Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease
Your cat has presented to the clinic showing symptoms of lower urinary tract disease.
What is Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD)?
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) is the term describing the following group of clinical signs regardless of the cause:
- Straining to urinate (can be mistaken for straining to defecate).
- Urinating in unusual places.
- Bloody urine.
- Urinary blockage (almost exclusively male cats – this is an emergency).
- Licking the urinary opening (usually due to pain).
Any type of inflammatory condition of the feline lower urinary tract creates the same collection of signs – our job
is to find out what condition your cat is suffering from so we can recommend the best possible treatment.
What are the possible causes?
The following causes are most likely for cats suffering with FLUTD:
- 50% of cats will not have a cause that can be determined despite extensive testing, these cats are classified as having feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC).
- 20% will have bladder stones or crystals.
- 20% will have a urethral blockage (the bladder is blocked with a plug preventing urination).
- 5-10% will have a urinary tract infection, urinary tract cancer, had trauma to the urinary tract e.g. road trauma accident or combination of bladder stones and infection.
How do we find out what is wrong?
A urine test is performed and helps to identify infection, crystals and/or blood. Blood testing is important especially in older animals to investigate if underlying kidney failure is predisposing your cat to a lower urinary tract condition. Imaging of the abdomen by an ultrasound or radiographs helps to determine if bladder stones are present in the bladder.
There will be a large percentage of young adult cats for whom no clear underlying cause can be identified. These cats are diagnosed with FIC. For these cats, there is no single treatment that will cure the condition but a combination of treatments are used to help manage the condition.