Cranberries For Cats Uti
Cranberries are famous for being a good treatment for UTI in humans but can cranberries alleviate the pains of urinary tract infection in cats?
Fortunately, yes. Cranberries are acidic, and therefore, help lower the pH of a cats urine which is not only good treatment for UTI but also stops the recurrence of UTI in cats.
Instead of giving your cat cranberry juice, it is advised that you add some powdered cranberry pills to their food as juice would be loaded with sugar.
Be careful while giving cranberry to your cat. You should always check the pH of your cats urine before giving her cranberries. Only give them if they have UTI, and their urine is alkaline. Otherwise, acidic cranberries would exacerbate the situation.
Cat Uti Symptoms & Signs
Urinary tract infections in cats are caused by bacteria that travel up the cats urethra. Sometimes the bacteria can travel through the urethra into the cat’s bladder causing an infection called bacterial cystitis. In severe cases, bacteria can also invade the ureters and cause a kidney infection called pyelonephritis.
To prevent these and other conditions, its crucial that pet parents know what to look for when a cat’s urinary tract infection first strikes.
When cats suffer from urinary problem or urinary tract disease, they often show signs of difficulty urinating. For example, your cat may feel pain when trying to urinate in her litter box, so she may start to associate the litter box with pain and try to urinate outside of the litter box. Other signs of painful or difficult urination include:
- Visiting the litter box more often than usual
- Spending a longer than usual amount of time in the litter box
- Visiting the litter box but not leaving any deposits
- Bloody urine
- Attempting to urinate in other parts of the house
- Drinking more water than usual
- Not eating as much as usual
It is essential to differentiate the symptoms of a UTI to those of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease . FLUTD is a blanket term used to represent a collection of symptoms that could be a result from a number of lower urinary tract problems. FLUTD is diagnosed after ruling out a UTI. There are several causes for FLUTD including
Signs Of Utis In Cats
- Straining to urinate
- Crying or other vocalization when urinating
- Urinating blood
- Urinating outside of the litter box
- Licking at the urethra
- Increased frequency of urination
Cats that have urinary tract infections are likely to be uncomfortable when they urinate. This discomfort or pain may sometimes cause them to cry or vocalize when they urinate. Straining to urinate and urinating small amounts frequently is also commonly seen.
A cat with a urinary tract infection may also lick at its genitals in an attempt to ease the discomfort and will also often urinate outside of the box. This may occur on the floor right beside the litter box or in other places such as the bathtub or carpet.
Some cats with urinary tract infections will also have blood in their urine and this may be seen in the litter box or on the floor, but can be hard to see in clumping litter.
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What Is A Cat Uti
Feline lower urinary tract disease is the formal medical term for a cat UTI. It describes any condition or bacterial infection that affects the bladder or the urethra of cats.
UTIs occur when bacteria gets into the bladder via the urethra. This build-up and growth of bacteria causes an infection. If you leave UTIs to their own devices, they can be extremely harmful for cats and potentially cause other problems such as bladder or kidney stones.
How To Diagnose A Uti
Now that you know how to tell if your cat has a UTI by looking out for these common symptoms, lets look at how your vet can tell if your cat has a UTI and what to expect when you take your kitty in.
The first thing your vet will do is take a urinalysis to determine a few key metrics, such as whether there is blood present and its pH level. If your vet does suspect that it is an infection, they will likely do a urine culture and send the test to a lab for a few days to wait to see if a culture develops. This is testing whether or not there is a bacteria like E.Coli present. If nothing develops, something else may be causing your kittys bathroom woes.
In addition to doing a urinalysis and culture, your vet may also recommend a blood test to check your cats kidney values. This is super important because these urinary issues can lead to kidney infection like stones and even kidney failure if not addressed early. Your vet will make sure your kittys kidney levels look good.
Lastly, they will prescribe a course of treatment based on what they found.
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If Its Not A Uti What Could It Be
Even though your cat is showing all the signs of a UTI, it might not be his or her problem. There is a whole host of other issues with the same symptoms, such as:1
- Blockage of the urethra, as mentioned above. This happens in boy cats and can be fatal.
- Bladder stones
- Diabetes
- Cystitis
Because these symptoms have such wide-ranging and potentially fatal causes, any cat thats in discomfort in the litter box needs to see his friendly neighborhood vet ASAP.
How Is Flutd Diagnosed
Because FLUTD has many causes, it can be difficult to diagnose. Based on your cat’s symptoms, your veterinarian will do a physical examination and most likely will run a urinalysis assessing urine pH and concentration and presence of crystals, bleeding, inflammation and infection. If the cause is still not identified, tests such as urine culture, x-rays, blood work and additional urine tests may be recommended.
