3 Symptoms of a Urinary Tract Infection in Cats

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A urinary tract infection

is one of the top challenges facing overweight cat owners. One of the main reasons is because cat owners are not able to detect the symptoms on time. Cats have a high tolerance for pain and often won't show any sign of illness until the symptoms of the infection have significantly progressed.

Cat owners often confuse the term Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUDT) with Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). FLUTD is the term that describes the symptoms of UTI while UTI is the infection that causes FLUTD.

Here are some of the major causes of infection.

Bacterial Infection: A cat's urinary tract can become infected through the opening in which urine comes out. This infection can travel all the way to the bladder passing through the urethral tube.

Bladder Stone: Is your cat eating only dry food? Cat's that eat mostly dry food are more susceptible to getting bladder stones because of the high mineral content found in many dry foods.

There is anecdotal evidence which supports the hypothesis that geographic areas with extremely hard water, high-density mineral content, where pet cats are fed dry cat food with a high mineral content are more likely to develop bladder stones.

Obesity: Another factor that may contribute to urinary tract infection is your cat's weight. If your cat's overweight, he might find it difficult passing urine which can cause an inflammation in the lining of the bladder.

In order to keep your overweight cat's urinary tract health in good condition, you must learn to detect the symptoms of UTI in cats early.

Symptoms of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease

Urethral obstruction: Is your cat straining to urinate? Have you noticed any changes in your cat's urination pattern? Maybe he is passing more or less urine. These are often the earliest symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI).

Incessant licking of Genitalia: If your cat is constantly grooming his genitals, it could be caused by bacterial infection, swollen and painful genitals from a urinary tract infection. Keep an ear out for signs of crying when your cat is grooming his genitals. Crying while grooming could mean a painful swollen genital.

Foul-smelling urine: Though foul-smelling urine can be caused by different problems in cats, it should never be ruled out. You should be especially suspicious if you notice that your cat's urine looks cloudy and smells very bad.

Blood in the urine: One of the sure signs of urinary tract infection in cats is blood in the urine. This could also be an indication of a more serious problem.

If a urinary tract infection in cats is left untreated, it can spread into other areas of the body which could become more serious. If you notice your overweight cat may be showing signs of FLUTD and suspect UTI, waste no time, take him to your veterinarian.

Being raised with 6 cats gave me an intense education on "what can go wrong" when living with such a mix of felines!

With a pet cat that is a true "fluff ball" I was on a first name basis with our vet.

I needed to find out more about WHY and HOW my overweight feline had gotten this way. Intense research led me to the "WHY" of my problems, my concerns and solutions!

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