Costa Cálida Chronicle - Costa Calida Chronicle

Cats and their Problems when Urinating
We have recently had the scare over the cat
and dog food supplied by one of the biggest
supermarkets in the area allegedly causing
the deaths of a number of pets. The problem
is usually caused by animals not drinking
sufficient water after eating dried animal
food, although in this recent incident, it was
the wet food that caused the problems.
The problems experienced when cats urinating
are one of the most common diseases
affecting male cats. The first thing to
consider is whether the animal has a real
problem when urinating, or is he urinating
in another place for any other reason. The
former fact could be due to some infection
or an accumulation of crystals in the lower
urinary conducts, while the latter one would
be a disorder in the behaviour of the cat.
Making a difference is not usually an easy
task, because sometimes the symptoms
overlap. For instance, when a cat has pain
when urinating due to an infection in the
lower urinary conducts, it will often search
for another place to pee, instead of doing
in its box.
Once the symptoms have been identified,
vets can carry out some tests like urine
tests (biochemical, sediments and culture),
x-rays and scans of the abdomen in order
to rule out other diseases such as infections,
gallstones or tumours. A very common
problem in male cats, especially the
castrated ones, living a sedentary life and
fed with commercial food, is the appearance
of gallstones that obstruct the cat’s urethra.
This can cause extreme pain and can mean
spending time in the vet hospital. This is a
very common disorder that be treated with
some special food that prevents the formation
of these gallstones and make it possible
to destroy those that have been already
formed. It is important to know that the cat
will have to be kept on this special food forever
if we do not want relapses.
If these obstructions are repeated in spite
of the medical and diet treatment, there
is the possibility of surgery, although the
techniques are usually aggressive and not
always well accepted by the owners.
If the cause of the problem has an infectious
origin (common in female cats mainly),
the cat would be treated with antibiotics
for 18-20 days. If there are other reasons
like neurological disorders or tumours, then
surgery, medicines and chemotherapy will
be required.
Finally, a high percentage of these cases are
due to an alteration in the cat’s behaviour
when urinating. We have reached this conclusion
after making all kind of tests, some
of them quite complex, such as endovenous
x-rays with renal contrast or x-rays of the
bladder and the urethra. When a cat suffers
from an alteration of the behaviour when
urinating, there is a great range of disorders
that it could be, but we will talk about
them in another article. We usually recommend
castration if it is a clear problem of
sexual marking, or anti-depressive medicines,
or other drugs if it is a stress problem
or other diseases. On the other hand we
can combine these medicines with different
treatments that will help to reinforce positive
behaviour, and it is advisable to take
the precaution of placing different cat litter
trays around the house.
Article written and supplied by Paco,
Clinica Veterinaria Puerto de Mazarrón
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