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What Causes Urinary Tract Infections In Cats
Causes of urinary tract infections in cats include crystals or stones in the bladder, urethral inflammation or plugs, and inflammation in the bladder . Proper identification of the reason for the infection can lead to the fastest resolution and prevention of future episodes, saving your cat pain and discomfort and saving your time, money, and stress!
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Question: Is a cat licking their privates and meowing signs of a UTI?
Answer: They sure can be. Just as it happens in humans, UTI’s can burn and be painful. Cats as other animals, tend to use their tongues to try to alleviate any pain. They may think there’s something down there irritating. Please have your cat see the vet. And bring a urine sample if you can. When you call your vet, ask for directions on how to collect that.
Question: My cat is vomiting and covered in urine. What’s happening to him?
Answer: This is not at all normal. If your cat is vomiting and covered in urine, I would assume something serious may be going on. Please see your vet.
Question: My cat is lethargic. He is licking and scratching his belly, and we found a hard white substance on the tip of his penis. What is going on?
Answer: What you are seeing can be either crystals or a urethral plug which is preventing him from urinating. This is an emergency considering that being unable to urinate means that the bladder is very distended and can lead to a bladder rupture or kidney failure. Please take him to the vet as soon as possible. As the article outlines, it’s important for male cats to be seen ASAP due to the narrowness of their urethra. The vet will likely need to insert a catheter to help him empty the bladder and help him urinate.
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Causes Of Utis In Cats
UTIs are caused by bacteria in the bladder. Typically, bacteria enter the bladder through the cat’s urethra, which is the path urine takes from the bladder to exit the body. There is most often something amiss that prohibits the bodys natural defenses from being able to avoid and eliminate the bacteria. This may be stress, another illness, certain medications, abnormalities in their urinary tract anatomy or function, or an immune system disorder.
Once in the bladder, if the bacteria evade the cats natural defenses, they grow and reproduce to create more bacteria. This overgrowth of bacteria and the toxins they release affect the bladder wall, as well as the urethra, and results in pain and inflammation.
What Does A Urinalysis Look At
If your cat presents to your veterinarian with urinary signs, your veterinarian will first perform a urinalysis. The urinalysis can reveal so much important information about the urine when a UTI is suspected. Your veterinarian will look for the following:
- urine-specific gravity
- pH
- ketones
- glucose
- bilirubin
- blood
- protein
Once these levels are measured, the urine specimen is placed into a centrifuge and spun down to allow cells and other debris to accumulate at the bottom of the sample tube. That debris can then be evaluated, revealing the presence of red blood cells, white blood cells, bacteria, and crystals.
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Are Some Cats More Susceptible To Uti
Yes, some cats are predisposed to urinary tract infections.
Cats suffering from other urinary tract issues such as bladder stones are more prone to developing UTI and its recurrence. Therefore, if your cat has bladder stones, you should get them removed surgically or dissolved with medication and restore bladder health.
Similarly, senior catsespecially female catsand diabetic cats are more susceptible to feline urinary tract infections.
Cat Urinary Tract Infection Treatment
The vet will suggest the best course of treatment for your feline friend. Depending on the signs exhibited by your cat, the vet may perform a urinalysis. If the vet suspects a urinary tract infection in your cat, the vet will prescribe a common antibiotic to ease your kittys pain, even before getting the results of urinalysis from the lab.
If the culprit is some bacteria, the vet will prescribe the specific cat urinary tract infection antibiotics. You will have to give it to your cat as instructed by the vet. Otherwise, you will only be killing some bacteria, leaving others to grow and multiply. Only your vet could tell how long you will have to give antibiotics to your cat.
Never leave the antibiotic treatment in the middle, even if your cat seems to be perfectly finenot showing any signs of UTI. Unfinished antibiotic rounds give bacteria a chance to return with more strength, developing antibiotic resistance.
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How To Prevent Utis In Cats
It is important to note that UTIs are less common in cats. It is often more likely that another urinary issue is affecting your cat. UTIs most often occur when something else is affecting the cats natural defenses such as an autoimmune issue, bladder stones, or diabetes mellitus. These conditions will need to be addressed along with the UTI.
To encourage urinary tract health, all cats should be offered fresh water at all times and encouraged to drink. Canned or moist food is ideal for cats because it has more water content, and for cats with recurrent urinary issues, it may be recommended to add additional water to their canned food as well.
Are There Home Remedies For Cat Urinary Tract Infections
Home remedies for cat urinary tract infections do exist, but these are more for treating symptoms and irritation, not the infection itself.
There are some home remedies to treat lower urinary tract irritation, but actual urinary tract infections typically require antibiotics, Dr. Bonk said.
Home remedies are super helpful but should be paired with antibiotics , since thats the only thing that will treat the infection.
