Are you concerned about feline lower urinary tract disease?  All cat owners should be aware of cat urinary health issues to prevent their cats from becoming victims of this common feline problem. 

What Cat Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms Should You Be Aware Of?

Sometimes the most obvious symptom is that your cat is urinating outside the litter box.  As wonderful as cats are, they don’t have advanced powers of reasoning.  If your cat is hurting every time he uses the litter pan, he thinks that somehow the litter pan is causing his pain.  In his little kitty mind, if he urinates someplace else, it won’t hurt when he goes. 

Of course, we humans know it doesn’t work that way.  But if your cat suddenly stops using his litter box, it may not be a behavior issue.  It could be one of several cat urinary tract infection symptoms.

If you use clumping cat litter, be observant of the size of the clumps when you scoop or change his litter.  You should see a few large clumps.  A whole bunch of little clumps indicates that he can’t pass much urine at one time.  This is another symptom of feline urinary problems.

Bloody urine is another clue to watch for.  It’s a little harder to see in cats than it is in dogs.  However, if your cat is urinating outside his box, you may be more apt to notice it.

Be aware of your cat’s behavior in his litter box.  Is he crying out in pain when he tries to urinate?  Is he straining to pass urine?  Often cat owners mistake this for constipation. 

Your cat should be visiting his litter box several times a day.  If he is urinating less and less, or stops completely, he may have a cat urinary blockage, which is a veterinary emergency.

Treatments For FLUTD

In order to treat feline lower urinary tract disease, your vet will need to run several tests to find out what’s going on with your cat.  A urinalysis is necessary to determine if your cat has a bladder infection, or if he has feline bladder stones.  A cat urine culture will tell your vet which bacteria are causing the problem, and a sensitivity test indicates which antibiotic will work best.

Antibiotics are the usual treatment for a kitty with a feline bladder infection.  Bladder stones in cats are a common problem, too.  Your cat may have to eat a special diet so the stones can dissolve.Your cat may need to be catheterized if he’s blocked. 

Can FLUTD Be Prevented?

Take these easy steps to keep your kitty from becoming a statistic. 

First, feed your cat a high-quality canned food.  In the wild, cats are meant to get their water from their food, which is why cats don’t seem to drink much water.  When we take our cats out of a natural situation and feed them an unnatural diet of dry food with an extremely low moisture content, we’re setting them up for cat urinary tract infection symptoms. 

Canned cat food has a moisture level of about 75%, which is much closer to a cat’s natural diet.If your feline friend has always been fed dry food, he may resist any dietary changes.Patience, time, and persistence are often needed to switch a cat over to canned food, since kitties are notoriously resistant to change.

A steady supply of clean, fresh water is a must, too.

Consider giving your feline friend a natural cat uti remedy that supports bladder health.  Look for a remedy that’s made especially for cats.Deal only with a a company with a spotless reputation for producing high-quality pet remedies.

Don’t let your cat become a victim of FLUTD.  Start taking steps now to protect your cat from feline lower urinary tract disease.

Visit Natural Pet Urinary Health to learn how you can prevent feline lower urinary tract disease, and to find the best place to buy herbal pet remedies.

Are you frustrated with constant bouts of cystitis in cats in your feline companion?  Has your vet diagnosed him with idiopathic cystitis in cats?  Have you wondered if cat stress has something to do with the recurring episodes of FLUTD?  Read on for answers to your questions.

What Is Feline Idiopathic Cystitis?

Your kitty is showing all the symptoms of cystitis in cats.  He strains to urinate, but doesn’t pass much urine.  His urine may be bloody.  He’s obviously in pain when he’s using the litter box.  And he may be urinating in places other than his litter box.  

But when your vet examines him and runs a urinalysis and a urine culture, there’s no sign of a bladder infection.  There’s no bacteria in his urine, and bladder stones, tumors, and even an anatomical defect have all been ruled out.  

Feline idiopathic cystitis is the diagnosis when there doesn’t seem to be any reason for feline urinary problems.  It’s very difficult to watch your cat suffer with FLUTD symptoms when there doesn’t appear to be any reason for these cat urinary problems.This condition is, unfortunately, becoming more common in cats.

Is Cat Stress Related To Idiopathic Cystitis In Cats?

Research is showing that this condition in cats is very similar to interstitial cystitis in people.  In both cats and people, some sort of stressful event often happens just before the cat or person suffers another bout of cystitis.

We don’t always realize what stresses our cats have in their lives.  It may be hard to believe, but being an indoor cat is stressful for felines.  We keep them inside for their own safety, but this is an unnatural environment for felines.  They do like to prowl around, especially at night.  Hunting for food provides lots of exercise that keeps them in shape.  

We also feed them the wrong type of diet, which is another stressor.  Most dry cat foods are made mostly from corn, which is very high in carbohydrates.  Too much of the wrong type of food leads to obesity, feline diabetes, and other health issues.  

Something that many cat owners don’t consider is that the moisture level in dry cat food is extremely low.  Cats are meant to get most of their water from their diet, which should be mostly meat-based.  A cat who is always fed dry food is more than likely chronically dehydrated.  Even if a cat who is fed dry food does drink water, it’s hard for him to drink enough.

