Evaluation of clinical signs and causes of lower urinary tract disease in Polish cats

Abstract

This paper describes the results of a retrospective study performed on 385 cats with feline lower urinary tract disease. The study was conducted to obtain epidemiological data and to evaluate clinical symptoms and the results of laboratory tests in a population of Polish cats with symptoms of lower urinary tract disease. The analysed population comprised feline patients of the veterinary clinic at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn who had not been treated prior to admission. Medical history was obtained for all patients. Urine samples were collected mostly, but not solely, by cystocentesis. Feline idiopathic cystitis was diagnosed in most cats (60.7%), while urinary tract infections were noted in only 7.8% of patients. Urethral obstruction caused by mucus plugs was observed in 17.4% of animals. Urolithiasis was observed in 13% of cats, 5% of whom were also diagnosed with urinary tract infections. Hyperplastic changes were identified in only 1% of the studied population. In 59% of cats, feline lower urinary tract disease was accompanied by urethral obstruction. Cats with feline idiopathic cystitis were the youngest animals in the analysed population, and the risk of urinary tract infections and neoplasia increased with age. Our results, obtained over a period of six years in a Polish feline population, show that sex, neutering, age, living conditions and diet influence the type of urinary tract disease, data which are consistent with those obtained in other countries.

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“…Feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) was the most common diagnosis in this study, followed by urolithiasis and UTI. Our results were similar to several studies that showed cats affected by FLUTD were most often diagnosed with FIC, urolithiasis and UTI 17,23 . The factors that contributed to the concordance of the results between the present study and the previous studies were male sex, a dry food diet 17,23 and a strictly indoor lifestyle 23 .…”

“…In this study, most cats with FLUTD presented with urethral obstruction, as has been reported in some 10,17 but not all previous studies. Other clinical signs varied by study and depended on the lifestyle of the cats, including indoor or outdoor husbandry.…”

“…This study found that most cats with FLUTD were castrated males; this factor significantly increased the risk for FLUTD. Similarly, others have reported that male cats were at higher risk of FLUTD 6,17 and FIC 14,18 than female cats. Non-spayed female cats exhibited a decreased risk of FLUTD 4 .…”

“…This finding agreed with previous studies that found that dry food was associated with an increased risk for FLUTD 2,5,9 . However, one study reported that there was no significant difference in the diet between cats with FLUTD and clinically normal cats 17 . Cats eating only dry food consume less water than cats eating canned food because most cats consume water directly through their food 22 .…”

“…In the United States and Canada, purebred cats, including Russian Blues, Himalayans, Persians, Abyssinians and Manxes, had an increased risk of FLUTD 4 . In Poland, non-pedigree cats were at risk for FLUTD 17 . The variability in the results is probably due to the popularity of particular cat breeds at different times.…”