Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease

Feline Idiopathic Lower Urinary Tract Disease in Cats

Idiopathic Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (IFLUTD) is a general term for disorders characterized by blood drops in the urine, difficult and stressful urination, unnormal, frequent passage of urine, urinating in inappropriate locations (ie., bath tub), and partial or complete urethra block. Also known as cats Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC), Feline Urological Syndrome (FUS), or Interstitial Cystitis, this treatable condition occurs in the bladder and urethra of the lower urinary tract; that is, the tube from the bladder to the outside, through which urine flows out of the body.

Idiopathic feline urinary tract disease, and inflammation of the bladder for unknown reasons, are known only after known causes such as stones of kidney or urinary tract infection have been eliminated. Any of the above symptoms or combination of these symptoms may be associated with cats lower urinary tract disease. The same symptoms may occur in diversely different infections, and pinpointing the exact cause for the condition can be complicated, since the cats urinary tract responds to various outside influences in a limited and predictable way.

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease

This disease seen in both male and female cats. Visible drops  of blood in the urine, difficult or painful urination, and/or blockage of the urethra in domestic cats in the U.S. and U.K. has been reported at approximately 0.5 percent to 1 percent each year. While (IFLUTD) can occur at any age, it is found most commonly at the ages of one and four-years-old. It is uncommon in cats less than one year of age and in cats greater than 10 years of age.

Symptoms and Types

• Difficult urination
• Blood in the urine
• Abnormal, frequent passage of urine
• Urinating in inappropriate locations
• Blockage of urine flow through the urethra to outside the body
• Thickened, firm, contracted bladder wall, felt by the veterinarian during physical examination
• Some cats with lower urinary tract diseases exhibit similar symptoms to those observed in humans with interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome)