5 Key Facts About Your Cat's Urinary Health

Urinary tract disease is super common in cats so its important to monitor your cat's urinary behaviors at home, and provide multiple, clean litter-boxes that fit your cat's preferences.

1. Hydration is very important

Cats are supposed to get the majority of their water from their food, so its especially important for cats who eat dry food to be encouraged to drink more water. Offer your cat reverse osmosis or filtered water in a variety of stainless steel or ceramic water fountains, glasses, dishes, etc and clean them daily. Dehydration keeps blood from flowing properly to the kidneys and can encourage sediment to build up in the urinary tract.

2. The health of the urinary bladder is seriously affected by stress

Even the tiniest changes inside or outside of your home can be perceived by your kitty. Most common sources of stress are adding new pets/people to the home, owners going out of town, and changing litter type/litter boxes.

3. Urinating outside of the litter box or changes in urination behaviors is typically evidence of a medical issue that is usually caused by stress.

When a kitty senses changes/stress, they often develop pain and inflammation in their bladder, which encourages the formation of crystals and/or stones, and causes your cat to urinate outside of the box to either communicate they have a problem or to find a more comfortable place to uncomfortably urinate.

4. Male cats have a high risk of life-threatening urinary emergencies.

Male cats have a long, narrow urethra, which are the urinary tubes where urine exits the body from the bladder. Urinary crystals, stones, or mucous plugs can clog the urethra and block the flow of urine, causing a urinary obstruction. Urinary obstructions not treated in time are deadly, as potassium builds up in the blood and alters the rhythm of the heart, and the bladder can burst and spill urine into the abdomen.

5. Urinary infections are very rare in cats, in fact less than 3-4% of urinary issues in cats are related to urinary tract infections.

It is not good medicine to provide antibiotics for a cat's urinary issues unless bacteria and inflammation are confirmed in your pet's urinalysis, as antibiotics can have unwanted side effects, and unnecessarily prescribing them contributes to life-threatening antibiotic resistance.

Want to know specifically how your cat's urinary health is holding up? Visit your veterinarian and have a urinalysis performed for your pet. While monitoring your pet's behaviors at home can provide a lot of information, cats hide disease incredibly well, which is why preventive laboratory screenings are recommended at least annually for all pets.

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