What to do if your goat has bladder problems and how to prevent them

David Harwood BVetMed, FRCVS looks at the causes and cures of these often life threatening illnesses where the owner needs to be able to spot the symptoms and act quickly!

- David Harwood

Although not commonly reported in goats, one bladder problem in particular that affects mainly castrated male kids is “urolithiasis,” and this can be a serious problem requiring urgent veterinary attention. As ever, the key to understanding this and other urinary tract conditions requires an understanding of how it develops, how to recognise it, but most importantly, how to prevent it!

UNDERSTANDING THE ANATOMY. The urinary tract consists of two kidneys, that constantly filter the circulating blood to remove toxic waste products from the body. This filtration mechanism results in urine production that collects in the kidney (renal) pelvis, before passing down the single ureter from each kidney into the bladder where urine then collects before the bladder is emptied.

In the female goat, the bladder empties through a very short urethra, and in general terms is a trouble-free process. In the male however, the urethra leading from the bladder is much longer and has three locations where it narrows, and obstructions can occur (such as from a bladder stone). These are firstly as the urethra passes over the back of the pelvis below the tail, at an “S” shaped bend known as the “sigmoid flexure,” and thirdly at the tip of the penis at an elongation referred to as the “vermiform appendage.” The term “urolithiasis” refers to stones originating anywhere in the urinary system, including the kidneys and bladder, and it is the smaller stones that can potentially become caught in the penis that cause most problems.