UNDER THE WEATHER FLUTD in Cats

Has your cat been visiting the litter box frequently and straining to urinate? Be watchful of these symptoms, they could indicate a disease syndrome called FLUTD (Feline lower urinary tract disease).

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What exactly is FLUTD? The urinary bladder, urethra, and urinary opening all constitute the lower urinary tract. Any inflammatory condition in the feline lower urinary tract creates the same collection of signs.

Some of the common symptoms of FLUTD are:

• Bloody urine
• Straining to urinate (can easily be mistaken for straining to defecate) 
• Urinating in unusual places
• Urinary blockage (mostly in male cats)
• Licking the urinary opening (usually due to pain)
• Difficulty and pain when passing urine

These signs could be due to a variety of causes: Urinary infection, bladder or kidney stones, inflammation of the wall of the bladder, all create the same clinical picture. 50% will not have a cause that can be determined despite extensive testing (meaning they have what is called idiopathic cystitis.) Idiopathic cystitis ultimately leads to mucosal plugs from the lining of the bladder to slough off and get stuck in the narrow urethra, causing a urethral blockage.

UTI (urinary tract infection), trauma, bladder stones or cancer of the urinary tract are other causes of lower urinary tract disease.