The problem with a dehydrated cat is that water doesn’t pass through his body often enough to flush out toxins.  His urine is also concentrated.  Urine is caustic, and if it’s too concentrated, it can irritate the bladder, which leads to cystitis.Cat bladder stones, and urinary blockage in cats are often a consequence of concentrated urine, as the mineral levels get too high.

This type of stress is low-level, but it can lead to problems over time.  

Your feline may be under other kinds of stress.  Cats are very set in their ways, and any kind of change can be upsetting for them.Moving your household, remodeling your house, a new baby, a new kitten, or even a change in the weather, can all be stressful for your cat.  Your cat may be having problems with another cat in the home, too, especially if the other pet is more aggressive and seems to bother him a lot.

Reducing Cat Stress

It’s been shown that reducing stress in cats does reduce the frequency of cystitis in cats.  It’s also important to feed your cat a diet more naturally suited for felines to reduce stress on his body.

You may also want to consider trying a natural remedy for cat bladder infection.  The incidence of feline urinary problems can often reduced by giving your kitty a cat uti remedy that contains herbs and homeopathic remedies known to cure bladder problems.

By taking these steps to help your furball, you can solve the problem of idiopathic cystitis in cats.

Visit Natural Pet Urinary Health to learn how to preventidiopathic cystitis in cats, and find the best place to buy herbal pet remedies.

This is a scary thought.  If your male cat has had FLUTD, or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease, he’s at risk for developing a cat urinary blockage.Don’t delay emergency veterinary treatment for this life-threatening complication, as your cat can die within 36 hours. 

What Are the Signs Of Urinary Blockage In Cats?

It can be hard for cat owners to tell if a cat urinary blockage is present.  The symptoms are pretty much the same as for a feline urinary tract infection:  straining, not able to pass much or any urine, crying in the litter box, urinating in places other than the litter box. 

Your vet will diagnose this by feeling your cat’s belly for a distended bladder.An empty feline bladder is normally soft and small.  A cat with a urinary blockage will have a hard bladder about the size of a peach.  As you can imagine, this is very painful for your cat.

It’s also dangerous.  When a cat can’t empty his bladder, his kidneys stop filtering waste products out of the blood and making urine because it can’t go anywhere.  When this happens, toxins start building up in your cat’s body, which will kill him within a few days.

What Causes A Cat Urinary Blockage?

Bladder stones are the culprit.  These stones form from minerals present in your cat’s urine.  When the mineral level gets too high, the minerals crystallize into stones which can range in size from sand-like to a small pebble.  Your cat may have only one stone, or he could have dozens. 

A male cat has a very long, narrow urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder outside the body).  If he has even a few tiny cat bladder stones, it’s very easy for him to develop a urinary blockage.

How Is A Urinary Blockage In Cats Treated?

Your vet may be able to get the blockage out by putting pressure on your cat’s bladder.  Sometimes this works, but usually the cat will need to be catheterized. 

Loss of appetite, vomiting, and irregularites in heart rhythm are often caused by urinary toxins building up in your cat’s system.  Your cat will probably be dehydrated too.He may be given fluids by IV, or under his skin. 

Your cat may need to stay at the animal hospital for several days, until the catheter can be removed. 

Home Treatment

When you bring your cat home, you’ll need to feed him a special diet.The lower magnesium levels in this diet help to prevent mineral crystals from forming.  He’ll have to eat this diet for the rest of his life to prevent another blockage from occurring.

A steady supply of clean fresh water should always be accessible to him.  The more water he drinks, the more dilute his urine will be.  This helps to prevent cat bladder stone formation.

Homeopathic and herbal remedies are now available for cat urinary problems.  Probably the best way to prevent this problem in the first place, or to keep it from happening again, is to put your cat on one of these remedies.

Take action now to prevent a urinary blockage in cats from happening to your feline friend.

If your furball has been diagnosed with idiopathic cystitis in cats, you probably have a lot of questions.  Read on to learn more about this condition, and how you can help your cat with natural remedies for pets.

What Is Feline Idiopathic Cystitis?

“Idiopathic” is a fancy word that means “we don’t know what’s causing it.” This is extremely frustrating when it comes to feline lower urinary tract disease.  Cystitis in cats is a very common condition, unfortunately.  And an even more unfortunate fact is that in nearly half of the cats diagnosed with FLUTD, there doesn’t seem to be a cause. 

Some vets refer to this condition as “feline interstitial cystitis” because it’s very similar to interstitial cystitis in humans. 

How Feline Idiopathic Cystitis Resembles Interstitial Cystitis In People

Comparing these conditions in both cats and humans show some interesting results.

• People with interstitial cystitis have more sensory nerves in their bladders.  Many cats who have FLUTD do, too.
• Often a person with interstitial cystitis doesn’t have the mucus lining in their bladders that protects the bladder from becoming irritated by urine.  This is true of cats with idiopathic cystitis in cats, also.
• Recurring bladder infections are a problem both humans and felines face.
• Stress seems to be a precipitating factor for cystitis both in cats and in humans.

