Urolithiasis in cats: signs and treatment features

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Urolithiasis (UKD) or urolithiasis is a serious disease of the excretory system in which sand and urinary stones accumulate in the cat's bladder, kidneys or ureters. The disease not only worsens the well-being of animals, causing them to suffer, but also directly threatens life. ICD has a certain set of symptoms that can be used to suggest the development of pathology. In case of a confirmed diagnosis, veterinarians use complex therapy and recommend effective measures to prevent urolithiasis.

Features of the disease

KSD is a chronic pathology: the animal develops salt deposits in the form of stones or sand in the kidneys, urinary ducts, and bladder. Every fourth individual is at risk of experiencing these symptoms. Animals from two to six years old, cats with impressive weight, breeds with long hair, castrated males and unsterilized females are susceptible to the disease.

Manifestations

Males experience the pain of passing stones or sand more often, since their urethra is much narrower than that of females. Periods of exacerbation include the beginning of autumn, as well as the time from January to April.

At first, the disease is not noticed because it does not manifest itself. However, further formations will only increase in size, and one day a moment will come when the formation will move away from the wall of the bladder or kidney and begin to move with the flow of secretions.

Even the smallest formation causes extreme pain to the cat, causing mechanical damage to the delicate surface of the urethra. Impressive-sized salt formations can clog the urinary duct - this is called obstruction. The fluid stagnates, burning pain and intoxication appear. In this case, prompt emergency assistance must be provided, otherwise the animal will simply die.

Types of formations

ICD manifests itself in two types of formations: struvite and oxalate. For the first, an alkaline environment is needed - if there is an excess of phosphorus and magnesium in the body, then the urine becomes alkaline. Struvite has a harder structure.

Oxalates are formed if the urine pH is very acidic. It is caused by high amounts of calcium. Oxalates are special in that they have sharp edges and a loose structure.

How to find these stones?

To detect calcium oxalates, radiography and ultrasound diagnostics are performed. Because of the large amounts of calcium in the joints of these stones, they “glow” on x-rays, almost like bone structure.

There may be no symptoms at all; often these stones are an accidental discovery, for example, during an X-ray examination of the abdominal organs to identify other pathologies, or during an ultrasound examination at a medical examination. But other types of uroliths (stones) can also be radiopaque, for example, struvites, cystines, calcium phosphates, magnesium-ammonium phosphates and others. Having identified stones in the bladder, we cannot be one hundred percent sure what we are faced with. For verification, it is recommended to surgically remove all found stones (one or more) and examine them in the laboratory.

The operation can be laparotomic (through an incision in the abdominal wall) or endoscopic (cystoscopy), but the second option is not suitable for everyone, due to the characteristics of the urinary system in cats - the urethra is thin and long, which does not allow such a procedure to be carried out in males. Veterinary surgery is undoubtedly evolving; your surgeon will choose the best option and communicate it to you. Unfortunately, there is no dietary food that will help dissolve stones of this type, there is only a maintenance diet from various manufacturers, but currently active development of food suitable for cats with calcium oxalate-type urolithiasis is underway.

Calcium oxalate stones removed surgically

Causes of ICD

It is difficult to identify the main and only source: usually veterinarians determine a combination of factors contributing to the onset of the disease. Exogenous (caused from outside) causes include:

1. Poor nutrition

   . There are various options here: poor or cheap food, low fluid intake, poor drinking water, excessive consumption of minerals, fish and fatty foods, overfeeding the animal. All this disrupts metabolism and changes the pH of urine. A favorable environment is created for the formation of sand and rocky formations.

2. Climatic features

   . If the air temperature is high, the discharge becomes much more concentrated than under normal conditions. Water with a lot of salts in this case becomes a secondary cause of this condition.

3. Vitamin A deficiency

   . This element has a beneficial effect on the cells of the mucous membrane of the genitourinary system, and its absence significantly weakens the resistance and regeneration of organs.

But even a well-groomed cat with a balanced diet and favorable living conditions can develop urolithiasis. It is often caused by endogenous (internal) factors, which include:

1. Hormonal disorders.
2. The presence of chronic diseases, foci of inflammation, congenital pathologies in the development of the genitourinary system.
3. Individual anatomy of the animal: for example, a very thin, long or curved urethra.
4. Interruptions in the gastrointestinal tract. The acid-base balance will be disturbed, resulting in illness.
5. Various infections and complications after them.
6. Genetic predisposition: ICD can be passed on from generation to generation. Any unfavorable conditions will promptly start the process.
7. A sedentary lifestyle that causes obesity.

Problems with kidney and urinary stones are quite common, and it is impossible to completely protect against them. But if you carefully care for your cat and feed it properly, the risk of disease is significantly reduced.

