FELINE URINARY TRACT DISEASES
This is a group of feline diseases with multiple causes. These can occur in unfit or overweight cats or cats who eat dry cat food. Stress and sudden changes can also raise a cat’s risk.
Symptoms include:
- Bloody urine,
- Urinating in odd places,
- Straining to urinate,
- Crying in pain when urinating and licking the urinary area due to the pain,
- Cat acting depressed,
- Dehydration,
- Loss of appetite,
- Vomiting.
URINARY TRACT PROBLEMS IN CATS
In female cats – Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) can have a number of different causes. This affects the structures that make up the lower portion of the urinary tract, which includes the bladder and urethra (the urethra is a tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body.)
Urinary tract disease can cause cats to urinate outside the litter box. Many cats end up in shelters because of this problem and end up being euthanized.
There are several potential causes of lower urinary tract disease:
- Bladder infection
- Obstruction of the urethra
- Bladder stones
- Interstitial cystitis (which is bladder inflammation) which is believed to be caused by stress.
Bladder obstructions almost always occur in males. If there is an obstruction the cat is unable to urinate. The cat will become toxic very quickly and the waste products will build up in the bloodstream. It’s crucial that you take your cat to the vet immediately if you suspect it’s not able to urinate.
Urinary tract disease symptoms are:
- Painful urination
- Loss of Appetite
- Urinating outside the litter box
- Straining to urinate (dysuria)
- Frequent attempts to urinate
- Bloody urination (hematuria)
If your cat has a urethral obstruction your vet needs to relieve the obstruction by passing a catheter through the urethra and into the bladder. Intravenous fluids may also be given as well as monitoring kidney function and blood electrolyte levels. For bladder infections, cats are given antibiotics and maybe given therapeutic diets.
You’ll need to encourage your cat to drink plenty of water. Canned food can be helpful because of their moisture content. Adding some water to it is also helpful.
Litter boxes need to be kept very clean and ideally kept in a private area where your cat won’t be disturbed. It’s also important to keep your cat’s stress level as low as possible. Keeping your cat’s favorite toys, scratching post, cat bed and available hiding places can contribute to keeping cat’s stress levels at a minimum.
In summation, encouraging water drinking, keeping your cat’s stress level low and his litter box clean can help in the prevention of urinary tract disease.
Recent Comments