Urolithiasis in domestic cats is one of the most common causes of death. This happens in case of untimely detection of the disease. However, with the necessary care, you can significantly extend the life of the pet and relieve it of torment. What are the symptoms and therapy for urolithiasis? How to protect a cat from an ailment?
Definition
Urolithiasis is a chronic pathology that is characterized by the deposition of salts in the kidneys, urinary tract and urinary tract. Over time, salts form stones that can clog the urinary tract. If in this case the animal will not be provided with appropriate medical care, then death will result from intoxication of the body.
The composition of the uroliths (urinary stones) can be from phosphate, ammonium and magnesium, they are called struvites. In rare cases, there are formations of ammonium urate, calcium oxalate, cystines. Determining the nature of the deposits is important in order to prescribe the right treatment for the animal.
Course of the disease
First, sand begins to form in the cat's bladder, which gradually takes the form of stones. Over time, they increase in size, occupying the cavity of the bladder. Often formations have sharp corners that traumatize and irritate the walls of the organ. In this case, you may notice blood in the urine of the pet.
Males are more susceptible to stone disease, since their urethra has an S-shaped fold, in which stones can also accumulate. In females, the urethra has a direct duct in which the crystals do not linger.
With blockage of the urinary tract, intoxication of the body occurs. At this time, blood vessels of the urethra and bladder can burst from overstrain and overextension, which will lead to the release of bloody urine. Without timely help, the animal is doomed to painful death.
Castrated Cat Disease
After surgical removal of the seminal glands, the hormonal background of the animal changes. This causes less mobility and addiction to a large amount of food, which entails obesity. It is the recumbent lifestyle and the wrong food that lead to the appearance of urolithiasis in neutered cats.
It is not recommended to remove the testes in animals under the age of 8 months. This is due to the fact that up to this age, the urethra continues to form, and after castration its development stops. A narrow and underdeveloped urinary duct can cause stone formation.
Background
Urolithiasis (the formation of stones in the genitourinary system) appears as a result of a combination of some causes of urolithiasis in cats:
- poor-quality nutrition (too high-calorie food or the predominance of low quality dry feed in the diet);
- sedentary lifestyle;
- genetic predisposition as a result of breeding new breeds of animals;
- bad ecology;
- vitamin deficiency, which occurs due to malnutrition; vitamin A deficiency can be compensated by adding boiled or raw carrots to the animal’s diet;
- digestive system pathologies, for example, gastritis and colitis;
- chronic infections of the genitourinary system.
Urolithiasis is predisposed to animals aged 1 to 6 years. Most often, exacerbations of pathology occur in the spring and autumn.
Signs of the disease
Unfortunately, the symptoms of urolithiasis in cats at the initial stage of the disease are not pronounced, so few owners pay attention to them. However, it is the first signs that are the reason for contacting a veterinary hospital. They indicate the onset of the disease:
- Frequent urination, although in most cases the tray remains dry.
- Sitting on the tray, the cat meows plaintively. which indicates pain.
- Ignoring the tray with a cat, trying to go to the toilet in another secluded place.
- Urine may be impurities of blood, mucus, sediment in the form of flakes.
- A hard and swollen belly to which the animal does not allow to touch.
- In the absence of urine for 6 or more hours, you can feel the bladder, which significantly increases in size.
- Frequent licking under the tail.
- Urinary incontinence.
- The cat's apathetic state, loss of appetite.
- Noticeable weight loss.
- Cramps.
- Vomiting
The symptoms of urolithiasis in a cat cannot be overlooked, so it is important to seek help in a timely manner. If it was found that the pet has not urinated for 6 hours or more, then this is an occasion for an urgent visit to the veterinarian, even if the events occur at night.
Diagnosis of the disease
Signs of urolithiasis in a cat are a reason for contacting a veterinary clinic. An experienced doctor will conduct a diagnosis in order to determine the presence of the disease. The most commonly used methods are:
- Ultrasound diagnostics - examination of the state of the cat’s internal organs.
- Radiography - the ability to see the formation in the urogenital system of the animal.
- Urine sediment analysis. To do this, collect the urine of the cat in a container. Then the liquid is examined under a microscope and its chemical composition is determined.
In addition, it is important to report all the seen signs of urolithiasis in a cat to a doctor - this will greatly help in making the correct diagnosis. It is also important for the veterinarian to find out the animal’s lifestyle, diet and other aspects of life in order to prescribe the correct treatment.
Drug treatment
How to help a cat with urolithiasis? It is important not to start therapy on your own, because only a specialist can prescribe the necessary drugs after a thorough examination and examination of the tests. Most often, the following treatment for urolithiasis in cats is prescribed:
- Removing pain in an animal. For these purposes, drugs such as No-Shpa, Spazmalgon, Papaverin are successfully used, they relieve spasms that occur in the body. For pain relief, Novocain, Lidocain, Baralgin is used.
- Restoring normal outflow of urine using catheterization. It is performed under general anesthesia, as it is unpleasant and painful for the animal. Then the bladder cavity is washed with special solutions that are necessary for disinfection. When the urinary duct is clogged, an organ puncture is required to drain the fluid.
- Elimination of dehydration and intoxication of the body using droppers with special solutions.
- To relieve inflammation, antibiotics are used for urolithiasis in cats. Most often, drugs with a wide spectrum of action are prescribed: "Cefazolin", "Cobactan", "Ceftiofur", "Furagin", "Cefadroxil", "Cyston".
- If a large amount of blood is detected in the urine, hemostatic drugs are prescribed, namely Dicinon and Vikasol.
