A sustained increase in drinking or urination is an important clinical sign that warrants veterinary testing. Keep water freely available, track the change if practical, and seek urgent care if vomiting, weakness, urinary straining, or other emergency signs occur.
Written or medically reviewed by Dr. Susset Diaz Castillo, DVM, PhD. Last reviewed: 2026-08-27.
Quick Summary: A sustained increase in drinking or urination is an important clinical sign that warrants veterinary testing. Keep water freely available, track the change if practical, and seek urgent care if vomiting, weakness, urinary straining, or other emergency signs occur.
Polydipsia means increased thirst, and polyuria means increased urine production. Families may notice more frequent bowl refills, larger litter clumps, nighttime trips outside, or new accidents. These observations are important, but they do not identify a specific disease without an examination and testing.
Water needs vary with body size, diet, activity, weather, nursing, and medication use. A clear or sustained change from an individual pet's usual pattern is often more useful than a single general threshold.
Testing is needed because several causes share the same outward signs and treatment differs substantially.
Keep fresh water freely available. Restricting water can worsen dehydration or electrolyte problems when the body is losing excess fluid. If practical and safe, record bowl refills and urine changes over a day, but do not delay care solely to complete a measurement. In multi-pet homes, separating water bowls temporarily may make observations more useful without limiting access.
Note appetite, weight, vomiting, energy, urine color or odor, straining, medication changes, heat exposure, and reproductive status. Bring a current medication and supplement list. Do not change prescribed medication or give human medication without speaking with the prescribing veterinarian.
Contact a veterinarian when the increase is sustained, clearly different from normal, causes nighttime urination or accidents, or occurs with weight or appetite change. Earlier assessment is appropriate for seniors, pets with diabetes or kidney disease, and unspayed females.
Bloodwork and urinalysis are commonly interpreted together. Depending on results and the patient, a veterinarian may recommend urine culture, blood pressure measurement, endocrine testing, radiographs, ultrasound, or other diagnostics.
Go to the nearest veterinary emergency hospital without waiting for a house-call appointment if your pet has:
An unspayed female can have pyometra without visible discharge, so reproductive status and whole-body signs matter.
A veterinarian will review water intake, urine output, diet, medication, reproductive history, and other changes, then perform a physical examination. Blood and urine testing often provide the first useful distinction among kidney, glucose, endocrine, infection, and other causes.
Treatment depends on the diagnosis and may range from a medication adjustment to management of kidney, endocrine, metabolic, or urinary disease. Some patients need hospitalization, intravenous therapy, intensive monitoring, surgery, or specialty care. Avoiding unsupported treatment is important because similar symptoms can come from conditions with very different needs.
VestaSoul — My Vet At Home® is a mobile veterinary house-call practice serving select areas of Miami-Dade County and select areas of Broward County. When an appointment is available and the patient is stable, the team may be able to examine the pet and collect selected blood or urine samples at home. Same-day availability and specific diagnostics are not guaranteed. Urinary obstruction, diabetic crisis, suspected pyometra, severe dehydration, and patients needing continuous monitoring, intravenous hospitalization, advanced imaging, or surgery require prompt referral to an appropriate facility.
Water needs vary with size, diet, activity, weather, nursing, and medication use. A sustained change from your pet's usual intake, larger urine volumes, nighttime urination, or new accidents is reason to contact a veterinarian. Testing is more reliable than using one general cutoff at home.
No. Keep fresh water freely available unless a veterinarian is directly supervising a specific diagnostic procedure. Restriction can worsen dehydration or electrolyte problems. Arrange testing to determine why thirst and urine output changed.
Seek emergency care for urinary straining with little or no urine, collapse, repeated vomiting, severe weakness, breathing difficulty, seizures, diabetic pets with vomiting or food refusal, or an unspayed female with lethargy, vomiting, abdominal enlargement, or discharge.
Dr. Susset Diaz Castillo, DVM, PhD is the veterinarian behind VestaSoul — My Vet At Home®. VestaSoul — My Vet At Home® is a mobile veterinary house-call practice serving select areas of Miami-Dade County and select areas of Broward County. Learn more at Meet the Vet.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for an in-person examination, diagnosis, or treatment by a licensed veterinarian. If your pet is showing severe or rapidly worsening symptoms — such as collapse, difficulty breathing, uncontrolled bleeding, seizures, suspected poisoning, or an inability to urinate — go to the nearest emergency animal hospital immediately. VestaSoul — My Vet At Home® is an appointment-based, non-emergency practice and does not provide emergency or after-hours care.
VestaSoul — My Vet At Home® is a mobile veterinary house-call practice serving select areas of Miami-Dade County and select areas of Broward County.