Blood in the urine.
Struvite crystals in cats symptoms.
If your cat has been displaying symptoms of urinary tract disease and has been diagnosed with crystals you are likely very keen to know what treatment options are available.
Signs of struvite stones in cats.
Struvite crystals develop in concentrated urine once the urine becomes supersaturated crystals aggregate to form stones.
Blood in the urine.
Though the main symptom of crystalluria is the appearance of fine crystals in freshly expelled urine other symptoms from accompanying conditions may also occur.
You may be alerted to this problem when you see your cat straining to urinate urinating outside the litter box urinating frequently has an increased thirst and or has cloudy or bloody urine.
Less common stones include ammonium biurate cystine and uric acid.
However it is important to know which crystals a cat has so that we can tailor our treatment as the crystals form for different reasons and respond to different therapies.
When cats have struvite plugs in their urethra the tube that extends from the bladder to the outside of the body to discharge urine they are typically comprised of larger stones and are often mixed with crystals.
The latter can only be seen if they urinate on a solid surface or a pale coloured fabric.
Once the stone is formed it increases in size over weeks or months.
Common signs that may indicate bladder stones are.
However the symptoms of struvite stones in cats may vary according to the location of the stones.
A cat affected with struvite crystals calcium oxalate crystals or any other type of crystal will suffer from the same array of symptoms and are affected in the same way.
Struvite stones are crystal like formations that are small in size and primarily made up of magnesium ammonium and phosphate.
Symptoms of struvite stones in cats urinary blockages are most common in neutered male cats and life threatening when not treated quickly.
Well the treatment will depend on which type of crystal is involved as the options are really quite different for each crystal type.
Around half of all urinary stones in cats are struvite crystals.
Blood in the urine hematuria.
The three standard crystals in cats are struvite oxalate and urate.
The typical symptoms of cats with urinary crystals include.
Because crystals in the urine that are passed in the litter box may be missed by pet owners other symptoms may help pet owners discover something is wrong with their cat.
Signs of a urinary blockage include producing no or very little urine pain lethargy and poor appetite.
