For whatever reason hematuria occurs - the so-called excretion of erythrocytes along with urine - in a pet, this indicates pathological processes developing in the animal's body.
It is impossible to prescribe treatment without finding out the reasons if blood is found in the urine of a cat.
This symptom may indicate the occurrence of diseases of the genitourinary system, and about malignant neoplasms, and about the consequences after injuries.
It is especially dangerous when blood appears in the urine of a cat after sterilization or castration. In this case, you should consult a doctor immediately, and not wait until "everything goes away." This sign indicates the development of complications, and the sooner treatment is started, the more chances are to save the pet's life.
Causes of blood in the urine of a cat
Hematuria in animals can appear for the following reasons:
In small kittens, the appearance of blood in the urine often indicates an abnormality in the structure of the organs of the genitourinary system.
It is not so easy to detect blood or mucus in the urine of a cat if it goes into the tray - the filler absorbs natural secretions well. It is difficult to identify the disease at the very beginning if the animal leads a free life and walks on the street. It is very important that owners pay attention to changes in pet behavior.
If the cat becomes lethargic, aggressive or overly agitated, refuses to eat, tries to hide in a dark place, you should examine it for damage and check the litter box. In some cases, drops of blood can be seen on the coat immediately after urination, in other cases blood clots are found in the urine of a cat, or urine with mucus and the animal, experiencing frequent urges, is attached in the wrong place.
However, a good owner knows the peculiarities of his pet's behavior, and detects the disease at an early stage.
Conditions in which blood appears in the urine
One should not be alarmed in only one case with hematuria: if the reasons for its appearance are catheterization of an animal in a veterinary clinic. It is impossible to take urine for analysis when the animal is not accustomed to the litter box.
The cat's urethra is tender, and if there are diseases, for example, cystitis or pyelonephritis, then the delicate mucous membrane can be injured during the procedure. In this case, the release of blood will be of a short-term nature, and should end in a few hours.
To prevent injury to the urethra, an experienced veterinarian always uses antispasmodic drugs to relax the animal as much as possible and to numb the procedure.
In a healthy cat, blood in the urine may appear only in the first day after giving birth. Bloody discharge enters the urine from the uterus.
If bleeding does not stop on the second day after delivery, the animal must be taken to the veterinarian - this is how phlegmonous vaginitis manifests itself at the initial stage.
There should be no hematuria during estrus. This is evidence of a disease.
But if a cat has urine with blood after estrus, then this is not necessarily a sign of inflammation of the reproductive system. Some overlaps are possible.
Hematuria in cats almost always appears with intoxication of the body, caused by both poisoning with various poisons and the use of drugs and detergents.
- One may wonder: where can a pet get poisoned? On a walk, the cat may eat the bait that has been prepared for rats or mice;
- The owners can believe the inscriptions on the tube with "Dichlorvos" or other poison acquired for the destruction of insects: cockroaches, flies, bedbugs, mosquitoes, - "Absolutely safe for children and animals, hypoallergenic"... They will hide the tube from the children anyway, but finding the cat when processing the room may be neglected. If it enters the bloodstream directly, the poison can cause a similar reaction in the body;
- If, when using drugs for the treatment of another disease, the owners notice a change in the color of urine, it is better to refuse the medication - this is a sign of a side effect.
After a fall or bruise, blood clots in the urine indicate serious kidney injury.
Pyelonephritis, cystitis and other diseases of the genitourinary system in cats appear quite often. The symptom of these inflammatory processes is hematuria. Urolithiasis often occurs in older cats after sterilization. The resulting calculi significantly impair the quality of life of the animal - to maintain health, and sometimes life, in these cases, only surgical treatment will help.
The fact that the old cat has blood instead of urine indicates its extinction. It is hardly possible to help the animal. In this case, the owner can only alleviate the suffering of the old cat.
treatment for blood in urine in a cat
The owner will help the animal by collecting tests at home so that the catheter does not have to be inserted.
To do this, shake out the filler from the tray, wash it, and reinstall the grate. The analysis is collected in a clean jar.
Before visiting the veterinarian, it is advisable to drink the animal with herbal decoctions - tea made from parsley or bearberry - or give a Furadonin pill. This will disinfect the urinary tract.
In the clinic, the owner will be asked to tell about the behavior of the animal, about how much his habits have changed due to the disease.
Laboratory diagnostics will help to finally identify the cause of the disease.
If hematuria has arisen due to cystitis, then the color of urine is uneven - the first and last portion are the most colored. With kidney disease, urine is the color of meat slops.
In order for the animal to recover faster, it should be placed in comfortable conditions, make sure that there are no drafts. Access to water must be free.
Having found blood in the litter box of a domestic cat, you should not ignore it. Moreover, it is necessary to take urgent measures to establish the cause of the appearance of blood in the pet's urine, as it indicates serious health problems of the animal.
The urine of a healthy cat is light or light yellow in color, transparent and free of impurities. Blood in the urine of a cat, or hematuria, can be a sign of many diseases, not just those associated with the genitourinary system. The color of urine with hematuria can be red or brown, sometimes it takes on the color of meat slops with blood clots. The coloration of urine depends on the amount of red blood cells that have entered it.
