Just imagine if your feline friend developed a cat urinary blockage.  This condition is a serious complication of feline lower urinary tract disease, also known as FLUTD.  It’s often caused by cat bladder stones blocking the urethra so your male cat can’t pass any urine.

Why Does This Happen To Male Cats?

A cat blockage is rarely seen in female cats.  This is because the urethra in females is much shorter and broader than it is in males.  Although this puts females at greater risk for cat bladder infections, this does protect them somewhat from a feline urinary blockage. 

Because male cats have a much smaller urinary opening than females do, it doesn’t take a very big feline bladder stone to cause urinary blockage in cats.

How Your Vet Treats A Urinary Blockage In Cats

If your cat is unable to pass any urine, or can pass very little, this is an emergency.  Your cat’s kidneys stop functioning when the urine has no place to go, which allows toxins to build up in the body very quickly.  This toxin build-up causes death within a few days if it’s not treated.

Your vet will insert a catheter to allow the urine to drain out of the bladder.A few days of hospitalization will be necessary for your cat if the catheter needs to be stitched in place.Any bladder stones that are present may be flushed out with fluid to remove them. 

Your feline friend will need to be given fluids, by IV or injections under the skin, so he won’t get dehydrated.  He’ll also be assessed for any problems related to the toxic build-up in his system.

Most cats can go home after a few days.  But you’ll need to feed your cat a special diet for the rest of his life to prevent bladder stones from forming again.

What If The Blockage Happens Again?

If your cat continues to have problems with a cat urinary blockage, surgery may be the next step.Your cat’s urinary opening can be enlarged to prevent recurring blockages by means of an operation called a feline perineal urethrostomy. 

This operation only prevents cat blockage, not FLUTD.  A cat who has had this operation is more likely to develop feline bladder infection and bladder stones.  He should have urine cultures done three or four times a year to be sure he’s not suffering from a feline lower urinary tract infection.

Prevent Cat Bladder Stones

Prevent a blockage by working to keep your cat from developing cat bladder stones in the first place.  Cats with very concentrated urine are more prone to developing stones. 

If you feed your cat canned food instead of dry, you can avoid this problem.  Cats are meant to get most of their water from the food they eat.  A high quality canned food has a moisture content closer to what a cat in the wild would eat.  A cat who is always fed dry food is probably chronically dehydrated.

Be sure your cat always has access to plenty of clean, fresh drinking water.

Herbal and homeopathic remedies for cats are now available.  These remedies are especially formulated to treat and prevent cat urinary problems.You’ll want to purchase them only from a company with a good reputation for manufacturing high-quality products for pets.

Now that you have this information, you can take steps to protect your kitty from ever experiencing a cat urinary blockage.

Darlene Norris has combined her long-time interest in natural healing with her experience working at a vet clinic to bring you her new website, Natural Pet Urinary Health.  Here you can discover how herbal and homeopathic remedies can help prevent and treat feline bladder infection that can lead to urinary blockage in cats.  Find the best place to buy these remedies at http://naturalpeturinaryhealth.com

cat urinary problems

Do you have unanswered questions about the cat urinary infection treatment your vet provides?Many pet owners are confused about how their vets are treating their cat urinary tract infections, and they have unanswered questions.In this article, you’ll find answers to your questions.

Are Feline Bladder Infections Contagious?

The short answer is no.It’s not possible to pass cat urinary tract infections from a cat to a person or from one cat to another.

What’s The Difference Between Feline Bladder Infections And Cat Urinary Tract Infections?

People get really confused about this, and for good reason, since the terms are used interchangeably.  However, to answer the question, a cat bladder infection really only affects his bladder.  A feline urinary tract infection (also called a UTI) can affect any part of your cat’s urinary tract.  This includes his kidneys, his ureters (the tubes that carry urine from his kidney to his bladder), his bladder, and his urethra (the tube that carries urine out of his body).  

Usually, when someone is talking about a UTI, they really mean a feline bladder infection.

What’s The Difference Between A Urinalysis And A Urine Culture?

Your vet may want to perform both of these tests.  Many cat owners don’t understand exactly what they are, and what they’re for.

Usually a urinalysis is done first.  Your vet looks at the sample to see if the urine is cloudy or bloody.  Cloudy urine is due to the presence of white blood cells, which indicate an infection.There’s obviously a problem if there’s blood in the urine.  Your vet may see that crystals are present, which indicate cat bladder stones.  The urine is also checked for protein.  

Based on the results from the urinalysis, your vet may want to do a urine culture.

A urine culture involves separating out the bacteria found in the urine sample from your cat.  These bacteria are then grown in the lab.  This test gives your vet some important information, namely, how many bacteria are present, what kind of bacteria it is, and which antibiotic will kill it.  

