The health of our pets is very fragile. It must be closely monitored and measures taken at the slightest sign of deterioration. The urogenital system is especially vulnerable in cats. The cat’s activity and feeding style, living conditions play a role. But the fact remains, if you notice dark urine in the cat, then you need to immediately go to the veterinary clinic.
Introduction to the problem
Urine color is an important indicator of a cat’s health. Normally, it is light, it can be yellow or almost transparent. Darkening can signal serious health problems for your pet. Having noticed this, one cannot expect the problem to disappear on its own. You should immediately seek help.
Best of all, if you arrive at the reception with a portion of urine. Then the doctor can evaluate its color, smell and take a part for laboratory analysis. A cat’s dark urine can indicate serious illnesses related to the liver, diseases of the genitourinary system, or dehydration.
How to determine the color?
This baffles many hosts. Indeed, if a pet relieves the need for a garden, then the task is almost impossible. But if you see that the pet is bored, then you need to try to follow him. It is not that difficult. If the animal is really sick, it will not go far. Surely the cat will empty the bladder near the nearest column and return home. It is much easier if the animal is accustomed to handle the need for a tray. Then leave it empty once, without filler and evaluate the material collected.
What will you need to pay attention to? The urine of a healthy cat has a yellowish, but not saturated color. The straw color of urine gives urobilin. It is excreted in this way from the body so as not to affect the nervous system of the animal. The cat’s dark urine, or bright yellow, saturated, indicates health problems.
By the way, completely transparent urine is also bad. In this case, we can assume that the animal drank a lot of water, so the color turned out so diluted. Then you need to repeat the collection a little later. But the lack of a characteristic color of urine may indicate pathology of the endocrine glands, adrenal gland disease or diabetes.
Don't panic
Even if you notice that urine has changed its color a lot, there is no reason to consider your pet deadly. This is just an excuse to carefully observe it and consult with a specialist. Dark urine in a cat may also appear as a result of physiological reasons. But in any case, they need to be identified in order to prescribe an effective treatment.
- Cat's estrus. If your beauty changed her behavior, became unusually affectionate or restless, if there were signs of a cat search, then nothing terrible happens. It's just that urine mixes with blood, and you see a change in its color.
- Dehydration It all depends on the reasons that caused it. If the cat returned from a long walk in the heat, then this can be considered the norm. But if he does not leave the apartment in which the air conditioner works and there is a cup of water, then this should alert.
- Reproductive system problems.
- Sand and stones in the genitourinary system.
- Infections in the genitourinary system.
- There are a number of serious diseases that require immediate intervention, sometimes surgical.
Change options and possible causes
A cat’s dark urine is a common definition. For each disease, the color may vary. Therefore, you can conduct an initial diagnosis at home and tell your doctor about the observations. But you should not prescribe treatment to the cat yourself. You can easily make a mistake. And an attempt to treat in the wrong way leads to a worsening of the condition, even death.
So, the options are:
- Bright yellow urine is a sign of mild dehydration. In hot weather, with a forced diet after surgery, this is normal. Provided that the animal receives proper care and a sufficient amount of fluid.
- Pink-red tint. Most often, this speaks about urinary tract infections, stones in the bladder, cystitis. In some cases, this may be due to injury.
- Brown is a very disturbing symptom. Take your pet to the vet without delay. This indicates an increased level of bacteria in the urine. The cause may also be low blood coagulability. In any case, the animal will lose weight, appetite and interest in life. Another possible cause is the development of blood parasitic infections and leptospirosis.
- Bloody urine. Talks about the most severe kidney damage, glomerulonephritis and pyelonephritis. Treatment should be started immediately.
- Greenish shades indicate liver damage.
You see how much can be said only by looking at a jar of urine. Of course, laboratory tests are required to make a diagnosis. Yes, and examination of the animal by a doctor will narrow the field of speculation to one or two probable diseases. Most often, if the cat has dark urine, this indicates problems with the genitourinary system. This is a very serious symptom.
Going to the clinic
8 hours before the visit to the veterinarian, the animal should not be fed. This is important because all analyzes will be more informative and accurate. Prepare a tray by morning. To do this, remove all filler from it and wash thoroughly. Lay the net on top. If the cat is used to raking the filler with its paws, then put a piece of sterile gauze.
Using a sterile syringe, collect 40 to 80 ml of urine. Within two hours, the jar must be delivered to the clinic for laboratory research. In addition to examining and analyzing urine, the veterinarian performs an ultrasound scan. If necessary, a general and biochemical blood test is prescribed. If the cat's urine is dark brown, then it is often impossible to wait for the results of all analyzes. Therefore, on the basis of the initial examination, a course of treatment begins, which will be adjusted as the remaining laboratory findings arrive.
Recommendations to the owner
While the doctors will sort it out and find out why the cat has dark urine, you need to calm down and arrange for the patient appropriate conditions for treatment and recovery. First of all, you need to comply with the drinking regime and prevent dehydration. When a specialist detects a disease, a strict diet is prescribed. It completely eliminates raw meat and fish.
In parallel, it is desirable to provide maximum peace to the patient. Movement is best restricted to the limits of one room. But here nature comes to the rescue. If the animal does not feel well, then it sleeps more often.
Treatment
If the cat has dark brown urine, and the diagnosis shows the presence of one of the above diseases, then the doctor selects an individual treatment regimen. Depending on the condition of the fluffy patient, the following can be prescribed:
- Antispasmodics and painkillers.
- Immunomodulators.
- Antibiotics that help fight infections.
- Restoring droppers.
- In some cases, you can not do without surgical intervention. Then the doctor will prepare your pet for surgery.
Be sure to control the amount of water you drink. Sometimes prescribed special foods that provoke thirst. If the pet continues to refuse, then try to stimulate it in all ways. Install a decorative fountain, put a small aquarium with artificial fish.
Prevention
Any disease is much easier to prevent than to cure. For animals, this question is even more acute, because the owners usually miss the first symptoms of the disease and go to the doctor only when the deterioration is already clearly visible. As a result, severe complications that even an experienced specialist who knows what to do can not always be corrected.
In a cat, dark urine is a formidable symptom; it cannot be ignored. It turns out that the observant, attentiveness of the owner and his interest in having the pet live happily ever after is the best prevention. If something is embarrassing, then it is better to once again disturb the doctor, but avoid complications.