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Urinary Tract Infection In Cats: Symptoms Causes And Treatment
Very rare in wild animals, urinary tract infections are unfortunately common in domestic animals, including cats. Very restrictive for our companions, urinary tract infections such as cystitis can be dangerous if they are not treated quickly. How do you know if your cat has a urinary tract infection? What are the causes of infections? How can they be treated? We give you all the keys to spot the first signs of an infection and act accordingly.
How To Treat A Cat Uti At Home
A cat UTI is more common in female cats than male cats.
However, male cats can have serious complications from UTIs as well.
Cats diagnosed with idiopathic cystitis can also have crystal formation. Male cats may experience blockage in their narrow urethras, which can become deadly.
Urinary tract infections occur when bacteria grows in the bladder.
UTIs and bladder infections usually cause physical discomfort, although some show no signs at all.
Cats with UTIs typically exhibit:
- Blood in urine
If your cat exhibits any of these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian immediately.
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Preventing Urinary Tract Infections In Cats
Your vet may recommend a diet that helps not only with healing but prevents recurrence as well. Certain stone-dissolving foods can help prevent crystals from forming in your cats urinary tract. There are also commercial foods that promote urinary tract health. Consult your vet on what type of food is right for your cat.
Feeding your cat a canned-food diet or mixing wet food with dry kibble helps provide additional hydration.
Keeping your cat at a healthy weight is also important overweight/obese cats tend to have more health issues than cats of a normal weight. Provide your cat with toys that stimulate physical activity.
Because anxiety may play a part in urinary tract disease, its important to keep your cats stress level as low as possible. Cats do not like change, no matter how subtle it may be, so try to keep changes to your cats routine and/or environment to a minimum.
Signs And Diagnosis Of Male Cat Urinary Blockage
The most common sign of what veterinarians call a “blocked cat” is going to the litter box to urinate, getting into position and having nothing come out. Your cat may also seem uncomfortable or yowl when trying to urinate. If the blockage continues, your cat will develop an electrolyte imbalance, which can result in a depressed or altered mental state, vomiting and a slow heart rate. They may also hide or avoid human contact.
The veterinarian will diagnose your cat based on their medical history, a physical examination, blood and urine tests and, possibly, an abdominal X-ray or ultrasound. If they suspect that your cat has a bladder infection, the vet may submit a urine sample for culture.
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How To Know If Your Cat Has A Uti
Regardless of age, felines tend to experience problems with the lower portion of their urinary tract. A feline urinary tract is susceptible to infections that affect the urethra and urinary bladder.
Urinary Tract Infections in felines are gruesome as they might lead to severe conditions. The worst part, cats with a UTI get abandoned by their owners or left at animal shelters.
When cats get diagnosed with urinary tract problems, it is unfortunate for them and their owners. It is disheartening for cat owners to watch their furkids suffer badly.
Felines with FLUTD tend to lick themselves excessively. Usually, they urinate outside the litter box, sometimes on rough surfaces like a bathtub or tiles.
Pet owners are likely to come up with a question: How do you know if your cat has a UTI? With proper care, a veterinary specialist visits, your furkid can get over a UTI.
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Other Urinary Tract Disorders
In addition to discussing UTIs in cats, we must also discuss some of the more common urinary tract disorders because they present themselves in the same way but have different causes.
The first is urinary crystals. When the pH of a cats urine is too high or too low, it can cause microscopic crystals to form in the urinary tract.
Struvite crystals are the most common urinary crystals and are caused when a cats urine is too alkaline . These crystals irritate the urinary tract, making it painful and difficult for a cat to urinate.
The other type of urinary crystals is calcium oxalate crystals, which can be caused when a cats urine is too acidic .
Another relatively common urinary tract disorder is feline idiopathic cystitis or FIC. Unlike urinary crystals, FIC isnt caused by a physical irritation of the urinary tract, but it does cause similar inflammation and symptoms. Vets arent entirely sure what causes FIC, but some contributing factors can be stress, genetics, dehydration, and diet.
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How Is A Cat Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosed
A combination of tests may be required to diagnose a cat UTI, as it can be difficult to diagnose which factors are involved. Your cat will be examined in afree consultation at Animal Trust where the veterinary surgeon will assess the size of your cats bladder and kidneys. They will also examine if there is any discomfort in these areas for your pet and check for a fever.
Following the physical examination, urinalysis is used to assess the acidity of the urine and check for the presence of crystals, bleeding, sugar, infection and inflammation. A urine culture test may also be carried our if bacteria are detected in the urine sample.
More diagnostic tests including X-rays and ultrasound scans can be useful to help detect urinary stones in the cat, tumours and to assess the thickness of the bladder wall. Performing blood tests will help to check the cats kidney function and to decide infection or any other underlying causes of disease.