Feline decrease urinary tract illness is a irritating situation for cats, house owners, and veterinarians. Whereas feline idiopathic cystitis is the most typical explanation for decrease urinary tract illness,¹ urolithiasis can also be frequent. Throughout a session on the 2022 American Affiliation of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) convention, Anne-Marie Germain, DVM, of Village Cat Clinic in Cambridge, Ontario mentioned the administration and prevention of feline urolithiasis.

Get the story straight: The significance of historical past and signalment

On the subject of making a differential prognosis checklist for causes of inappropriate elimination, “By no means underestimate the facility of historical past,” stated Germain. “One actually necessary factor I believe we miss is confirming presence of decrease urinary tract indicators,” she continued. Decrease urinary tract (LUT) indicators embody pollakiuria, dysuria, stranguria, overgrooming of the stomach, and vocalization when voiding urine. Whereas not all cats with uroliths can have LUT indicators, the presence or absence of those indicators will change the differential checklist. Hematuria is one other medical indicator that uroliths could also be current, although it isn’t pathognomonic.

Moreover, Germain reminds veterinarians that they’ve to talk the identical language as shoppers. When an proprietor says their cat is urinating extra, you will need to make clear whether or not they’re referring to the amount of urination or the frequency. Germain suggests evaluating the sizes of the balls of urine within the litter field to recognized objects, akin to fruits. Uroliths could also be current with each polyuria and pollakiuria, however different differentials will range between the 2 displays.

The signalment of cats also needs to assist to form the differential prognosis checklist. FIC is unusual in cats lower than 1 12 months of age and older than 10 years of age.² Struvite uroliths are extra frequent in cats lower than 7 years of age and uncommon over the age of 10.³ Calcium oxalate uroliths are extra frequent in cats over the age of seven.³ These are the 2 most typical forms of uroliths in cats, however stones composed of or containing urate, apatite, dried solidified blood (DSB), and silica are additionally potential.³ There’s a breed predisposition for urate stones in Egyptian Mau, Siamese, and Ocicats.³

Diagnosing uroliths

As soon as a suspicion of urolithiasis is fashioned primarily based on signalment, historical past, medical indicators, and bodily examination, diagnostics must be undertaken to find out if stones are in truth current. “There’s an enormous discrepancy in what we do in concept and what we truly do,” stated Germain. Ultrasound, which is usually used to help in acquiring urine samples by cystocentesis may help decide if stones are current and stands out as the solely option to diagnose non-radiopaque stones, akin to urates.

Nevertheless, radiographs are important for the prognosis of uroliths as they will help in predicting stone composition and permit for measurement of stones to trace dissolution.⁴ As a result of struvite stones are the one sort of stone that may be dissolved by therapeutic dissolution diets, predicting the chance of a struvite stone may help to organize house owners for the prospect of profitable dissolution. Calcium oxalate stones are probably the most radiodense, are usually spherical to spiculated and infrequently have a number of stones (greater than 3-5).^4,5 Moreover, the overwhelming majority of renoliths are calcium-based, so in sufferers with renoliths, calcium-containing uroliths within the bladder are extra probably.⁵ Struvite stones are additionally radiodense, however are usually ovoid and happen in smaller numbers, normally lower than 3 stones.^4,5 The Urolith Heart on the College of Minnesota has an app that may assist to foretell stone sort primarily based on radiographic look and affected person knowledge.

Urinalysis outcomes may also present necessary info to foretell stone sort however must be interpreted in gentle of assortment methodology, storage, and dealing with. The pH can present necessary info as to the kind of stone, as struvite stones are likely to kind near impartial pH.⁵ Crystals could or might not be current. Germain reminds practitioners to “By no means rule out a stone if there aren’t crystals within the urine.”

Administration of uroliths

Medical administration of uroliths ought to all the time be tried first.^4,5 Dissolution diets are efficient for struvite uroliths, and medical indicators ought to enhance rapidly after beginning the weight loss program. “They will dissolve as quick as one week,” shared Germain. Normally, struvite stones must be lowered by 50% within the first two weeks, and most will probably be gone inside 4 weeks. Germain prefers to radiograph sufferers each 2 weeks to observe dissolution however famous that this isn’t financially possible for some shoppers. In these instances, ready 4-6 weeks to radiograph is suitable if the affected person’s medical indicators are enhancing.

