Bloody and tarnished urine is a common factor cat guardians look for veterinary help. It’s extremely upsetting to see drops of blood in a litter box, on bedding, or on the floor. Sometimes you cannot see the blood till the urine is examined with a microscopic lense or spotted on urinalysis. Luckily, many cats experiencing blood in their urine have signs that resolve quickly with reasonably basic treatments. The two significant causes of blood in a feline’s urine are cystitis and feline lower urinary tract condition or FLUTD.
Symptoms of Hematuria in Cats
Symptoms of hematuria consist of blood in the urine, a check in itself. Red-tinged urine, with or without abnormal regular passage of urine will be evident. In patients with cancer, a mass may be palpated throughout the physical examination. Stomach pain will be evident in some clients.
Patients with a blood-clotting disorder may provide with subdermal skin hemorrhages, conditions called petechiae and ecchymoses, which appear as bruises. These discolored spots will be suggested by round, purple, non-raised spots on the skin.
What Causes Blood in Feline Urine
- Systemic causes are typically due to coagulopathy (clotting).
- Low variety of platelets or thrombocytes in the blood (a condition known as thrombocytopenia).
- Diseases of the upper urinary tract are brought on by inflammation of the blood vessels (known as vasculitis).
Upper urinary tract — the kidneys and ureters:
- Structural or anatomic disease, such as cystic kidney disease and familial kidney disease.
- Metabolic diseases, such as kidney stones.
- Neoplasia.
- Infectious diseases.
- Nephritis.
- Idiopathic causes.
- Injury.
In the lower urinary tract:
- Infectious disease.
- Inflammatory disease in the kidney.
- Unknown cause.
- Injury.
Lower Urinary Tract bladder and urethra:
- Structural or structural concerns such as bladder malformations are implicated in bringing on hematuria.
- Metabolic causes, such as stones, are possible.
- Neoplasia.
Transmittable disease (such as bacterial, fungal, and viral disease):
- Idiopathic causes.
- Injury.
- Chemotherapy can generate hematuria.
- Unidentified cause.
- Trauma.
Problems including the genitalia consist of metabolic conditions:
- Heat cycle, or estrus.
- Neoplasia.
- Cancer or tumors.
- Infectious disease such as from bacteria and fungi.
- Inflammatory disease.
- Injury.
Diagnosis
You will require to provide an extensive history of your cat’s health, including a background history of symptoms, and possible occurrences that might have precipitated this condition. The history you offer may provide your vet hints regarding which organs are causing secondary symptoms. Your veterinarian will carry out a comprehensive physical exam on your cat, with a complete blood profile, consisting of a chemical blood profile, a complete blood count, and a urinalysis. In male cats, evaluation of an ejaculate sample will assist to identify the prostatic disease.
Differential diagnoses for blood-tinged urine will consist of other causes for tarnished urine. The typical urine reagent strip tests for blood are designed to detect red blood cells, hemoglobin, or protein. Diet will also be thought about. If you are supplementing your cat’s diet with vitamins or anything various from a regular kibble diet, you will require to share this with your veterinarian, given that strong doses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) may trigger false-negative reagent test strip results.
Ultrasonography, radiography, and contrast radiography might be useful in acquiring a medical diagnosis. If any mass lesions are suggested, a biopsy may be required for a definitive diagnosis. A vaginoscopy in female felines or a cystoscopy in male cats will rule out neoplasia and lower urinary tract issues.
How to Treat Blood in the Urine in Cats
Treatment of the hematuria will be dependent on the primary or involved diseases that are the underlying cause for the condition. Urinary tract infection might be related to another illness including the urinary tract, such as cancer, or urinary tract stones (urolithiasis). Or, hematuria might be brought on by a condition that involves the body in the primary, such as with an extreme production of steroids by the adrenal glands, or diabetes. A generalized systemic condition will require treatment before the hematuria can be resolved.
Surgery might indicate for cases with urinary tract stones, neoplasia, and distressing injuries to the urinary tract. Blood transfusions may be needed if your feline has a severely low red blood cell count. Fluids will be used to deal with dehydration, and antibiotics can be utilized to treat urinary tract infection and generalized diseases due to bacteria in the blood (bacteremia). Urolithiasis and kidney failure may need diet modification top to avoid relapse.
If your cat is struggling with a thickening condition, the blood thinner Heparin might be used to bring it under control.
Because hematuria may indicate a serious underlying disease process, ongoing treatment for your feline will be dependent on the primary or associated diseases that relate to it.
Also read: Urinary Tract Infections in Cats
