Diabetic cat in remission but still drinks a lot?

My cat Rupert has been in remission since February but in the last few months, I've noticed he's drinking and peeing more. His blood glucose is fine and the vet ran a blood panel to check his kidneys and thyroid which are also within the healthy range. Just wondering if anyone else has had a diabetic cat in remission who still likes to drink a lot of water. I know it could be other things but his spirits are good and his appetite and weight are steady so not sure what else to test for.

Thanks in advance!

 

Has his urine been checked for ketones?

 

Hmm, I'm not sure although he had a full blood and urine panel done at the vet a few weeks ago so I assume so (since he's diabetic). The vet didn't see any red flags in either blood or urine.

 

Have you measured how much water he is drinking per day? Do you still spot check his BG? I know you just got a blood panel done a few weeks ago which would have show glucose. Just wondering if you have anything more recent.

 

Yeah, the vet said he shouldn't be drinking more than a cup a day. It's a bit hard to measure because his sister shares the same water dishes but I'd say it's probably a little less than a cup. The last time I tested him was last week and his blood glucose was 3.8.

 

Isolate Rupert for 12 hours or so, use measuring cup to see how much water you put in water dish, at end of 12 hour period pour water from dish back into measuring cup. Be sure to include any water you may be adding to the food in total water intake for the 12 hours. Make sure no other sources of water available (toilet lid down, no houseplants or watering cans cats could drink out of, etc.)

My vet had me measure water for 24 hour periods, at least 3 days worth.

How are the kidney values? BUN, Creatinine. Declining kidney function might not show up in blood work for some time.
How is the urine specific gravity?
Signs of dehydration in your cat?

 

Thanks, I'll try the isolation thing soon. His kidney numbers are all fine. Creatinine was a bit elevated but SDMA was normal. USG was normal. The vet said he had very minor dehydration although not enough to be concerned about but I've started adding extra water to his food. The only thing the vet was concerned about was some weight loss since last year but that's partly a result of switching him from dry/wet food to exclusively wet.

 

My civie Dancer drinks 3-3.5 cups of water a day, including what I add to her wet food. My vet has not been able to find a cause (not diabetes, not thyroid, not a whole bunch of other stuff), but suspects early kidney disease even with normal BUN and creatinine. There are some very expensive tests that MIGHT show the reason but ultrasound and specialty vet hospital has not found a cause. Even with a cause and diagnosis, the vet says that might not change treatment options.

So for now,( 2 years + with this PU/PD happening), we make sure she has plenty of water at all times, scoop litter boxes 8-10 times a day, she has a good appetite, still playing pooping purring normally and love her as long as we have her. Managing the best we can.

 

Oh thanks for this. I feel like I'm in the same boat. The vet says we can run a bunch of tests but they're all expensive and she doesn't recommend any right now. She also said it might be very early Stage 1 kidney disease but there's no real treatment at this stage except keeping him eating and hydrated. He's still very much his happy self so I'm not overly worried but any change is a bit disconcerting you know?

 

Happy cat is my goal too. She is a shy former feral colony cat that sits like a lump at the vet and doesn't want to move. The less stress for her the better.

Early kidney disease was what both my regular vet and the specialty vet thought. I try to stay away from foods with much fish because those are often higher phosphorus content, but you can't really tell from the labels. Dr Lisa Pierson's food chart is helpful with that phosphorus content.

Right now, have not changed up the food to be all lower phosphorus at this point, but that may be needed in the future. We'll get there when we get there. Some people may want to do things differently. ECID (every cat is different, every caregiver is different)

 

How is Rupert doing? Did you get a chance to isolate him and measure his water intake more accurately?

 

Thanks for following up. I haven't done a full isolation with him but I did measure the water and between him and his sister, they're drinking about a cup a day from their dishes and I give him about a quarter of a cup with his food all day. His sister also drinks quite a bit (I see her drinking from the bowl a few times a day) so I don't think he's having much more than a cup by himself.
Thanks for the tip about the phosphorous. He eats Friskies pates which aren't particularly great for phosphorous, but they're what I trust to keep his diabetes in check. It's a hard balance.
Thanks for sharing your story - it's nice to hear that your girl has been going strong for 2+ years with this. The extra litter box scooping isn't ideal but if they're happy and comfortable otherwise, it seems like a small price to pay!

 

Yes, yes it is. I don't have a diabetic cat anymore, so don't need to worry about low carb, but I've never been able to switch back to medium carb or high carb foods and haven't had any dry cat food or cat treats in the house for 7+ years. Still feeding Friskies pates, Fancy Feast pates and some Tiki cat canned as treats. And some bites of any chicken or pork or beef I'm having for my meal, since Dancer can sniff that out from 2 rooms away and being totally zonked out napping.

Agreed. It's what I told my vet when she told me the options for more testing. When I said no, she replied "If your ok with that, sure." Extra litter box scooping is a very small price to pay. I probably scoop her main litter box 6-10 times a day. Worth it though.

A cup a day of water between 2 cats. That's nothing, comparably.