Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat drinking and peeing a lot after head injury with hormone problems
By Smith, J R & Elwood, C M·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2004·Davies White Veterinary Specialists·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Traumatic partial hypopituitarism in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
An 11-month-old male cat was brought in for excessive thirst, frequent urination, and lethargy after being hit by a car six weeks earlier. The vet found signs of brain injury, including abnormal pupil size and reduced reflexes in his limbs. Blood tests showed several imbalances, and low hormone levels indicated issues with his pituitary gland. After starting treatment with a steroid called prednisolone, a test confirmed he had a condition called central diabetes insipidus, which was successfully treated with a synthetic hormone to help manage his thirst.
People also search for: cat excessive thirst after accident · cat frequent urination treatment · cat lethargy and thirst · central diabetes insipidus in cats · cat pituitary gland problems
Abstract
Traumatic hypopituitarism was diagnosed in an 11-month-old male neutered cat. The presenting complaints were polydipsia, polyuria and lethargy of three months' duration. Craniocerebral trauma, as a result of a road traffic accident, had preceded the onset of clinical signs by six weeks. Neurological examination revealed right-sided mydriasis, reduced visual and tactile left forelimb placing reflexes and decreased proprioception in both the left fore- and hindlimb. Initial laboratory findings included hypernatraemia, hyperchloraemia, mild azotaemia, eosinophilia and isosthenuria. Low basal cortisol, thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone and insulin growth factor-1 were noted. Subsequent to treatment with prednisolone, a water deprivation test confirmed the presence of central diabetes insipidus and therapy with synthetic antidiuretic hormone successfully ameliorated the polydipsia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15352410/