Ask the Vet: What increased thirst might mean

I was recently having a conversation with a neighbor whose dog who had developed increased thirst and urinations and had some difficulty in getting to a diagnosis of diabetes.

Unfortunately, excessive thirst and urinations can be symptoms of a myriad of diseases and additional testing will always be needed to establish the cause of these symptoms. This means that either a disease process is creating a situation with increased thirst, or something is interfering with the body’s normal ability to concentrate urine and some diseases are more readily diagnosed than others.

Diabetes Mellitus is a common condition where over time the body loses the ability to produce enough insulin to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Older dogs who are overweight and certain breeds can be predisposed to developing diabetes. Extreme thirst and increased urinations are typical outward symptoms and sometimes urinary accidents from a normally housetrained pet may be the first sign.

Screening blood and urine tests will confirm the diagnosis, depending on the stage. Insulin is generally needed for these dogs and coupled with weight loss and dietary management it can generally be well managed and they live for years with the condition. There are newer oral medications in cats with diabetes that can help with blood sugar regulation and hopefully avoid the need for insulin injections.

Older cats can develop a benign growth on the thyroid gland in the neck that secretes excessive thyroid hormone and while this condition is less common than years past due to changes in the composition of commercial cat food, it still needs to be a consideration for any cat with increased thirst or urinations.

Thyroid hormone affects every cell in the body and elevated levels lead to increase thirst and urinations. Dilute urine is a result of increased blood flow to the kidneys, which leads to higher-than-normal urine production and eventually can cause kidney failure. Cats with this disease often have increased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss as well. Testing blood thyroid levels are effective in establishing a diagnosis for the majority of cases.

If the kidneys have lost significant function the ability to normally concentrate urine to maintain a healthy fluid balance in the body will be the main outward sign. A number of causes for renal failure are separated into acute or chronic. Acute kidney failure has a rapid onset and is generally secondary to some other disease processes and these pets are extremely sick and require intensive treatment to allow for the kidneys to hopefully rebound. Weight loss, anorexia and vomiting may additional symptoms with end-stage kidney disease.

If chronic renal failure is caught in its early stages, treatment can help slow the progression. Unfortunately end-stage chronic kidney disease has a guarded prognosis. Blood tests, checking protein levels, and blood pressure are all part of determining the extent of the kidney failure. So, if you notice a change in your pet’s thirst or urinations, have your pet checked by your veterinarian immediately to establish an accurate diagnosis and institute treatment to hopefully have the best outcomes.