Urinary Stone In Cats

Urinary stone in cats can occur in kidney as well as in bladder. If the stone formation takes place in the kidney, it is known as nephrolithiasis, and if the stone is formed in the bladder, then the condition is called as uroliths. The basic function of urinary system is to eliminate the body waste in liquid forms, but some minerals present in the body are less soluble and result in formation of crystals. If these crystals are not removed from the body effectively, then they accumulate and form stones. They might occur as one large stone or a large number of small stones.

Causes

Various types of stones are found in cats and dogs, and each one is associated with a specific cause. However, some general reasons for stone formation include:

• Urinary tract infection or kidney infection
• Genetic problems
• Dietary supplement
• Intake of certain specific medication
• Condition of illness

Urinary stones are common among male and middle aged cats, though they can occur in cats of any age group.

Clinical Signs

Some common clinical sign seen in cats suffering from urinary stones are blood in urine (hematuria), abdominal pain, vomiting, and frequent urinary infection (dysuria). Large stones might partially obstruct the area from where the urine leaves the body, where as small stones may flow with urine and get accumulated in the urethra and causes a blockage there. Symptoms of this disorder are largely determined by the exact location, size, shape and number of urinary stones. Cats with frequent lower urinary tract infections indicate signs like painful and frequent urination.

Diagnosis

Some commonly used methods for diagnosis of urinary stone include:

• Complete Blood Count (CBC)
• Biochemical profile
• Urinalysis
• Radiographs or X-rays
• Abdominal ultrasound
• Bacterial urine culture

Treatment

There are two treatment strategies for removal of urinary stone. Inactive urinary stone might simply require periodic monitoring. In case of severe disease conditions, the fastest and most reliable way of treatment is to remove the stone surgically. The cat takes about 2-4 days for recovery. Surgery can cure dysuria; however, hematuria might persist for a few days, even after the surgery. Some antibiotic therapy may be recommended for cats with concurrent urinary tract infection.

The second option is to get rid of urinary stones with the help of special diet. This does not require any kind of surgical treatment and therefore can be the best treatment for urinary stones. Close monitoring of cat is extremely essential during this treatment. This treatment does not necessarily dissolve all stones and cure the problem completely. It has certain disadvantages listed below:

• Before beginning with this treatment, it is essential to collect the stone from the urine of the infected cat and analyzed, to find out if the urinary stone has dissolvable composition. This treatment might not be successful for all types of stones.
• The cat may continue to suffer from pain caused by hematuria or dysuria, as this treatment might take several weeks or months to remove a large stone completely.
• All cats might not eat the special diet, as it lacks good taste. If the diet is not taken exclusively, then it might not show effective results in treatment for urinary stones.