? That might be a good idea for me to get. It would give him his running water and give Oksana a bowl. I'm going to have a look for that fountain.

I made an appointment for Vlad for next Saturday, but I think tomorrow I'll ask if I can get something for during the week. I want to get his eye looked and and I want to talk about his water consumption.

[growler~GateKeeper]

The fountain has a filter & is flowing constantly (you can turn it off though) it is super whisper quiet

When the bowl, the filter resevoir & the water resevoir (removable blue thing on the side) if full it holds 1.5 litres/1.5 quarts/50 ounces so its got quite a bit of water in it. I think Duffy has just started to drink out of it but I can never catch her so not positive she is using it - she has kidney failure so I'm adding additional 4 teaspoons of water into her food for each meal (she's eating canned only) & so @ this point she might be getting enough from the food

Good luck @ the vet

[ancientgirl]

Thanks. I hope Duffy is getting enough water. It's hard to know how much Oksana drinks, but I do catch her once in a while. I'm going to take your idea and add a bit of water to her wet anyway.

[Love4himies]

I had a small male cat for almost 15 years (RIP) that would drink out of the faucet and he drank a lot of water, my current male who is about 5 years drinks a lot of water, more than my other male and had all the blood work done on him and he is normal. My female drinks very little water so I actually supplement her intake with a syringe (no needle) daily, she is 11 years old and has high blood calcium which can lead to kidney stones so it is really important for her to have lots of water.

[ancientgirl]

Now I'm wondering if its Oksana I should worry about. I"m going to start giving her some extra water. About how much do you add to yours?

I'm wondering if maybe Vlad just doesn't drink out of the bowl and just waits for the faucet. In that case then it's probably fine.

But I am going to start adding a bit more water to Oksana's food. They both get a can of wet a day, they don't eat much more than that, not because I don't give it to them, but they just don't eat it. The kibble they have at their disposal, but they don't eat tons of that either.

Actually, now that I think about it, I wish I had their appetite.

[krdahmer]

I have two, the two stray kittens, that drink a ton of water, everytime I'm in the washroom I have to turn the tap on and they drink from all 3 bowls I have out and from my glasses too. Then I have some that I am convinced don't get nearly enough, so those are the ones that get a 'soup' instead of just wet food. If they are healthy they take in what they need.... and if its Vlad, I believe that is a very good thing that he is drinking alot and peeing alot to avoid the crystals.

[ancientgirl]

I see her in the litter box once, or twice a day, same with Vlad, so I know when I'm home they go.