Cat Urinary Stones And Crystals struvite, calcium oxalate, urate, cystine, and calcium phosphate - Cat Urinary Problems 3

Our friends are traveling with a cat that has a recently had a bout of bloody urine (hematuria). We’re discussing bladder stones and crystals, which are one cause of hematuria.

There are 5 types of bladder stones: struvite, calcium oxalate, urate, cystine, and calcium phosphate. Two of these stones, struvite and calcium oxalate, cause 90% of all cat bladder stones (uroliths). In the past, struvite stones were the most common urolith, but today more cats have calcium oxalate stones. While any cat can have stones, Persian and Himalayan cats are especially prone to develop calcium oxalates.

Knowing which type of stone a cat has is important because treatment differs. For example, some stones can be completely dissolved with diet and other stones do not dissolve and must be removed with surgery. Struvites are stones that can be dissolved with diet. Struvites, which are common in young, male cats, are dissolved by decreasing magnesium in the diet and by acidifying the urine. Uroeze is prescribed to increase urinary acidity. Changing the diet to increase meat and decrease carbohydrates, such as flour and sugar, also helps increase urinary acidity.

Calcium oxalate stones don’t dissolve regardless of what we feed cats, and cats with these stones generally require surgery. After surgery, the formation of new calcium oxalate stones is prevented by increasing water in the diet and limiting calcium. To increase water intake, feed canned foods and supplement with moist food, such as sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin, and squash. Don’t supplement with yogurt or milk, which contain calcium. Cats with calcium oxalate stones are often prescribed Vitamin B6 and Urocit K. Urocit K (Rx) is potassium citrate, and it helps by raising the urine pH. When the urine is more alkaline and the pH between 7-7.5, calcium oxalate stones aren't able to form.

Generally, cats with any type of stone or crystal do better when fed canned or homemade diets because these diets are higher in moisture. Supplement with fish, oyster, pumpkin, yogurt, rhubarb. If your cat will only eat kibble, make sure it’s drinking.

Cats typically don't drink as much water as dogs do because they can concentrate their urine and hold more water they consume in their bodies. We measure the ability to concentrate urine by specific gravity. The cat’s average urine specific gravity is 1.045, which is much more concentrated than that of dogs and people—1.015. While it's normal for cats to have more concentrated urine than dogs and people, when cats have urinary problems, they benefit from having more dilute urine--so our travelling friends should be encouraging their cat to drink or to eat moist foods.