Whereas utilizing a dissolution weight loss program, ache medicine to handle related discomfort from stones must be utilized. Moreover, whereas most struvite stones in cats are sterile, stones do predispose to an infection, which must be handled if current. Lastly, environmental modification to scale back affected person stress also needs to be launched.

If medical dissolution fails within the face of acceptable dietary compliance, environmental administration to scale back stressors, and affirmation {that a} urinary tract an infection will not be current, stone removing must be pursued. Each the American School of Veterinary Inside Drugs and AAFP consensus statements on urolith administration suggest minimally invasive procedures as the popular choice.^4,5 These embody voiding urohydropulsion, cystoscopic basket retrieval, intracorporeal lithotripsy, and percutaneous cystolithotomy.⁴ Cystotomy must be the final intervention however is important in some sufferers, particularly in male cats, whose anatomy limits using many non-invasive choices.

Prevention of urolithiasis

One important piece of data on the subject of urolith prevention is realizing what sort of stone the affected person had. All stones which might be retrieved bodily from a affected person must be despatched to a laboratory for quantitative evaluation. “There’s no urolith too small,” stated Germain, “That sand and grit is valuable.”

As soon as the kind of stone is recognized, an acceptable therapeutic upkeep weight loss program may be chosen. There are quite a few diets in the marketplace and a few diets that handle a number of concurrent circumstances. Germain encourages veterinarians to “Attain out to the completely different corporations as a result of [diets] aren’t all the identical.” Moreover, realizing the kind of stone could immediate investigation of concurrent medical circumstances, akin to hypercalcemia or portosystemic shunts. Administration of those circumstances could contribute to prevention of future uroliths.

A main aim in urolith prevention is dilution of the urine, which will increase frequency of urination and creates a flushing motion and dilutes the focus of stone precursors. There are numerous methods to attempt to dilute urine. The first means is to attempt to improve voluntary water consumption, which may be tough in some feline sufferers. Utilizing working water fountains, including water to the meals, feeding a canned weight loss program, rising the frequency of meals, and lowering energy can all be methods to dilute urine. Moreover, rising the variety of litterboxes accessible and using ache medicine for arthritic cats may assist to extend the frequency of urination. Diluting the urine may be tough in some cats and a number of methods could must be used concurrently to maximise success.

References

1. He C, Fan Ok, Hao Z, et al. Prevalence, danger components, pathophysiology, potential biomarkers and administration of feline idiopathic cystitis: an replace overview. Frontiers 21 June 2022: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.900847.
2. Dorsch R, Remer C, Sauter-Louis, et al. Feline decrease urinary tract illness in a German cat inhabitants. Tierärztl Prax 2014; 42 (Ok): 231–239.
3. Kopecny L, Palm CA, Segev G, et al. Urolithiasis in cats: Analysis of traits in urolith composition and danger components (2005-2018). J Vet Intern Med. 2021;35:1397–1405. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/jvim.14559
4. Dunn M, Kornya M, Lulich J. 2022 AAFP consensus assertion: Approaches to urolithiasis therapy. Out there at https://catvets.com/public/PDFs/Consensuspercent20Statements/Consensuspercent20Statementpercent20Urolithiasispercent20FINAL.pdf. Accessed 15 Nov 2022.
5. Lulich JP, Berent AC, Adams LG, and so forth al. ACVIM small animal consensus suggestions on the therapy and prevention of uroliths in canine and cats. J Vet Intern Med 2016;30:1564-1574. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/jvim.14559

Boatright, a 2013 graduate of the College of Pennsylvania, is a working towards veterinarian and freelance speaker and creator in western Pennsylvania. She is obsessed with mentorship, training, and addressing frequent sources of stress for veterinary groups and up to date graduates. Outdoors of medical follow, Dr. Boatright is actively concerned in organized veterinary drugs on the native, state, and nationwide ranges.