Urinary Problems

It is not infrequent that the owner sees blood in the urine of a cat or notices that the animal struggles to urinate. Probably, both things are symptoms of a disease in the urinary tract the bladder and the urethra - through the urine goes on the penis or the vagina. To support the chemical balance of the body of a cat the elimination of the urine is fundamental; retention of urine can infect the whole organism, so that it is necessary to ask the veterinarian to study the problem without delay. The external examination of the cat will not say anything, so we have to tell to the veterinarian what does the cat in house to help him in his diagnosis. Sometimes, the veterinarian can extract a small quantity of urine to analyze it, pressing the bladder or putting a needle to extract it; but, if the bladder is empty, maybe it is necessary to insert a catheter. It will be useful that we take a sample of urine to him.

It can be necessary to have more analysis. Among them, blood test for if there is infection or renal disorders, and ultrasound scans and X-ray of the bladder. Opaque contrasts can be injected to see the interior of the urinary tract.

Some frequent problems
The most frequent in the urinary device and the bladder of the cats is the infection of the urinary tract. The infection can rise for the urethra from the penis or the vagina to coming up to the bladder, provoking an inflammation (called also cystitis). Since the female cats have the urethra more short that the males, are more inclined to this type of infection. The wall of the inflamed bladder gets irritate and the cat does effort for urinating though it is empty. The wall of the bladder also can bleed. If it isn't treated in time, the microbial infection can rise from the wall of the bladder to the uterus the thinnest conduits that take the urine of the kidneys to the bladder and comes up to the kidneys. This can put in danger the life of the animal.

To treat the simplest infections it is in the habit of being enough with the antibiotics, for which a rapid treatment is advisable. If this extends, there are less probabilities of a relapse, so that it is necessary to continue the prescription of the veterinarian until the end, though the cat should not have already symptoms. It is necessary to encourage the cat to drink the most possible, because this helps to eliminate the infection of the urinary tract. A way of doing it is put salt to the food of the cat. The veterinarian can advise us.

On other urinary problems there is the feline disease of the low tract, known also as a feline urology syndrome which affects males. It has diverse reasons, as much as microbial as viral and can be associated with the presence of crystals in an alkaline urine. The urine is concentrated and the salts that there are in it form a sandy deep hole of crystals or tiny stones that block the urethra. This is very thin in the males and, if it is blocked completely by the sands or stones, it is possible that the cat could not urinate, provoking a medical emergency. The polyps or tumors of the neck of the bladder can do that the cat feels pain or discomfort on having urinated. The tumors can ulcerated and  to bleed; in this case, it is probable that there are threads of blood in the urine of the cat. A break of bladder -as consequence of a street accident or a bad fall -can cause also important problems if it is not diagnosed.

The obstructions, partial or complete, of the urinary tract it is necessary to remedy as soon as possible. There are cases in which they can dissolve or drag; in others, maybe is necessary a surgical intervention. Sometimes, in the regime of treatment special diets are included. The polyps can be extirpated, but there are tumors of the urinary tract that can turn out to be inoperable.

How to prevent urinary diseases
It is very important that our cat has always to hand clean water, especially if we give him only dry food. Though there are many cats that they prefer drinking from the exterior pool of standing water or the faucets that leak, it is necessary to have full always the water container of the cat . –There are cat's food prepared that have little magnesium; this contributes that the urine is acid, which reduces the possibility of formation of crystals. It is necessary to ask the veterinarian for advice.

In winter, the cystitis is more frequent in the cats of exterior, which can reluctant to going out to urinate because of the bad time. On not having gone out, the bladder fills too much. It is necessary to put them a box of sand or insure that they go out often to urinating in an appropriate place.