Urinary Blocking
Stacey
litter box often, what are the other signs?
Stacey
Phil P.
Stacey <popp...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:6QBT6.4159$1Z3.3...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> How do you know when a cat has a blocked urethra? Other than going to the
> litter box often, what are the other signs?
>
> Stacey
>
Straining to urinate with little or no urine voided. If you have the
slightest suspicion that your cat is blocked, get him to a vet ASAP. Males
cats that cannot urinate for a day or two can die from acute renal failure
and/or severe damage to the urinary bladder. Also, the pressure from
straining can cause the plug/urolith to damage the urethra making normal
urination impossible.
If you have the slightest suspicion, get him to a vet ASAP.
Good luck.
Phil.
Odette Brown
ob.
Feline Urinary Syndrome (FUS)
Feline urinary syndrome or FUS is the name given to a group of
symptoms that occur in the cat secondary to inflammation, irritation,
and/or obstruction of the lower urinary tract (urinary bladder,
urethra, and penile urethra). A cat with FUS can exhibit one, some, or
even all of the symptoms.
FUS is NOT a specific diagnosis: there are many known and some unknown
factors that may cause or contribute to FUS. Any cause resulting in
particulate debris in the urine is capable of causing obstruction in
the male cat.
Males are much more likely to get this disease than females. There is
no known means of prevention. Treatment can vary from diet to surgery.
Cats usually recover if the disease is caught in time; often the cat
must be watched for any recurrence of FUS.
SYMPTOMS
May appear periodically during the life of the cat.
* Females: straining to urinate, blood in the urine, frequent trips
to the litter box with only small amounts voided, loss of
litterbox habits.
* Males: In addition to the above symptoms, small particles may
lodge in the male urethra and cause complete obstruction with the
inability to pass urine-this is a life and death situation if not
treated quickly.
Obstruction usually occurs in the male cat and is most often confined
to the site where the urethra narrows as it enters the bulbourethral
gland and penis; small particles that can easily pass out of the
bladder and transverse the urethra congregate at the bottleneck of the
penile urethra to cause complete blockage. (note that the female
urethra opens widely into the vagina with no bottleneck).
Symptoms of obstruction are much more intense than those of bladder
inflammation alone; this is an emergency requiring immediate steps to
relieve the obstruction. Symptoms include:
* Frequent non-producing straining-no urine produced, discomfort,
pain, howling.
* Gentle feeling of the cats abdomen reveals a tennis ball size
structure which is the overdistended urinary bladder.
* Subsequent depression, vomiting and/or diarrhea, dehydration, loss
of appetite, uremic poisoning, and coma may develop rapidly within
24 hours.
* Death results from uremic poisoning; advanced uremic poisoning may
not be reversible even with relief of the obstruction and
intensive care. Bladders can be permanently damaged as a result.
CAUSES OF FUS
In general: any condition that causes stricture, malfunction,
inflammation, or obstruction of the urethra. In addition, any
condition that causes inflammation, malfunction, or abnormal anatomy
of the urinary bladder.
Known causes
* Struvite crystals accompanied by red blood cells-generally caused
by a diet too high in magnesium relative to the pH of the urine.
+ Fish-flavored foods tend to be worse
+ The ability of a given diet to cause problems in an
individual cat is highly variable: only those cats with a
history of this kind of FUS may respond well to strictly
dietary management. Many cats do not have problems with a
diet that may produce FUS in some individuals.
+ Bladder stones, may occur from struvite crystals, or be
secondary to bladder infections. There are metabolic
disorders (not all are understood) that result in a higher
concentration of a given mineral that can remain in solution;
hence stones are formed. Diet may greatly modify the
concentration of a given mineral in solution in the urine.
Water intake may modify the concentration of all minerals in
the urine, and bacterial infection increases the risk of
stone formation.
+ Anatomical abnormalities such as congenital malformations of
the bladder and/or urethra (early neutering is NOT a factor)
OR acquired strictures of the urethra and/or scarring of the
bladder.
+ Trauma.
* Neurolgenic problems affecting the act of urination (difficult to
diagnose except at institutions capable of urethral pressure
profiles)
+ Primary bacterial infection-RARE!
+ Tumors (benign/malignant)
+ Protein matrix plug (generally urethral obstruction of
males); can be from non-mineral protein debris, viral-based,
other causes are unknown.
* Suspected or unknown factors include non-bacterial infections,
toxins, stress, and seasonal influences.
MANAGEMENT OF FUS
Obstruction of the male cat is a medical emergency. The obstruction
must be relieved immediately.
Failure to produce a good stream of urine after relief of obstruction
is indicative of urethral stricture and/or stones or matrex plugs.
Failure of bladder to empty after relief of obstruction suggests
bladder paralysis (usually temporary unless present prior to
obstruction). In either event, a urinary catheter must be placed to
allow continual urination.
Treatment of uremic poisoning requires IV fluid therapy with
monitoring of blood levels of waste products until uremia is no longer
present.
Permanent urethral damage with stricture, inability to dislodge a
urethral obstruction, or inability to prevent recurring obstructions
are all indications for perineal urethrostomy (amputation of the penis
and narrow portion of the urethra to create a female-sized opening for
urination). This procedure is usually effective in preventing
reobstruction of the male cat, but this procedure should be a last
resort
If FUS is indicated without obstruction, 75 to 80% of FUS cats without
obstruction may be sucessfully managed by diet alone if urine reveals
typical crystals and red blood cells. Unobstructed male cats or
non-uremic obstructed males who have a good urine stream and bladder
function after relief of an early obstruction may be managed as above
initially. Cats who are symptom-free after 7 to 10 days of dietary
management and who have normal follow-up urines at 21 days, may be
maintained indefinitely with dietary management only.
DL-Methionine is often prescribed for cats with FUS. Most commonly,
FUS-specific diets contain this acidifier. Antibiotics may be used.
Distilled water for FUS-prone cats is often recommended as well.
--
**** Odette Brown ** I love Cats *****
*** La Belle Province ** Quebec ** CANADA ***
*** http://www.igs.net/~rathey/odette1.htm ***
Stacey
blocked. This time as nothing at all was coming out, he already was on
Baytril, and the Cornell Book of Cat Care (approx title) said feel for a
lemon shape in the abdomen, which there was, we made trip to the emergency
vet last night. He was indeed blocked and spent the night there. He's got
a catheter and e-collar now and is at his regular vet today to allow the
inflammation to go down. Tomorrow he will have an ultrasound.
Stacey
"Odette Brown" <au...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA> wrote in message
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