The most common causes of hematuria in cats are:
- bacterial inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system:, urethritis, pyelonephritis;
- kidney infarction;
- renal colic;
- neoplasms of the kidneys (lymphosarcoma);
- kidney injury due to impact, falling or falling under transport;
- salt deposits or polyps in the bladder;
- prostatitis in cats;
- long-term antibiotic treatment;
- poisoning with toxins (rat poison or poisoned mice);
- intrauterine anomalies in the development of the organs of the genitourinary system (most often the kidneys);
- cardiovascular disease;
- postoperative complications, most often they occur after operations to sterilize animals;
- reaction to the introduction of certain medications.
Symptoms of hematuria
The onset of the disease, leading to a condition where the cat pees with blood, is asymptomatic, and it can only be detected by a change in the color of the litter of the cat litter box. With the progression of the pathological condition, the cat becomes restless when trying to urinate. He cannot urinate: he tries to do it several times, but still unsuccessfully.
The animal becomes restless, while urinating, it may growl in pain. Always a clean cat can urinate not in the litter box, but in other places. Possible manifestations of gastrointestinal disorders - vomiting and diarrhea.
The animal ceases to show interest in food, becomes depressed, unhappy. He has dry, which indicates increased. These symptoms may be associated with problems of the genitourinary system, but an accurate diagnosis can only be made by a veterinarian after the results of a study of a sick animal.
Diagnostic tests
Determining the exact cause of the presence of blood in the urine is of great importance in the choice of therapy and in the further recovery of the animal.
If the cat pees with blood, urine should be examined for red blood cells to confirm hematuria. To collect urine, you must thoroughly rinse and disinfect your cat litter box or purchase a urine collection tray. If in this way it is not possible to obtain urine for analysis, then the animal has to place a catheter in a veterinary clinic under general anesthesia.
A urine culture is also done for antibiotic susceptibility to see which antibiotic will be effective in treating a viral or bacterial infection.
If the cat has a sharp blockage of the urethra, and urine cannot be collected using catheterization, the doctor makes a puncture in the bladder through the abdominal wall and draws urine.
These animals are either transparent or have a yellowish tint. The more unpleasant it is to see "tomato juice" in your pet's tray or find out that when urine analysis revealed occult blood. This is hematuria in cats. There are not so many reasons for this phenomenon, and therefore an experienced veterinarian in most cases is able to quickly identify them.
What is cystitis? This is an inflammation of the bladder. It should be noted that in cats specifically, "cystitis" is often understood as inflammation of the upper urinary tract (which is associated with some of their anatomical features). In addition, inflammation of the lower sections with the same success falls under this definition, so that in many cases the entire genitourinary system has to be treated.
In about 10% of cases, this is observed in absolutely healthy young cats.(but they have blood in their urine only sporadically, not constantly). Other reasons may include:
- Severe trauma... Typical for cats, or caught under the wheels of a cyclist.
- Blood clotting disorder, which causes the blood vessels to "poison" the blood into the urine.
- Presence of stones in or(This occurs in about 10% of cats over the age of eight).
- Bacterial infections. Note that it is very rare for cats to have primary
If a cat has urine with blood or with its clots - this is not just an alarming symptom, it is an SOS signal, because it is a sign of bleeding or necrosis of tissues of internal organs (usually the kidneys or bladder). Sometimes the process is running so much that nothing can be done.
Hematuria in a cat
Clots or blotches are visible to the naked eye, as are the symptoms accompanying the disease, which appear much earlier than changes in the composition of urine.
The pathology can be noticed earlier. In cats, urine is normally clear, light and free of impurities, urine with blood has a darker color (brown or reddish), which allows one to suspect hematuria and make a simple clinical analysis.
In rare cases, reddish urine may be normal if the animal eats red vegetables (beets or carrots). An unusual treat for cats, but it also happens. Nevertheless, at the slightest suspicion, you should be tested - and everything will fall into place.
Causes of hematuria
Most often, this symptom is typical for the pathology of the genitourinary organs of any pathogenesis and etiology: infections, systemic diseases, tumors, helminthic invasions, trauma, chemical and food poisoning, accompanied by kidney dysfunction. Hematuria is the main symptom of both primary and secondary damage to these organs. Also, hematuria can be a sign of the collapse of malignant tumors of any localization.
Associated symptoms
Hematuria does not appear suddenly - it is a long and gradual process. As a rule, other symptoms first appear, characteristic of the pathology that caused the change in the composition of urine.
Most often, long before the manifestation of this dangerous symptom, you can notice that:
- the cat has become restless or lethargic;
- lost appetite or increased thirst;
- pronounced local pain in the pelvic and abdominal region;
- the process of urination is painful;
- development of urinary incontinence is possible.
Each of these symptoms in itself is a reason for visiting the clinic for examination. This is the only way to diagnose a serious illness before dangerous symptoms appear.
