Do those color changing kitty litters work?

[MattBaggins]

My 15 year old cat drinks and pees non stop nowadays.

She could be developing kidney disease or diabetes but I just can't afford vet bills at the moment so I was hoping to get an idea of what might be wrong.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. She is almost certainly diabetic.

Don't waste time with color-changing cat litter - get her to the vet; most will work out a payment arrangement. Diabetes is treatable and insulin for cats is pretty cheap because the doses are so small, but without treatment the cat could get very sick. Good luck. I had a diabetic cat and he did fine with regular injections.

[ginnyinWI]

4. my older can did that too--but it was renal failure.

He'd drink and pee a lot.

[Sanity Claws]

2. If the cat is diabetic, change its diet immediately

At minimum, take the cat off dry food and give it canned food only. Canned food is lower in carbs.

[StatGirl]

3. For diabetes . . .

Go to the drugstore and get "Ketodiastix" (or beg some from a diabetic friend if you can).

Stalk your cat to the litter box, and either capture some urine in an old ladle, or put the stick in her urine stream if you can. Follow the instructions on the bottle.

If she is diabetic, I also endorse the low-carbohydrate diet for diabetic cats. You'll find lots of information at http://www.felinediabetes.com.

If she has kidney problems, she'll want a canned adequate-protein diet with low phosphorus levels.

A third possibility is hyperthyroid, but again, you'll have to talk to a vet to determine this.

Good luck to both of you!