Research is being done to determine whether both people and cats are victims of this condition.  If so, human treatments may be helpful for kitties, as well.

Drug Treatments For Idiopathic Cystitis In Cats

If your cat is having a lot of severe episodes, your vet may prescribe amitriptyline.  It relieves the pain and inflammation associated with cystitis in cats.  Side effects can include sleepiness, weight gain, bladder stones, and urine retention.You may notice that your kitty is letting his grooming slide, too. 

To reduce the inflammation in his bladder, your vet may give him steroids.  Glucosamine has been found to repair the mucus lining of the bladder, so your vet may want to try that. 

What Can You Do At Home To Help A Cat With FLUTD?

Diet is very important for these cats.  There has always been an emphasis on reducing the acidity of the urine, along with decreasing the amount of magnesium and calcium in the urine.  But the latest research shows that the rate of water turnover is the most important. 

What you need to do is to increase your cat’s water intake.  This will keep his urine dilute to keep the acidity lower, and prevent high mineral levels. 

If you feed your cat dry food, it’s very important to switch him over to canned food.  Dry food has moisture levels below ten percent.  Why is this a problem?  Because cats are made to get most of their water from their food.  In a natural setting, cats eat mice and other animals, which are 98% water.  They don’t need to drink much water. 

Canned food is has a 75% moisture level, which is certainly better than the moisture level in dry food.  It can be difficult to switch a cat who has always eaten dry food over to canned food, but patience and persistence over several months often pays off in better health for your kitty.

Reducing your cat’s stress levels is important, too.  Many cats will have episodes of feline lower urinary tract disease after a stressful event like moving.  Some cats are even affected by weather changes.

Natural Remedies For Pets Can Help

Many cat owners have had great success with treating their cats with a natural remedy produced especially for pets.  This cat uti remedy contains uva ursi and barberry, two herbs with a long history of use in treating human bladder problems.Cantharis and Staphysagria are homeopathic remedies that are included in this remedy.This remedy is safe for long-term use in cats, along with being very effective for preventing cat urinary problems.

Put this to the test right away, and see how well this remedy works on your cat with feline idiopathic cystitis.

Visit Natural Pet Urinary Health, and learn how to prevent feline idiopathic cystitis, and find the best place to buy herbal pet remedies.

Just imagine if your feline friend developed a cat urinary blockage.  This condition is a serious complication of feline lower urinary tract disease, also known as FLUTD.  It’s often caused by cat bladder stones blocking the urethra so your male cat can’t pass any urine.

Why Does This Happen To Male Cats?

A cat blockage is rarely seen in female cats.This mystery is solved when you learn that females have a much shorter and wider urethra than do males.  Although this puts females at greater risk for cat bladder infections, this does protect them somewhat from a feline urinary blockage. 

Because male cats have a much smaller urinary opening than females do, it doesn’t take a very big feline bladder stone to cause urinary blockage in cats.

How Your Vet Treats A Urinary Blockage In Cats

If your cat is unable to pass any urine, or can pass very little, this is an emergency.  Your cat’s kidneys stop functioning when the urine has no place to go, which allows toxins to build up in the body very quickly.  This toxin build-up causes death within a few days if it’s not treated.

Your vet will insert a catheter to allow the urine to drain out of the bladder.A few days of hospitalization will be necessary for your cat if the catheter needs to be stitched in place.Flushing out your cat’s bladder with fluid may be done to get rid of any bladder stones that are there. 

Your feline friend will need to be given fluids, by IV or injections under the skin, so he won’t get dehydrated.  He’ll also be assessed for any problems related to the toxic build-up in his system.

Most cats can go home after a few days.  But you’ll need to feed your cat a special diet for the rest of his life to prevent bladder stones from forming again.

What If The Blockage Happens Again?

If your cat continues to have problems with a cat urinary blockage, surgery may be the next step.Blockages can be prevented permanently with an operation called feline perineal urethrostomy, which enlarges the urinary opening. 

This operation only prevents cat blockage, not FLUTD.  A cat who has had this operation is more likely to develop feline bladder infection and bladder stones.  He should have urine cultures done three or four times a year to be sure he’s not suffering from a feline lower urinary tract infection.

Prevent Cat Bladder Stones

If you can keep cat bladder stones from developing in the first place, your cat won’t get this condition.  Cats with very concentrated urine are more prone to developing stones. 

Your cat should be eating a high quality canned food instead of dry food to keep this from happening.  Cats are meant to get most of their water from the food they eat.  A high quality canned food has a moisture content closer to what a cat in the wild would eat.Cat owners are often suprised to find out that cats fed only dry food are often chronically dehydrated.

Be sure your cat always has access to plenty of clean, fresh drinking water.

Herbal and homeopathic remedies for cats are now available.  These remedies are especially formulated to treat and prevent cat urinary problems.Buy them only from a reputable company that’s known for providing high-quality pet products.

Now that you have this information, you can take steps to protect your kitty from ever experiencing a cat urinary blockage.