HI there XXXXXXXXXXXX,
Thank you for your question regarding your older tabby boy who seems to have excessive hunger and thirst, as well as diarrhea at the moment! As you can imagine in an older cat, there are a number of potential causes for these symptoms. In particular, diabetes, hyperthyroidism and renal problems can all cause a degree of increased hunger and thirst and I would definitely, for this reason, recommend a full Veterinary check up and blood and urine tests to rule these possibilities in or out.
Whether the diarrhea is related to these other symptoms is another question and this could be caused by something completely different altogther. If this diarrhea is ongoing, you should take a sample in an icecream container or something similar so that your Vet can send it to the lab for a fecal culture so that we know what is going on here. This can help isolate parasites if they are the cause or other infectious causes including giardia, salmonella or campylobacter for example. Be sure to wash your hands if you come into contact with his feces.
As I say, I really would encourage you to get these symptoms followed up with several diagnostic tests to help rule in and rule out some possible causes for these. It is always better to get these done sooner rather than later also. Please get in touch with your Vet if these symptoms are ongoing or if you are overly concerned about your boy's current state of health. Please keep in touch and let me know how you get on. I hope this has been of help to you and please feel free to reply if you need more info.
Thank you for your question and please now click ACCEPT.
Kind Regards,
Dr M D Edwards
Cat Veterinarian
Veterinarian - BVSc (DVM equivalent) - Webmaster & Head Veterinarian for www. onlinepetdr.com