"I'll do one!!" (Got a boozehound?)

Have you noticed recently that your pet has developed a… ahem… drinking problem?  Lately have they been hittin up the bowl so much that they are peeing in places they shouldn’t?  Like in the house when they used to be able to hold it? Or outside of the litter box?  

Well… the first step to fixing a problem is admitting determining for sure that there is a problem!  If you have noticed an increase in Pedro’s agua drinking then answer the following questions:

-Is it consistent and not associated with an increase in activity level or temperature outside?  (If your pet acts like every day is thirsty Thursday then this is a red flag!)

-Now, count how many times you have to refill the bowl in a day/week.  Has that number increased significantly from before?  (Many owners fail to identify or notice such changes in their pets habits so gold star for you.)

So now you must be thinking, why is this important and what does this meeeean??  What does this meeean??

Drinking a lot (polydipsia aka PD) and peeing an increased volume of urine (polyuria aka PU) can mean a lot of different things.  Some of the most common causes of PU/PD include- diabetes mellitus, renal disease, metabolic diseases, uterine infections (intact female dogs and cats only!) and even possibly (but don’t panic) cancer.  Some drugs can cause PU/PD too- two of the most common ones used include steroids (Prednisone) and the anti-seizure medication (Phenobarbital).  

http://thepetwiki.com/wiki/How_to_Toilet_Train_Your_Cat

So how do we figure out what the problem is?  Routine bloodwork and urine analysis can help rule out obvious causes of an excessively thirsty pet.  But more specialized blood tests, or imaging such as abdominal ultrasound may be necessary to look closer at organs in the body such as the liver, adrenal glands, or the kidneys.  

Treatment will entail addressing the cause of the PU/PD.  Owners should not withhold water from their pets in the hopes that they will stop urinating in the house.  This is cruel and can lead to dehydration!  This problem can be extremely frustrating (but it’s not their fault!) and the sooner the problem is identified, the sooner steps can be taken to manage the disease.  

So pay attention when Fido's had one too many... it can be a sign of other more serious and potentially treatable problems! 

http://www.tanmonkey.com/fun/dog-cat-overdose.php

Cheers!

Dr. Chu