Factors influencing the development of the disease

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Some people think that urolithiasis occurs only in neutered cats. But an operation to remove the testes can cause the appearance of urolithiasis only if it was performed too early and the organs of the excretory system remained underdeveloped.

Next, we will look at the main phenomena that contribute to the development of the disease.

• Climatic and geochemical features - it turns out that high air temperature can also affect the frequency of urges. With an increased rate, primary urine is formed extremely rarely. Because of this, it is excreted in concentrated form. The composition of the water that the animal drinks every day and the soil also affects the pet’s body. Thus, exceeding the permissible level of lime salts leads to a decrease in the acidity of urine - stones are formed from accumulated crystals.

• Features of the diet - the concentration of carbamide depends on how much protein your cat consumes. Excessive protein content in the diet when purine metabolism is disrupted leads to the occurrence of urolithiasis. In this case, it is necessary to reduce the protein content in the menu. The result of such a reasonable limitation will be a reduction in the amount of substrate that provokes the growth of pathogenic bacteria. At the same time, excesses can only aggravate the situation: a vegan diet for your cat or an abundance of dairy products is a direct path to alkaline urolithiasis.

• A-vitaminosis - a lack of retinol provokes the development of urolithiasis. Make sure that your cat's diet contains special supplements or necessary plant products (butter, boiled or raw carrots). Often, A-vitaminosis can also occur in a cat that regularly replenishes retinol reserves. Poor functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is to blame - malabsorption and the inability of the liver to convert beta-carotene into retinol.

The following external factors can also lead to urolithiasis:

• Hormonal imbalance - for example, excess parathyroid hormone can lead to increased calcium levels - not only in the blood, but also in the urine. And crystals of salts released from the bone tissue of the body are the building material for stones.

• Features of anatomy - the urethral canal in cats is a curved tube that changes its position in front of the penis bone. It is at the point of the bend that the urine stops and is inhibited. When a pet is castrated early, the canal remains undeveloped, with a small diameter of the tube - and this is another reason for the formation of stones.

• Pathologies of the digestive system - gastritis, colitis and other gastrointestinal diseases, which occur not only in bipeds, but also in their smaller brothers, lead to a violation of the ratio of acid and alkali in the animal's body. As a result, there is a decrease in calcium excretion in the urine.

• Infectious diseases - infectious agents enter the urinary system in three ways: from the intestines and genitals, from the urethra or from distant sources.

In the latter case, stones and microorganisms are interconnected. Stones make it difficult to pass urine, creating a favorable environment for the development of microbes that provoke a new round of infection. And the latter, which has become chronic, promotes the accumulation of salt crystals and their binding into minerals of different shapes, sizes and consistencies.

Symptoms of the disease by stages

When the disease just begins to develop, it is very difficult to notice. Symptoms at the primary stage are not clearly expressed, so the owner does not pay attention to minor changes in the cat’s behavior. The furry friend becomes apathetic, does not want to be active, eats poorly, and experiences discomfort when going to the toilet.

Sometimes owners learn about a dangerous pathology when drastic measures are required. When solid formations form, the main symptoms can already be clearly seen. Their intensity is divided into three degrees:

1. Initial stage.

The cat takes a long time to go to the toilet, and it will relieve itself in a variety of places - psychologically, the litter box begins to symbolize pain and discomfort. The posture when urinating becomes unusual, the animal becomes very tense. After visiting the tray, your furry friend will lick under the tail for a long time and thoroughly. Little urine is produced and may have a pinkish tint. Sometimes grains of sand are visible in it. The urge to go to the toilet becomes frequent. A cat on a tray often meows due to pain.

2. Acute stage.

The urge to go to the toilet becomes frequent. It happens that the animal experiences incontinence: the four-legged friend will leave wet spots in the resting place, and the owners also notice droplets in his crotch. The stomach becomes denser. Blood is already clearly visible in the discharge. Urine is released drop by drop and has a dark color with a concentrated odor. The pet's condition will be very depressed and lethargic. He usually loses a lot of weight, loses his appetite, and does not play with his favorite toys. Body temperature in some cases rises to 40 ˚С. As the stones move through the urinary canal, the cat will meow restlessly and take a characteristic position to relieve the pain.

3. Critical stage.

Your pet may completely stop going to the litter box. At the same time, painful urges will persist. The discharge will stagnate, causing intoxication of the body - often causing vomiting. Your furry friend will be constantly shaking. In the corners of the mouth you can notice accumulated saliva, viscous and foamy. The stomach will become painful and the cat will almost stop moving. If there is no urination, then after 24-36 hours the reabsorption of waste products begins. Body temperature drops slightly. There are convulsions and loss of consciousness.

It is especially important to see a doctor in the last stage. This condition is considered critical and dangerous for the animal. At this time, minutes count – you can save your pet’s life only by quickly delivering him to a veterinary clinic.

