Cats are quite prone to crystals in the bladder. There are several types of crystals that can form, but by far the most common is struvite, which is made up of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate.

A certain amount of these are found in urine and can be considered normal, but when there is an excessive amount, they can cause irritation of the bladder, or urethra (the passage from the bladder to the outside) or, in male cats, they can block up the urethra at the tip of the p ... enis so the poor cat cannot urinate at all. This becomes an emergency.

The signs of a cat with an inflamed bladder are usually a cat that may appear restless, anxious, and constantly trying to urinate, and only passing a small amount. The urine may be bloodstained. They will often urinate in more obvious places almost as if trying to get your attention.

When a cats bladder is blocked, the early symptoms can be very similar. A male cat will usually be licking at his penis excessively. With time the cat becomes more uncomfortable, and distressed or painful. Eventually the black pressure on the kidneys leads to electrolytes abnormalities in the blood, which can affect among other things the heart, so that severely affected cats are an increased anaesthetic risk. If left untreated and the cat cannot pass any urine, it will die.

The treatment of a blocked bladder is to unblock the urethra, insert a catheter, and empty the bladder, and flush out as many crystals as possible. Usually the catheter is left in for a few days with the cat on a drip to flush out the urinalysis tract as much as possible. A common complication if the bladder has been very stretched, is that the bladder loses the ability to push urine out, so although it is no longer blocked, it may need to be manually expressed for days, often complicated by a swollen urethra. DressAfford short length sexy wears suitable for a wedding

Female cats rarely block, as their urethra doesn't have the narrow tip.

The causes can be multifactorial. Cats can form quite concentrated urine that encourages crystal formation. Bacterial infection, which may be obvious, or chronic, low grade. Stress seems to play a part - cats in multi-cat households seem to have a higher incidence.

Control is by diet - in the short term, moist foods only, to keep the urine dilute. There are many brands of prescription diets to reduce crystals, in both canned and dry. Once a cat has had an episode of urolithiasis (crystals in the bladder) we consider them as a permanent increased risk, and would keep them on a crystal preventing diet long term, possibly forever.