Emergency Treatment For Urinary Blockage In Cats Can Save Your Cat’s Life
This is a scary thought. If your male cat has had FLUTD, or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease, he’s at risk for developing a cat urinary blockage.Don’t delay emergency veterinary treatment for this life-threatening complication, as your cat can die within 36 hours.
What Are the Signs Of Urinary Blockage In Cats?
It can be hard for cat owners to tell if a cat urinary blockage is present. The symptoms are pretty much the same as for a feline urinary tract infection: straining, not able to pass much or any urine, crying in the litter box, urinating in places other than the litter box.
Your vet will diagnose this by feeling your cat’s belly for a distended bladder.When your cat’s bladder is empty, it’s normally small and soft. A cat with a urinary blockage will have a hard bladder about the size of a peach. As you can imagine, this is very painful for your cat.
It’s also dangerous. When a cat can’t empty his bladder, his kidneys stop filtering waste products out of the blood and making urine because it can’t go anywhere. When this happens, toxins start building up in your cat’s body, which will kill him within a few days.
What Causes A Cat Urinary Blockage?
Bladder stones are the culprit. These stones form from minerals present in your cat’s urine. When the mineral level gets too high, the minerals crystallize into stones which can range in size from sand-like to a small pebble. Your cat may have only one stone, or he could have dozens.
A male cat has a very long, narrow urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder outside the body). If he has even a few tiny cat bladder stones, it’s very easy for him to develop a urinary blockage.
How Is A Urinary Blockage In Cats Treated?
Your vet may be able to get the blockage out by putting pressure on your cat’s bladder.This sometimes works, but usually your cat needs to have a catheter inserted.
Urinary toxins building up in your cat’s system can cause loss of appetite, vomiting, and irregularities in his heart rhythm. Your cat will probably be dehydrated too.If he needs fluids, they’ll be given either by IV, or under his skin.
Your cat may need to stay at the animal hospital for several days, until the catheter can be removed.
Home Treatment
When you bring your cat home, you’ll need to feed him a special diet.The formation of mineral crystals can be avoided by feeding a diet lower in magnesium.In order to prevent another blockage, it’ll be necessary for him to continue to eat this diet for the rest of his life.
It’s also important to make sure he has plenty of fresh clean water available. The more water he drinks, the more dilute his urine will be. This helps to prevent cat bladder stone formation.
Homeopathic and herbal remedies are now available for cat urinary problems. Probably the best way to prevent this problem in the first place, or to keep it from happening again, is to put your cat on one of these remedies.
Take action now to prevent a urinary blockage in cats from happening to your feline friend.
