Acta Vet. Brno 2019, 88: 433-441

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201988040433

Causes of lower urinary tract disease in Czech cat population

Barbora Hřibová1, Václav Ceplecha1, Kristína Řeháková2, Pavel Proks1,3, Vojtěch Gabriel1, Ludmila Kohoutová4, Michal Crha1

1University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Small Animal Clinic, Brno, Czech Republic
2University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Small Animal Clinical Laboratory, Brno, Czech Republic
3CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic
4University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Brno, Czech Republic

Received May 30, 2019
Accepted October 29, 2019

This study was done to investigate epidemiological data and to report causes of lower urinary tract disease in a population of cats presented at the Small Animal Clinic of the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno. Cats presented with lower urinary tract disease signs that had undergone a thorough physical examination and urinalysis (dipstick, urine specific gravity, urine sediment and dipslide urine culture) were included in the study. Urine samples were collected only by cystocentesis or sterile catheterization. Bloodwork, abdominal ultrasound, and abdominal radiographs were performed in 118 (66%), 170 (96%) and 9 (5%) patients, respectively. Cats that were treated with antibiotics or glucocorticoids during an episode of feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) or during the foregoing month and which had undergone perineal urethrostomy or catheterization in private practice, were excluded. The study population consisted of 177 cats. Forty-one (23%) cats were diagnosed with a urethral plug, 26 cats (14%) with a urinary tract infection (UTI), 9 cats (5%) with urolithiasis and 101 cats (57%) with feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC). The cats diagnosed with UTI were significantly older than the cats with FIC, urethral plugs and urolithiasis. Urinary tract infection was diagnosed significantly more often in patients older than 10 years, and in female cats. The diagnosis of urethral plug was made significantly more often in males. Feline idiopathic cystitis and urethral plugs are the most common causes of FLUTD, and the causes are significantly age and sex-related.

References

28 live references