If your cat is making more noise than they usually do and constantly visiting the water bowl, it might be a sign that something could be wrong. They could be experiencing a wide array of health concerns, or it could be something completely benign.
It’s a lot to sift through, which is why we came up with this guide that breaks down everything you need to know with all the potential reasons for this behavior, serious or otherwise.
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Potential Concerning Reasons Your Cat Drinks Too Much Water & Meows
While it might be harmless if your cat is drinking a bit too much water and is meowing incessantly, there’s also a chance it’s a sign of an underlying problem. If this is new behavior for your cat, there’s a good chance something is going on, and you should take them to a vet so they can properly diagnose your cat.
With that in mind, we’ve highlighted five different potential reasons for the behavior for you to consider here:
1. Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is an issue that commonly affects older cats, and it is an issue with your cat’s thyroid. Hyperthyroidism causes your cat’s thyroid to go into overdrive and secrete more hormones than it should, which can lead to various symptoms.
Common symptoms of hyperthyroidism include higher metabolisms, excessive energy, weight loss, and excessive thirst. Hyperthyroidism is treatable, but you should reach out to your vet for a proper diagnosis and treatment options for your cat.
2. Diabetes
If your cat is extremely overweight or if you have a younger cat experiencing excessive thirst, diabetes is something you need to consider. However, if you have an older cat at a healthy weight, it’s extremely unlikely that diabetes is the cause.
If your cat is overweight and you have noticed them experiencing excessive thirst, diabetes is something you need to consider.
A veterinarian can help diagnose if your cat has diabetes. Most cats with diabetes can fall into remission with a change to a diet that is low in carbohydrates. However, some cats might need daily insulin injections to keep their blood glucose levels stable.
3. Liver Disease
Your cat’s liver is an extremely important organ responsible for many functions of metabolism and detoxification.
Due to the liver’s enormous reserve capacity, liver failure occurs rarely, as more than 66% of it has to be severely affected. While rare, increased thirst can be a sign of liver disease.
Other potential signs of liver disease include:
- Loss of appetite
- Stomach problems
- Vomiting
- Yellowing of the eyes and mucous membranes
Advanced or chronic liver disease can be life-threatening, even with vet treatment. Fortunately, unless your cat displays additional signs, it’s unlikely that your cat is experiencing liver failure just because they’re drinking more than they should and meowing a lot.
5. Kidney Disease
Polydipsia or increased water drinking is also a sign of kidney disease in cats. Cats with kidney disease drink more water because the disease causes them to lose their ability to concentrate urine. This results in increased dilute urine production as a way of trying to compensate for this increased thirst.
Potential Harmless Reasons Your Cat Drinks Too Much Water & Meows
There are several potentially harmless reasons your cat might be meowing and drinking a bit more than usual.
This is especially true if the behavior is happening just slightly more than usual. We’ll highlight several potentially harmless reasons for these behaviors for you here, but when in doubt, play it safe and take them to the vet.
6. Hot Weather
When the weather warms up it’s perfectly normal for your cat to need to drink a bit more water to keep up and stay cool. And the reason for the meowing?
They’re uncomfortable and hot! If they get too hot, they can overheat so you don’t want to ignore this completely, but usually, it’s not a big deal and when everything starts to cool down a bit, they should go back to normal.
7. New Drinking Vessel
Sometimes your cat is simply drinking more because they like what you’re giving them water in! Perhaps it’s a leaking sink, a new water bowl, or something else entirely. They’ll drink more from it because it’s interesting to them, and they’re meowing more because they want you and everyone else to check it out too!
8. Rehydrating
If your cat was recently sick or they just came in from a hot summer day, they might be drinking more to try and rehydrate themselves. If this is the case, it should only last a little while before your cat fully recovers and both the excessive meowing and drinking should stop.
9. Dietary Changes
If you recently switched your cat from wet food to dry food, this could be the reason they’re drinking a bit more. Wet food gives them the water they need, so if they switch to dry food, they’ll need to drink more water to make up the difference.
Meanwhile, they could be meowing a bit more because they like or don’t like the change and they’re trying to tell you about it!
Final Thoughts
If you can’t figure out why your cat drinks so much water and constantly meows, you’ll want to take them to a vet. The vet can run all the necessary tests to help you figure out what’s going on, and from there, you can take the necessary steps to try and get everything under control and back to normal!
Featured Image Credit: Daria Kulkova, Shutterstock