- To maintain the functioning of the kidneys, the drug "Kantaren" is used.
The entire list of necessary drugs can be found in any human pharmacy.
Surgical intervention
What to do if a cat has a kidney stone disease in a neglected state? An experienced veterinarian knows the way out of this situation. If conservative treatment of urolithiasis in cats does not bring the desired results, then surgical intervention is necessary. This is the only way to save a pet's life in case of obstruction of the urinary duct with stones.
During surgery, the cat with urolithiasis is an incision of the bladder to remove stones. In the case of solid particles stuck in the urethra, perineal cystotomy is necessary to remove the animal’s penis.
After the operation, the animal is prescribed antibiotic therapy to exclude infectious diseases. In addition, the cat must be given drugs for the prevention of cystitis. Rehabilitation after surgery lasts about 2 weeks.
Folk remedies
Urolithiasis is quite serious, so treatment with urological fees can only be used at the initial stage. However, even in such cases, it is recommended to consult a veterinarian in order not to harm the pet.
The most commonly used folk remedies include infusions of herbs such as plantain, lingonberry, heather, bearberry. They can also be periodically offered to a cat as a prophylactic.
In addition, alternative methods of treatment are welcome if the disease has passed into the chronic stage. Sometimes veterinarians prescribe treatment with homeopathic remedies. They help remove sand from the kidneys and bladder until they begin to form into hard stones.
When using folk remedies, it should be remembered that they do not have such a therapeutic effect as medications, so you can not rely only on their help. In the event of the slightest complications or lack of the desired effect, consultation with a veterinarian is necessary.
Animal diet
Feeding a pet depends on the variety of detected formations in the bladder and kidneys. The diet can be based both on dry food and on natural food, depending on what kind of food the cat is used to.
How to feed a cat with urolithiasis? With the oxalate type of formations, it is necessary to reduce the amount of oxalic acid and foods high in calcium in the diet. From the diet, it is necessary to exclude foods such as kidneys, liver, milk. Occasionally in small quantities it is allowed to give the cat cottage cheese, cheese. It is recommended to build a diet on such products:
- white boiled meat;
- low-fat varieties of fish;
- Beans
- raw and boiled vegetables;
- fig.
In the formation of struvites, which occur with an abundance of magnesium and phosphorus, it is necessary to exclude from the cat's diet such products as egg yolk, milk and any sour-milk products, meat and fish soups. It is allowed to feed the animal with the following products:
- boiled liver;
- boiled white meat;
- low-fat varieties of fish;
- egg white;
- oatmeal;
- rice
- boiled carrots and cabbage.
How to feed a cat with urolithiasis, if he refuses human food? As an alternative to natural food, specialized dry foods can be used. Preference should be given to fodder luxury class marked "for feeding cats with urolithiasis." It is important to consult with your veterinarian before doing this, as the composition of these foods varies depending on the type of stones in the animal’s bladder.
Animal Care Tips
Medications for urolithiasis in cats will not have a lasting effect if you do not follow the recommendations of veterinarians for pet care:
- The cat should always have access to water. It is desirable that the liquid be filtered or boiled.
- It is necessary to observe the daily feed rate for the animal and give it several times a day in small portions.
- It is recommended to protect the pet from hypothermia (equip a warm bed in the house, do not let it out in the cold season).
- It is important to prevent the cat from becoming obese, he needs light physical activity, for example, active games.
- It is necessary to monitor the state of the animal’s health, it is important to prevent the emergence of infectious diseases, otherwise the likelihood of relapse.
- When the first symptoms appear, it is important to begin treatment of urolithiasis in a cat under the supervision of a veterinarian. It is necessary to fulfill all the appointments of a specialist.
Unfortunately, urolithiasis is a lifelong diagnosis, therefore, it is periodically necessary to visit a doctor for a consultation, as well as monitor the diet and lifestyle of your pet.
Preventative measures
To prevent the occurrence of the disease in the pet, it is necessary first of all to exclude the factors due to which it arises. The following prophylaxis of urolithiasis in cats is recommended:
- First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the quantity and quality of food consumed by the animal. Overeating contributes to a large amount of alkali in the urine, which leads to the formation of stones. For this reason, you should put so much in the bowl in the cat. how much will be eaten in one feed. The constant availability of food in the open makes the cat's urine alkaline on an ongoing basis, which accelerates the development of stones and sand in the genitourinary system.
- A lack of calcium in food leads to metabolic disorders and the formation of phosphate deposits. Its overabundance also has negative consequences - calcium deposits form in the bladder.
- Feeding low-quality dry feed leads to less water consumption by the cat than is necessary. In this case, the barrier functions of the mucous membrane of the bladder are violated, inflammation occurs, which contributes to the appearance of struvites in the organs of the excretory system.
- Tap water is rich in soluble salts, which tend to be deposited in the bladder to form sand and stones. To avoid this, it is recommended to give the cat filtered or boiled water.
- With a small use of water by the cat, stagnation of urine occurs, which contributes to its crystallization and gradual transformation into stones.
Prevention of urolithiasis in cats is aimed at avoiding relapse. To do this, follow the recommendations of veterinarians:
- With natural feeding, refuse sausages, too salty foods, raw meat.
- To normalize the genitourinary system, regularly give diuretics.
- To support the body, vitamin complexes are prescribed.
- Some time after the treatment of urolithiasis, the cat is prescribed repeated tests and studies to avoid relapse.
It is much easier to prevent the disease than to treat it. To do this, you need to carefully monitor the diet and lifestyle of the pet, and at the first symptoms of the disease, seek qualified veterinary care.