Diagnostics: how to identify pathology

It is important to quickly identify the problem so that you can deal with it and save the life and health of your four-legged friend. To do this, at the slightest suspicion of genitourinary problems, you need to take your pet to a veterinary clinic. The specialist will ask you to describe the cat’s behavior in detail, and then prescribe the necessary studies.

Unfavorable changes can be identified using x-rays, ultrasound, and also by studying the sediment of the discharge in the laboratory and determining the type of salt formation. The composition of the crystal will allow you to understand what kind of prevention and therapy needs to be carried out. The clear presence of salts is determined by qualitative analysis methods: light microscopy, Xray diffraction, etc. The specialist will also prescribe a blood test.

At the appointment, you need to accurately and in detail tell about all the details of keeping the pet, its physical condition, diseases, when the first signs of deviations began to be observed, etc.

Treatment of urolithiasis

In a veterinary hospital, the elimination of urolithiasis will begin with ensuring patency of the urinary tract. All interventions are carried out under the influence of painkillers or anesthetics. A catheter is used to clean out sand and remove hard structures. After the procedure, the lumen of the urethra is thoroughly washed with a special antiseptic solution.

Treatment is selected individually, based on the degree of neglect of the disease, age, gender, and well-being of the pet. Conservative methods include dissolving stones and eliminating sand with the help of proper nutrition and special diets that increase diuresis. Along with this, antispasmodics and painkillers are used. There is a laser option for intervention. In this case, stones are crushed using a laser and then removed naturally. When the formation cannot be removed, surgery for urolithiasis is indicated for the cat.

Drug therapy

Treatment with tablets and injections is possible if the disease is in its early stages and has no complications. Doctors prescribe a set of medications:

• diuretics;
• anti-inflammatory;
• rehydrants (to restore water-salt balance);
• antibiotics;
• painkillers.

Sometimes homeopathic remedies are added to the list to stimulate the body’s self-recovery.

Catheter placement

If the cat is unable to urinate on his own, a catheter is inserted into his urethra. Sometimes a few hours are enough, and in difficult cases the catheter is left in place for two to three days.

After all formations have come out through the catheter, drug therapy is carried out.

Surgical intervention

If there are significant deposits that exceed the diameter of the urethra, then it is advisable to operate on the cat to remove the stones. Typically, the clinic performs urethrostomy - the creation of an artificial opening in the urethra of a larger diameter. The stones will come out through it.

There is also a more complex operation on the cat’s bladder, called cystotomy - during which stones are removed directly from the opened bladder. This method is used only in extreme cases.

When the intervention has been carried out, the body’s functioning is restored, but an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory course of medications is required.

Is it possible to use folk remedies?

Folk remedies, along with medications, are prescribed by a veterinarian; independent prescription is excluded. Infusions and decoctions of herbs can replace some pharmaceutical drugs - for example, diuretics or immunostimulants.

The dosage and duration of the course of treatment will be calculated by the veterinarian. In some cases, folk remedies may be completely ineffective - they will only delay treatment.

Symptoms of the disease

In the first stages, the disease may not manifest itself in any way. Small stones like sand will come out in urine. To determine the disease at this stage, a general urine test is necessary. Over time, the size of the stones will increase, and the animal will begin to feel discomfort when urinating.

Symptoms of urolithiasis that you need to pay attention to:

• The cat began to go to the litter box more often.
• False urge to urinate. The animal sits on the tray, but nothing happens.
• When urinating, the animal experiences discomfort and pain.
• There is some blood in the urine.
• The cat often licks his groin.
• The cat began to relieve himself not only in the litter box, but everywhere else.
• A sharp, unpleasant odor of urine emanates from the tray and from the animal.
• The animal did not urinate for a very long time. If the cat has not gone to the litter box for more than a day, you need to sound the alarm and urgently show the cat to a doctor.
• The abdomen increases in size.
• Anxiety and aggression towards the owner.

If there is a complete blockage of the urinary tract, the animal may develop symptoms of intoxication of the body: a very high body temperature at first (when the inflammatory process just begins) and then a sharp decrease, complete refusal to eat, apathy, pain when touching the stomach, vomiting.

Preventative measures after treatment

After the necessary procedures have been completed, care should be taken to maintain the pet’s stable condition. Now he needs preventive measures for life, since the pathology cannot be completely cured - there will always be a risk of exacerbation.

