Bladder Stones and Cats
Urinary obstructions, also known as bladder stones, are a common problem for cats, especially male cats. Knowing how to recognize the signs, treat and prevent stones can save your cat from a serious health risk.
Most cats are so stoic that they seem loathe to express pain. It often takes a keenly aware owner to spot the initial signs before the bladder stones become a more serious health concern.
Signs of a Urinary Tract Obstruction or Bladder Stone
Some signs include the inability to urinate, straining to urinate, frequent trips to the litter box, blood in the urine or inappropriately urinating outside of the litter box. If the cat cannot urinate, his bladder could rupture, and he could die.
What Is a Urinary Tract Obstruction?
Bladder stones are urinary tract obstructions that are mineral deposits collecting over a foreign substance like bacteria in the cat’s bladder. As the deposits continue to collect, the stone grows larger and irritates the bladder.
Treatment
Treatment for cats with urinary tract stones includes dissolving the stones with medication, maintaining the cat on a diet to prevent further stones or the surgical removal of stones. Treatment depends on the mineral makeup of the stone, whether they are struvite stones or calcium oxalate stones. Struvite stones are made of ammonium, magnesium and phosphate and can be dissolved by medication. Calcium oxalate stones cannot be dissolved and must be removed surgically.
If you suspect that your cat has bladder stones, the veterinarian would palpate the cat’s abdomen, take x-rays and perform an ultrasound examination to determine the cause of the cat’s discomfort.
After treatment for stones, the cat may need to be maintained on preventative therapy including diet and/or medication.
Though cats can be afflicted by either types of stones (females appear to be more prone to calcium oxalate and males to struvite), many cat experts believe that years ago cats rarely suffered from calcium oxalate stones. Instead, most stones were struvite. To combat this issue, those experts state that the pet food industry acidified cat foods in effort to prevent crystal formation. The result was that struvite stones occurred less frequently; however, because acidifying the cat’s body lead to a more acid urine pH and calcium loss in the urine, cats began being afflicted with calcium oxalate stones more frequently. Calcium oxalate stones, they say, are now the most common stones.
Diets for Stones Differ Depending on Type
Veterinarians often recommend for cats with calcium oxalate stones a low protein alkalinizing (not acidifying) diet. Because maintenance goals include diluting the urine, more water intake is necessary for the cat’s health, so canned food is recommended over dry food. You can even add more water to canned food to encourage your kitty to take in more fluids. Experts also recommend set mealtimes instead of free feeding.
Conversely, struvite stones would require a different diet that is more acidifying than the diet for calcium oxalate stones. Knowing the makeup of the stone is an important part of the veterinary diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Prescription cat food specifically formulated by cats prone to bladder stones is available through your veterinarian. Hill’s Prescription Diet offers two formulas—s/d Feline for struvite crystals and x/d Feline for oxalate crystals. S/d has low magnesium levels and acidifies the urine pH. X/d has reduced sodium levels and added potassium citrate to help produce alkaline urine pH.
Experts do not recommend giving a cat with stones a generic vitamin supplement because they can make him worse. Instead, your veterinarian may recommend specific vitamin supplements such as vitamin B-6 because some deficiencies in vitamins (such as B-6) can lead to stone development.
If you suspect your cat is experiencing a urinary tract obstruction, take him to the veterinarian immediately. Do not feed him prescription foods geared toward stones until your veterinarian had directed you to do so. If you keep an eagle eye and watch your cat’s behavior, you can spot a problem before it gets to be a crisis.