It takes at least a couple of days to do this test, as the bacteria need time to grow.

Do I Really Need To Give My Cat All Of Those Antibiotic Pills?

The good thing about antibiotics is that the cat urinary problems go away quickly.But the infection isn’t completely gone.  Many cat owners make the mistake of not giving their cats the antibiotics for the entire ten or fourteen days.Don’t stop the antibiotics before they’re gone, as the infection will probably come back.  

A more serious problem is that of antibiotic resistance.  More and more disease-causing bacteria are becoming resistant to common antibiotics.  One of the reasons is that people are not finishing up all the antibiotics, which encourages the bacteria which aren’t killed right away to keep growing.It may be hard to give your cat the pills, but it’s very important to finish the antibiotic treatment.

Natural Remedies For Pets Can Help

You may be interested in learning more about herbal pet remedies.  These remedies are safe and effective, and can be given every day to prevent cat urinary problems.  Be sure you purchase them only from a company with a good reputation that’s known for providing excellent products for pets.

Now that you’re armed with this information, you can understand cat urinary infection treatment better.

Darlene Norris has combined her long-time interest in natural healing with her experience working at a vet clinic to bring you her new website, Natural Pet Urinary Health.  Here you can discover how herbal and homeopathic remedies can help prevent and treat feline bladder infection.  Find the best place to buy these remedies at http://naturalpeturinaryhealth.com

cat urinary problems

Has your cat ever been blindsided by a feline bladder infection?  Don’t let this happen to your kitty.  This article will cover the basics of bladder infection in cats.

Your Cat’s Urinary Tract

Your cat’s urinary tract includes his kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra.  The kidneys are constantly filtering waste products out of your cat’s blood.  These waste products are carried out of the kidneys into the bladder by the ureters, tubes that run between your cat’s kidneys and his bladder.

The bladder is a muscular little bag that holds the urine until it leaves the body.  The urine passes out of the body through the urethra.

This system usually works with no problems, but sometimes trouble arises in the form of a bladder infection.

Cat Bladder Infection Symptoms

Bacteria aren’t normally found in the bladder because it’s a sterile environment.  However, if bacteria find a way in, they can cause a bladder infection in your cat.

• Symptoms of a feline bladder infection include:
• Urinating outside the litter box
• Straining to urinate or having trouble passing urine
• Crying out in pain when trying to urinate
• Bloody urine
• Drinking a lot of water

Inflammation in the bladder is what causes these symptoms, not the infection itself.If your cat is being treated with an anti-inflammatory drug, he could have a bladder infection without showing signs of inflammation.

Be aware that if your cat can’t urinate at all, this is a blockage, which is a veterinary emergency.  Get your cat to the vet as soon as possible.

How Your Vet Treats Cat Bladder Infection

Your vet will probably prescribe antibiotics to clear up the infection.  Tests ordered may include a urinalysis to check for white blood cells and crystals in the urine, and a urine culture to identify which bacteria is causing the problem.  The results of the urine culture can help determine which is the best antibiotic to use.

Tips For Preventing Cat Urinary Problems

There are several ways to prevent your cat from getting a bladder infection in the first place. 

First, try to feed your cat canned food.Bladder infection is more common in cats that eat only dry food.  Cats are meant to get most of their water from their food, and moisture levels are much too low in dry cat food.

Second, your cat must have access to lots of pure, clean water at all times.With all the concerns about drinking water, you’ll want to give your cat filtered water to drink.

Cat Bladder Infection Can Be Prevented With Natural Remedies For Pets

People have been using herbal and homeopathic remedies for bladder problems for centuries.”Are these remedies available for cats?” is the question many cat owners are asking. 

The answer is yes.It’s necessary to use a remedy that’s been formulated especially for pets.  The remedy should include the herbs uva ursi and barberry, along with the homeopathic remedies Cantharis and Staphysagris.  These ingredients have a proven track record for treating bladder problems.

You’ll also want to find a remedy that’s safe enough to give your cat every day to prevent cat urinary problems.  It needs to be easy to administer, too.Giving a cat a pill every day is not something most people will do.  Be sure you purchase your remedies only from a company with a good reputation that stands behind its products.

Now it’s time for you to put these tips into action so your cat won’t suffer from feline bladder infection.

Darlene Norris has combined her long-time interest in natural healing with her experience working at a vet clinic to bring you her new website, Natural Pet Urinary Health.  Here you can discover how herbal and homeopathic remedies can help prevent and treat feline bladder infection.  Find the best place to buy these remedies at http://naturalpeturinaryhealth.com