Collecting material for analysis
If the cat has blood in the urine or it just seems that the color has changed, an analysis should be done. The material for this is easy to assemble on your own at home. You will need to remove the filler from the tray, wash the tray itself thoroughly and cover with a wire rack. Then collect the urine in a clean, sterile container and take it to the doctor.
Sometimes the process of urination is too painful, or the cat is very shy - and it is impossible to collect material. In this case, catheterization is needed, but it will be done by a doctor in a clinic or when called at home.
First aid
Self-medication and traditional medicine in this case are not only useless, but also dangerous. You should also not expect that the doctor will be able to consult by phone or skype. Contact medical examination and visual examination are required. Therefore, first aid is a trip to the clinic, and as quickly as possible.
If the cat has blood in the urine, but for some reason it is not possible to deliver the sick animal to the doctor immediately, you can do something yourself:
- you can relieve painful spasms for a while with the help of drotaverine or baralgin intramuscularly;
- furadonin can be used as an antiseptic;
- before being examined by a doctor, decoctions of parsley and juniper root, which have an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effect, will not be damaged;
- to provide the sick cat with peace and warmth. It is especially important to protect the animal from drafts;
- provide a gentle diet: pureed and easily digestible food. Sometimes you can even keep the cat hungry for a day or two if he has no appetite. But the water must be fresh and in sufficient quantity.
Normally, the color of urine in a cat is yellow and has a very specific odor. Even a slight change in color indicates a disease of the excretory system. If the urine becomes too dark, then this indicates that the amount of dyes in the body is greatly increased. This is caused by dehydration, nausea and vomiting. The dark brown color indicates that the destruction of erythrocytes in the body has begun in hemolytic anemia and urolithiasis.
A healthy pet has clear urine, and when blood appears in it, we can confidently say that a pathological process begins in the body. Therefore, the owner of the cat must be sure to inspect the tray more carefully in order to notice the deviation in time and contact a specialist.
The main causes of the appearance of blood in the urine
There are several reasons why the cat pees with blood. And it's not always a matter of pathology. It often happens that hematuria occurs with poisoning, tumors in the body, or general diseases such as the common cold. The most common reasons are:
- 1. Injuries. Very often, blood in the urine appears after falling from a height, hitting a car or hitting with a blunt object in the abdomen. A pet can fall out of the window in the spring, so you should carefully monitor it. And you can get injured or hit while walking. Therefore, if a cat has blood in the urine after a blow, it must be urgently taken to the veterinarian, because the probability of kidney damage is very high.
- 2. Urolithiasis or urolithiasis. It is often believed that the disease occurs in the process of feeding a cat with poor-quality dry food. But in reality, veterinarians call this statement a myth. Urolithiasis and blood in the urine can cause excess weight, poor diet and genetics.
- 3. Infections. They can be triggered by the action of microorganisms such as E. coli, staphylococcus and streptococcus. Blood in the urine begins to appear due to the fact that microorganisms destroy the mucous membrane of the bladder.
- 4. Tumors. Cancer processes occur most often in cats after 11 years of age. This condition is the hardest to treat.
- 5. Cystitis.
Hematuria is a very disturbing symptom of many pet diseases. Therefore, the sooner the owner discovers it, the sooner treatment will begin. As a result, the animal can be saved.
Diagnosing the disease
If symptoms of hematuria are found, you should immediately consult a doctor, because self-medication at home can only complicate the course of the disease and lead to the death of the pet. But before going to the clinic, the cat should be placed in a warm place, away from drafts. It is imperative to remove dry food from the pet's diet, give it as much water as possible and disturb the animal less often.
At the clinic, a specialist will conduct a complete examination of the cat or cat. The urine brought for analysis will be carefully examined to determine the presence of blood in its composition.
In addition to a general urine test, the doctor prescribes blood tests to determine the inflammatory process in the body and how much the animal's kidneys are affected. If there is a suspicion of an infection, then a bacteriological study will be carried out to identify pathogenic microflora and determine its sensitivity to antibiotics.
If you suspect that hematuria has arisen against the background of a genital infection, the doctor will take a smear from the cat. To diagnose urolithiasis, you will need to perform an ultrasound examination of the kidneys and bladder. The same study will help determine the presence of a tumor in the genitourinary system. If kidney stones are found, they will be examined to select the correct diet and drugs.
To determine hematuria, the doctor often prescribes cystoscopy - an examination of the urethra and bladder by endoscopy. And if you suspect poisoning, a blood clotting test is taken.
First aid for a pet
But it often happens that having found red urine in a castrate cat, the owner is not able to take him to the clinic immediately. Then you need to provide first aid to the cat. But first, it is worth contacting a doctor so that he prescribes the necessary drugs and pain relievers by phone. And after the medication has been given to the cat, you can try to alleviate his condition:
- provide the pet with access to clean water;
- feed the animal only liquid food;
- give your pet a decoction of parsley or bearberry, which have disinfectant properties;
- a decoction of field horsetail will help to cope with inflammation of the urinary tract.
It is not worth giving antibiotics to a cat without a doctor's prescription. This will only lead to complications.
