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]