About Flutd

Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) is not one disease, but a set of diseases affecting the lower urinary tract of the cat. It afflicts a small percentage of the cat population. The reported rate of new cases each year is less than one percent of the cat population. Approximately ten percent of the cats that come to veterinary clinics have some type of lower urinary tract disease.

For many years, this set of diseases was lumped together under the name Feline Urologic Syndrome (FUS). Too often this term became associated with a specific disease. However, the affected cat could be suffering from one of a collection of urinary tract diseases that have common symptoms, but unfortunately a diagnosis with an etiology (or specific cause) is not often made.

FLUTD is often subdivided into categories based on specific observations. These categories include

• Those cats with uroliths (urinary tract stones)
• Those with urethral obstruction
• Those with urinary tract infection
• Those with cystitis (bladder inflammation) but without stones, infection or urethral obstruction

In other words, lower urinary tract disease is not a "what is" but a "what are." It is a group of diseases and because it is more than one disease, there is more than one cause. The complex nature of urinary tract diseases requires a complete veterinary diagnosis and treatment.

Why is it that some cats develop FLUTD problems?

FLUTD can occur in both male and female cats, and more commonly happens in cats between two and six years of age. However, cats of any age may be affected. FLUTD tends to be associated with a number of factors, including stress of any kind affecting the cat, obesity, cats housed indoors, urolithiasis (or stone formation), bacterial infections, seasonal weather, genetics or a difference among breeds, anatomic abnormalities, and stone formation in the lower urinary tract. Because male cats have a narrow urethra, they tend to be more prone to complete obstruction by the stones they form than are females, and without prompt veterinary treatment these obstructions can be serious.

How is FLUTD diagnosed?

For accurate diagnosis and treatment of serious feline health problems, you should see your veterinarian first.

Typical symptoms of FLUTD may include:

• Frequent trips to the litterbox
• Failure to use the litter box and urinating in unusual places
• Straining to urinate with little urine expressed
• Blood in the urine
• Depression, dehydration, lack of appetite and sometimes vomiting
• Crying when urinating or licking its genital area excessively

FLUTD can be a serious condition, and following diagnostic tests, veterinarians should recommend a course of treatment.

What can you do?

Steps to take in order to help maintain urinary tract health are:

• Provide drinking water at all times.
• Keep the litter box clean and easily accessible to the cat and locate the box where the cat will have some privacy.
• Encourage your cat to exercise, especially for indoor cats.
• Feed free choice.
• Maintain the cat at its proper weight.
• Minimize stress factors such as sudden changes in environment, exposure to harsh weather conditions and emotional upsets.
• Schedule regular veterinary checkups.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you determine if your cat will develop UTH problems?
There is no exact way of determining if your cat will develop these problems. However, less than one percent of the cat population is diagnosed with FLUTD annually. Make sure you take your cat in for an annual veterinarian visit. If your cat is exhibiting unusual behavior, schedule a veterinarian visit right away.

Can cats get UTH problems from other cats?
No, UTH problems are not infectious and cannot be transmitted to other cats.

Can ash or magnesium in the diet cause problems with urinary tract health?
No, magnesium and ash do not cause lower urinary tract disease. At one time it was thought that too much magnesium in the diet increased the chance of struvite crystal formation and the risk of lower urinary tract disease. Ash is the measure of the total mineral content of a particular cat food. Ash is a necessary part of any nutritionally complete and balanced cat food because it contains magnesium, among other minerals which is an essential nutrient.

Is gender an issue for FLUTD? If so, why?
Both males and females may be affected by FLUTD. However, due to the male having a narrow urethra (the canal that carries the urine from the bladder), it tends to be prone to obstruction of urine in the bladder. Urinary stones may then become lodged and cause a blockage in the urethra resulting in the need for prompt medical attention.

A Cat's Tongue – Rough, Tough And Versatile

A feeling of rough sandpaper as you are licked by your cat is a reminder that its long, muscular tongue serves many functions, including grooming.

A Grooming Tool and More
A cat’s ability to groom itself is the result of numerous knobs called papillae on the surface of a cat’s tongue. Located at the tongue’s center, the papillae form backward-facing hooks containing large amounts of keratin, the same material found in human fingernails. These hooks provide the abrasiveness a cat needs for self-grooming.

The strength of these hooks also helps a cat hold food or struggle with prey.

Your Help is Needed
Although the abrasiveness of a cat’s tongue helps it to clean itself and untangle its hair, your help is needed through regular grooming. As you groom your cat, you are removing loose and dead hair. Otherwise a cat may ingest this hair and hair balls can form, which can cause vomiting and may cause impaction in the gastrointestinal tract. Longhaired cats need daily grooming; shorthaired cats should be groomed at least once a week.

A Matter of Taste
Studies show that the cat’s sense of taste is keener than that of the dog. This acute sense of taste is the result of two sets of taste buds.

Mushroom-shaped papillae at the tip and sides of the tongue hold some of the largest taste buds. A set of cup-shaped papillae are located at the back of the tongue.

Palatability studies at the Purina Pet Care Center and other studies show that in addition to flavor, a cat’s tongue reacts to the texture or mouthfeel of a particular food. This is one of the reasons dry cat foods come in a variety of shapes.

The cat’s tongue also reacts to temperature and shows a preference for foods at room temperature.

When Cats Lap it Up
A cat’s tongue becomes spoon-shaped to enable it to lap liquids. Notice how its tongue laps under water in much the same manner as an elephant uses its trunk. It flicks its tongue quickly in and out of the water, swallowing after every third or fourth lap.

A cat’s water intake will vary depending on the season of the year, activity and type of diet being fed. Cats consuming canned cat food diets will not drink as much water as those fed dry food. If, for some reason, a cat does not appear to be drinking enough water, more water can be added to the food.

Always keep fresh drinking water in a clean bowl available to your cat. Water is an essential ingredient and is involved in virtually every function of a cat’s body.

Contributing To A Cat’s Sense of Taste
Cats also have a highly developed sense of smell and they notice changes in their food. Some researchers suggest that this sense may stimulate their appetite or cause them to refuse to eat.

A cat’s appetite may be affected by many factors including noise, strange people, changes in routine and even feeding dishes washed with a strong detergent and not carefully rinsed.

However, if a cat refuses to eat for a period of two to three days, a trip to the veterinarian is in order. This continued food refusal may be a sign of illness.

A Cat's Teeth

During its lifetime, a cat has two sets of teeth, a deciduous set and a permanent set. Kittens have 26 deciduous teeth (molars are absent); adult cats have a total of 30 teeth.

Deciduous or “milk teeth” begin to appear when the kitten is about four weeks of age. At six weeks of age, all 26 deciduous teeth are present. From 11 to 30 weeks of age, kittens lose their deciduous teeth. During this time they may eat less because of sore gums.

When the deciduous teeth fall out, they are replaced by 30 permanent teeth. The permanent teeth should be in place by about six months of age.

A cat’s teeth are well-suited to rip and cut. Twelve tiny teeth in the front of the mouth (incisors): six in the upper jaw, six in the lower jaw do some scraping. They are flanked by two upper and lower canines, sometimes described as “fangs," designed to hold prey and to tear flesh. Ten sharp premolars and four molars act together to cut food.

A cat occasionally retains a deciduous tooth after the permanent tooth appears. This deciduous tooth should be removed as soon as possible to avoid displacing the permanent tooth.

Extra teeth are occasionally found in cats. They should be removed by a veterinarian if they cause crowding or injury to soft tissue or other teeth.