Urinary Crystals In Cats And What Every Cat Owner Needs To Know
Important details about feline urinary crystals every cat owner should be aware of. Discover how urinary crystals in cats are related to feline urinary tract infection.
If you're like me, you probably haven't thought too much about urinary crystals in cats. But if you have a cat who's prone to cat urinary problems, you need to know more about cat bladder crystals.
Why Are Feline Urinary Crystals Important?
Even though these crystals are hard to see without a microscope, they have sharp edges which rub against the bladder walls, causing your cat's bladder to become inflamed and irritated. This inflammation causes your kitty to show signs of a feline bladder infection.
Because a male cat has a long narrow urethra, it can easily become plugged if large numbers of feline urinary crystals are present. This is a veterinary emergency, as a cat that can't pass urine will fall victim to a fatal case of uremic poisoning within a couple of days. Since it's hard for an owner to tell if the cat is blocked or not, it's important to have your cat examined by the vet if he has a feline urinary tract infection.
There are two main types of urinary crystals, struvite and calcium oxalate.
Struvite Crystals In Cats
Struvite crystals, which contain magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate, used to be very common in cats. This problem was thought to be a result of a diet with high levels of magnesium. Cat food manufacturers responded by producing diets lower in magnesium. Cats eating this food also produce more acidic urine. This helps to prevent the formation of struvite crystals, which are still the most common type of crystal that causes feline urinary blockage.
Although this dietary change helped to lower the incidence of struvite crystals in cats, now vets are seeing calcium oxalate crystals more often. Â
Why Do Some Cats Get Calcium Oxalate Crystals Instead?
Certain breeds of cats seem to have a genetic predisposition to developing calcium oxalate crystals if they're fed a diet low in magnesium. This problem is often seen in Himalayans. It's ironic that if you feed these cats a diet to prevent struvite stones, you'll encourage the formation of calcium oxalate crystals instead. Â
This is why it's so important to have a urinalysis done to find out what kind of crystals are present. You don't want to feed your cat a diet that will encourage his body to form feline urinary crystals.
Can Urinary Crystals In Cats Be Prevented?
Cat owners can do several things to prevent their felines from developing cat urinary problems. The first is to feed your cat a high-quality canned food. People don't realize that cats are meant to get most of their water from their food, which is why cats don't seem to drink much water. Â
Canned food has a moisture level that's much closer to what your cat would eat in the wild. You can also add a little water to the canned food to increase the moisture even more.  Be sure your cat always has plenty of fresh, clean water available, too.
You may want to give your cat one of the many natural remedies for pets that are available now. These remedies support bladder health, along with lowering the risk of him developing a feline bladder infection. You'll want to be sure to buy one that's especially formulated for pets, and that's safe enough to give your cat every day.
Make no mistake about it, if your cat has already had a feline urinary tract infection, you can't afford to be ignorant about urinary crystals in cats. Take steps now to protect your cat's health.
Can stress trigger an urinary tract infection in cats?
I asked my vet this when my female cat got a UTI as we were moving and the vet’s reply was that just like us humans when they stress their immune systems are more fragile thus making it easier for bacteria to attack a weak spot. In some cats their weakest spot is the urinary tract or the bladder and an infection pops up there.
If you think about it, when we are stressing out over exams, personal life or a significant other, we may get a cold or sinus infection as a result…
Hope that helps a little…
Urinary Tract Infection involving Cats?
I noticed that my 5 year old female cat was going to the litter box every 15-30 minutes to urinate. She only went a little bit each time. She did not have any other signs/symptoms. I took my cat to a local vet. They did lab work on her and diagnosed her problem as a urinary tract infection. She was given a shot and a script of Dexamethasone. She was fine for a few days and then started having the same problem. I did not stop the medication, however, I didn’t think the medication was working. I called the vet back and they wanted me to bring her back in. I told them we knew what the problem was and I simply requested a different script. They told me that this would be the LAST time they’d give me a script without bringing the animal back in (I had never taken any of my animals to this vet before for ANY problems) and if this didn’t work, I’d have to bring her back in. I got a script for Clavamox. After $200 in vet bills and 3 days of treatment of Clavamox, my cat is STILL having the same problem. Should I give the medication a little longer (the box said we should see results in 3 days) or should I take her to a different vet ?
What causes a urinary tract infection in cats?
Some are just prone to them, some might be caused by the food they eat, some might be caused by not having access to fresh water, some are caused by overweight cats not grooming themselves well, and others will just happen. Males have a strong preponderance for forming kidney stones that can cause urinary tract obstruction.
what are the signs of a urinary tract infection in cats?
frequent trips to the litter box attempting to pee but not much if any comes out and drinking excessively …could be fatal dont wait take kitty to vet asap
cats and urinary tract infection?
I recently put up a post about my cat not peeing in his litter box and it has been going on for a while about a month or so and people on here said it sounds like he has a urinary tract infection. What are symptons of a feline urinary tract infection
One of the biggest symptoms is exactly what you’re seeing – the cat used to use the box, but has now stopped. It can be a UTI, or crystals in the urine. Either way it’s painful for the cat to pee, and he avoids the box. That may be the only symptom, or there could be signs of straining, some blood in the urine, urinating frequently in small amounts, or even a cat that’s listless and acts sick.
At the vet, they will get a urine sample and test it for bacteria. They’ll prescribe a suitable antibiotic, and that should clear it up. They may also test for crystals at the same time. Crystals are treated with a more appropriate diet – canned is generally a big help.