Diagnosing Feline Cystitis

Feline cystitis is an inflammation of the cat's bladder. This may be caused by FUS - the feline urologic syndrome or FLUTD - feline lower urinary tract disease. The detection of cat cystitis symptoms is easy. The early detection of the disease is important to relieve your cat's pain.

Frequent Urination

Frequent urination is among the most frequent feline cystitis symptoms. Your cat will urinate more frequently and the amount of urine will be less. Any change if your cat's urination behavior may be a signal that something is wrong.

Cat Spraying

Both male and female cats will spray around the house if suffering from feline cystitis. The cat will avoid using his litter box because the urination is painful when the bladder is irritated or swollen. The cat associates the urination pain with the location of the litter box, and he will urinate in different spots every time, believing that this can relieve the pain.

Painful Urination

Your cat will experience a lot of pain and you may even notice that he is crying while urinating.

Blood in Urine

If you spot any blood in the urine of your pet or any impurities, these may point to feline urinary cystitis. This may be a symptom for other diseases as well, but surely an alarm signal that you should go to the vet.

Urine Odor

Another symptom of cat cystitis is the specific urine odor. You will sense a different odor from the usual cat urine smell.

Licking Genitals

The cat will lick his genitals in attempt to relieve the pain. You may also notice that he will lie on cold ground, tile floors in the bathroom or in the shower.

Increased Thirst

A cat suffering from cystitis will drink more water but eliminate less.

Lethargy

Feline urinary cystitis causes the cat to be tired and lethargic. The cat will seek less attention from you and will sleep more.

Behavioral Changes

Cystitis can cause behavioral changes triggered by the pain. The cat may become aggressive, scratch and bite. He is easily irritable.

After detecting feline cystitis, the treatment may be as simple as increasing the amount of water your cat drinks and administrating wet food. The water will flush the bacteria causing cystitis. Reduce the amount of minerals from your cat's diet and eliminate any stress causing factors.

However, if your cat is in a lot of pain, pain relievers will be prescribed. Severe cases of cystitis are treated with antibiotics.

Feline urinary cystitis is a frequent disease in cats and may be treated in less than a week. If your cat shows signs of chronic cystitis a special diet should be prescribed, and in some cases even antibiotics. In severe chronic feline cystitis only the perineal urethrostomy may prevent the re-occurrence of the disease. This procedure means the removal of the narrow part of the urethra. This solution may solve a problem, but will create new ones: your cat will be more susceptible to bladder infections and stones.

 

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