Dear Marie:
 
>My 5.5 yr old sprite has suddenly started sleeping all the time- far far
>more than is her usual.  She is also pee'ing what seems to be rather larger
>quantities that usual and perhaps more often - I don't see her drinking
>more but the water in the dish seems to go down much faster and I'm pretty
>sure its not Boris.  I checked the FAQ's - she has no weight loss, doesn't
>seem to have hind end weakness, no seizures, drooling, vacant spells.
>Just sleeping and peeing.  When she is up she seems fine.
>Could this be cardiomyopethy?(sp) Of course after reading the posts about
>renal failure I'm wondering about that too.  Or is insulinoma like
>diabetes with the increased thirst?  So confused!
 
Okay - first off, lets remember that only very rarely, will an animal show
the entire range of symptoms of a disease - any disease.  Often you look
for an organ or system-specific symptom - you've got excessive urinarytion,
and work up from there.
 
At 5.5 years, you may be dealing with some degree of renal failure - but
let's not jump there without bloodwork and a urinalysis to back it up.
Diabetes can also be accompanied by increased urination, as the excessive
sugar in the urine drags fluid out of the body with it.  A blood glucose
will answer that pretty quick.  Cardiomyopathy is not a disease I tend to
associate with excessive urination as a presenting sign - fluid in the
abdomen or chest, profound lethargy, and coughing - those would be good
symptoms.
 
Best bet here - let's check it out with some bloodwork and a urinalysis -
we'll get a good read on the kidney function very quickly.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3220]