Cats can suffer a wide variety of diseases that resemble those we suffer and one of the most common and at the same time one of the most painful and annoying is feline cystitis.

This disease is potentially dangerous, so it is mandatory that every person who has a cat as a pet, knows it and, above all, knows the symptoms to be able to go to the veterinarian as soon as possible and avoid major problems.

What is cystitis?
Feline cystitis is a relatively common disease that causes the urinary bladder to swell. This inflammation causes the animal to have problems when it urinates, causing a lot of pain. A priori does not seem a very serious disease, however if it is complicated it can produce a series of complications that would be very serious.

It is important to know that this disease can affect any cat, regardless of age, breed and sex, even if there is a certain predisposition by castrated males.

What is cystitis cats

What can cause cystitis?

As for the causes for which the cat can develop cystitis, these can be very varied.

Stress: It is very common that cats suffering from stress can trigger cystitis.
Bladder cancer: This type of cancer can cause urinary problems that lead to cystitis.
Obesity: Obesity in a cat can cause it to develop this type of disease.
Bacterial, viral or parasitic infection: The most common cause of cystitis is bacterial infection.
Appearance of Crystals: It would be the precipitation of mineral crystals in the urine, forming a sediment that in some cases can obstruct the urethra if it is in sufficient quantity.

Symptoms of cystitis
cystitis symptoms cats

Regarding the symptoms of feline cystitis, we can determine the following:

Action to constantly lick the genital area
Try to urinate many times but expelling small amounts each time (polaquiuria)
Pissing out of the sandbox
Painful urination This can be detected because the cat usually meow.
Urinate with effort
Appearance of blood in the urine
It is important to keep in mind that if your cat does not get to urinate anything, it may be that we are faced with an obstruction of the urethra, so we must go immediately to the veterinarian to treat it.

Treatment and prevention of cystitis
As we have repeated in countless articles, if we see that our pet has any of the symptoms described, it is essential to go to the veterinarian to examine it and treat it.

In the case of cystitis, the first thing the veterinarian will do is perform a blood and urine test to determine the origin of cystitis. If it is of bacterial or viral origin, antibiotics will be administered for a certain time.

treatment prevention cystitis cats

If crystals also appear, food measurements will be taken.

It is important that we follow the veterinarian’s instructions and that if this determines a series of treatment days, we will comply with them at a low table even if it seems that the animal is already well, since it is likely that if we cut the treatment and it is not cured Well the disease can reproduce.

In this period it is also essential to administer a good diet and always keep it well hydrated.

As for the prevention of cystitis, we have to say that it is impossible to prevent it altogether, but if specific actions are taken we can minimize the risk of suffering it.

To do this, we must always keep the cat clean and, above all, the places it usually frequents, since hygiene is essential. It is also essential that the animal is aware of the vaccines and that it is properly hydrated, that is, we have to make sure that it drinks water.

If you have a female, it is shown that if she is castrated, the risk of cystitis is significantly reduced, while if it is male the opposite occurs.