Be sure to visit a veterinary clinic: get tested, do ultrasound examinations. The main preventive measures include:

1. True nutrition. It is the appropriate food that will help the animal avoid relapses. Together with a qualified veterinarian, medicinal foods are selected that are specially designed for pets at risk of ICD, or a natural diet is discussed. Everything will depend on the individual characteristics of the furry patient.
2. Be sure to monitor your pet's weight. Body weight should not exceed standard values ​​(they are different for each breed). This should be done by limiting the amount of food and adequate physical activity.
3. Use herbal medicine and diuretics if this type of therapy is supported by a veterinarian. Herbs will help speed up the healing process.
4. To prevent your pet from feeling thirsty, you should use fresh filtered or bottled water. Boiled water, let alone tap water, will not work.
5. Observe how often your animal goes to the toilet. Normally, this should happen twice a day.
6. The best preventative measure is to keep your pet active. Try to play with your cat more often, giving her the necessary physical activity. Metabolism will become accelerated, and the risk of many diseases will sharply decrease.
7. The air in the room should be comfortable. Make sure there are no drafts or hypothermia. Overheating will also be dangerous.
8. Every six months it is worth conducting a control ultrasound of the bladder and kidneys. Once every four months - urine and blood tests.

If you adhere to all the basic rules, your family friend will be able to live for a long time without exacerbations and unnecessary suffering. The prognosis for ICD can be favorable - everything depends, first of all, on the care of the owner.

How to prevent relapse of the disease

No matter what treatment is given, urolithiasis is a chronic disease. It cannot be completely cured, but the cat can be helped. What needs to be done at home for this?

First of all, it is possible and necessary to exclude possible causes of relapse:

• play with the cat more. If he is unaccustomed to moving a lot and does not want to play, teach him gradually. Balls, rustling toys, winding and squeaking mice - any cat will gradually get involved in these games, but the owner must help him with this;
• Pour only filtered water into his bowl. Hard water is contraindicated for any cat. Change the water regularly, it is better to do this twice a day;
• Don't give him food from your table. No sweets, salty foods, smoked meats. Even if your pet compassionately asks for a tasty treat, you should not make concessions and follow his lead;
• undergo regular medical examinations: have your urine analyzed and have an ultrasound scan;
• If you suddenly find even minor symptoms of the disease, do not be lazy to go to the doctor for a consultation. Your best help to the cat is to notice it in time and start treatment in a timely manner;
• Following a strict diet is the key to your pet’s long life without repeated relapses and the need to treat him again.

What to feed after treatment for urolithiasis

The main factor in a cat’s longevity will be special nutrition. Some cats eat dry food, while others eat homemade food, so the diet will be different for everyone, although with the same principles. The diet also depends on the type of disorder in salt metabolism.

The oxalate version maintains an effective urine pH of 6.8 to 7.2 and dissolves uroliths. The struvite option aims to restore the density, volume and pH of urine by reducing the consumption of minerals, including magnesium. If you feed your cat natural food, it will take time to create a balanced menu for him.

As for dry food, most of it is not suitable for nutrition, as it contains a lot of mineral salts. For cats with urolithiasis, special ready-made products are suitable, selected by the doctor according to the type of urinary stones:

• oxalates – Royal Cannin Urinary S/O LP34, Hill's PD Feline K/D, etc.;
• struvite – Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets UR, Hill's Prescription Diet C/D.

Buy premium and super-premium options. If your furry friend prefers natural food, then you should carefully consider the diet. Veterinarians usually recommend taking vitamins A and B.

With the oxalate option, do not neglect carrots, boiled eggs, and white beets. For struvite – cheese, cottage cheese, boiled meat, rice. An important point is that the food must be fresh. Exclude pork, chicken, fish, sausage, canned food, caviar, do not feed sour, fatty, spicy foods. Also limit your furry friend's protein intake and do not feed him offal - they contain a high content of oxalic acid, which disrupts the pH.

Provide your cat with unhindered access to water. Remember that felines drink little. Therefore, it is necessary to instill in the animal the habit of visiting a “watering hole.” It is better not to keep a bowl of water in the same place as the food bowl, as the animal will switch to food.

Do not change the feeding location as this may cause stress to the animal, especially if it has undergone surgery. Keep food and water fresh.

Remember that the diet must be fully agreed with your doctor. It is a specialist who can give the right recommendations, but independent decisions can lead to dire consequences.

ICD in neutered cats

There is an opinion that castrated cats are most susceptible to this disease, although there is no direct scientific confirmation of this. The only logical chain is this: a castrated male experiences a hormonal imbalance and the activity of the endocrine system changes. This leads to slowness, calmness and leisurely behavior. As a cat gets older, it moves more slowly, reacts less to stimuli and eats more. This can contribute to excess weight gain, which becomes a direct threat to the development of urolithiasis.

Also, older castrates have a slower metabolism. This leads to rare emptying of the bladder and congestion in the genitourinary system and kidneys.

However, it cannot be said that an uncastrated cat is protected from the disease - if he is inactive and overweight, he has every chance of getting sick. Cats suffer from urolithiasis much less frequently, but this does not mean that your girl is not at risk.