2023-09-29 15:00:00
Shin Seong-woo, CEO of Dongtan Blue Bear Animal Hospital, Peer Free Focused Care
Cats usually urinate 2 to 4 times a day. However, if your cat goes in and out of the bathroom one day and urinates in drops, the guardian should be aware of this immediately. This is because the probability of suffering from pain due to lower urinary tract disease is very high. Causes of lower urinary tract diseases include bladder stones, bacterial infections, tumors, and idiopathic cystitis, of which idiopathic cystitis accounts for more than 50%.
Idiopathic cystitis is usually found in young males. The representative symptoms of idiopathic cystitis are: ▲Trying to urinate frequently ▲Complaining of pain or discomfort when urinating ▲Seeing blood in urine ▲Missing urination in places other than the bathroom ▲Crying in the bathroom ▲Staying in the bathroom too long ▲Genital organs Licking violently, etc.
So why does cystitis occur? It may be due to a bacterial infection, stone, or tumor, but it is usually ‘idiopathic’ with no known cause. This is called idiopathic cystitis. However, the veterinary community believes that the biggest cause is ‘stress’. Various and unpredictable environments, such as grooming, bathing, moving, and neutering, trigger stress in cats.
Let’s take a moment to look at the structure of a cat’s bladder. The glycosaminoglycan layer serves to protect bladder tissue from contact with urine. If a cat is stressed, the glycosaminoglycan layer is damaged and exposed to urine, causing inflammation.
If you have cystitis, waste forms in your bladder. If debris clogs the urethra, an emergency situation arises. Even when you cannot urinate at all, your kidneys continue to produce urine. Urine gradually builds up and the bladder expands. At this time, if urine fills and swells the kidneys connected to the bladder, acute renal failure can result in death. Therefore, if your cat cannot urinate, you should immediately visit a veterinary hospital.
Emergency situations in which cystitis leads to urethral obstruction occur mainly in tom cats. In tom cats, the urethra bends downward around the urethral gland. At this time, the urethra narrows, so bladder waste easily gets stuck. If urethral obstruction continues to occur in a tom cat, you can consider perineal urethrostomy surgery, which involves cutting the part of the urethra where it begins to narrow and creating a new urethral opening in the perineum.
What should I do to prevent idiopathic cystitis? First of all, you need to drink enough water. Because cats tend to drink less water and urinate in concentrated urination, you should encourage them to drink water frequently. You should also pay attention to exercise to prevent your cat from becoming overweight. Overweight cats are relatively prone to idiopathic cystitis. This is because being overweight reduces motor function and narrows the passage through which urine flows.
Above all, to prevent idiopathic cystitis, you must be mindful of stress. It is also a good way to relieve stress by playing hunting 2 to 4 times a day for 15 minutes. It is also a good idea to make your living environment a more fun space through a cat tower or catio.
Stress management is especially important in multi-cat households. Cats are animals that do not live in groups, so they are inevitably vulnerable to stress. It is better to have one more toilet than the number of cats you own, and the toilets should be distributed in a distributed manner. This is to ensure that even low-ranking cats can use the bathroom with peace of mind.
Because cystitis is very vulnerable to stress, it can recur at any time. We emphasize again that it is very important to create a comfortable and healthy home environment.
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