If you don't ever repot the plant, it will end up frustrated, root bound, inhibited, and stalled out. These plants can easily fill a 14 or 16 inch pot, over several years. They are shrubby in the ground. The pot it's in looks okay to me for now, for a year or so. The mix maybe could use a bit more perlite or pumice to improve drainage. Be sure to repot during spring instead of winter, and do not water for a week afterwards. Do it in small steps for the best results. Too big a pot with not enough roots in it, and the soil will stay wet for too long, giving you more risk of rot.
The apparent "guzzling down" of water may have to do with the fact that the top layer of the soil dries out sooner than the soil at depth (which is what matters when you're trying to figure out how often to water). The top will appear dry long before the bottom actually dries out. When in doubt wait to water, especially in winter with low light and cold temps, but you can try using a moisture meter, your finger, or a chopstick to burrow down and see what's happening underneath. Just don't do that every time or you will start to damage the roots.
My main piece of advice with this plant has to do with those tiny spines (technically they are called glochids). They are incredibly dangerous. Should any human or pet brush up against the plant by accident, they will pick up dozens of those little spines and then go through the annoying and tedious process of trying to remove them. So come spring when your plant is better, and maybe you're thinking of giving it some outdoor exposure, be sure to find a location away from traffic. My Opuntia microdasys plants were pretty big by the time they eventually were banned from the patio for bad behavior.
Flower here:
