Urinary Tract Infections

dinkybear

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I wanted to find out if anyone knows much about urinary tract infections in a cat? I just had to take my 3yr. old cat to the emergency vet because he was acting very strange. He is normally a very playful...almost too playful cat, but today he would not respond to my calling him. My fiance noticed that he was squatting wierd like he was trying to urinate. We took him to the emergency vet and they said he had crystals in his urine and would have to keep him overnight. They also said we caught it fairly early. Has anyone else had a cat experience this...what should I expect? What can I do to stop this from happening again?
 

sandie

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Its very common among cats. You will see that in other posts that it comes up all the time. It is more common among males. What will probably happen is that they will discharge him tomorrow and send him home with antibiotics. I am sure they will recomend a special food for him. Cats who are prone to these things usually stay on a special diet the rest of their lives.
 

Anne

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Yeah, you're lucky to have caught this in time. It's not always an infection, by the way. Crystals are formed and the urinary tract gradually becomes blocked. If it becomes totally blocked - this is a life threatening emergency (a blocked cat that is not treated can die within 24 hours).

The reason that males are more at risk is that they have a very narrow and relatively long tract from the bladder to the opening in their penis. The female anatomy is simply different in that respect. Females do tend to have urinary tract infections, but they're less likely to become blocked.
 
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