Feline
Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD)
·
This term is used to describe several disease processes associated
with the lower urinary tract of cats. Another term for this
disease is Feline Urologic Syndrome (FUS). The terms FUS and FLUTD
refer to the presence of signs of a lower urinary tract problem.
There are many diseases which can result in the lower urinary
tract signs. These include:
cystitis
- an inflammation of the bladder
urethritis - an inflammation
of the urethra
obstructive disorder -
consisting of soft plugs, gritty plugs, larger
stones (uroliths), or an
anatomical narrowing of the urethra.
·
This disease is seen in both male and female cats and accounts for
about 10% of feline admissions to veterinary hospitals in the
United States.
·
This syndrome has multiple possible causes such as stress,
environment, age, inadequate water intake, infection, and diet. It
has been shown that stress plays a large role in the development
of this disease. Some cats seem to experience stress when the diet
is changed abruptly, but stress can include changes in other
factors such as weather, litter pans, or recent additions or
subtractions of humans or pets from the household.
·
In recent years, lower urinary tract problems were believed to
result from diet-induced struvite stone formation. This type of
stone was the most common type of urinary stone seen in cats.
Struvite stones consist of magnesium ammonium phosphate. These
stones can form in the bladder when the urine pH becomes too
alkaline, which causes magnesium to precipitate out of the urine
solution.
·
Ash content of a food has been important in the past because
magnesium is a component of ash. Ash is merely the mineral content
of a food and by decreasing the ash, the magnesium is decreased as
well. Many people would like to have a food with no ash, but this
is impossible. All minerals are very important in the function of
the body and cannot be completely eliminated from the diet.
·
In response to the belief that diet causes struvite stones to
form, cat food diets have become lower in magnesium and have been
formulated to create a lower urinary pH (pH<6.3). It has been
shown that this type of diet would decrease the incidence of
struvite stone formation in the bladder. However, in making these
dietary changes, struvite stone formation is on the decline, but
oxalate stones are occurring more frequently due to the extreme
lowering of urinary pH.
Precise®
Suggestions
All
of the Precise feline formulas have been formulated with the
latest research in mind. They
are designed with a lower level of magnesium and to give a target
urinary pH of 6.3. The
Precise feline formulas have been formulated to produce an acidic
urine, thus reducing the likelihood of struvite crystals while
avoiding overacidification and oxalate crystal formation.
A urinary pH level of 6.3 has been shown to be optimal for
feline urinary tract health.
For cats prone to developing urinary stones, the latest
research indicates increasing water intake is the best means of
prevention of future stone formation.
Since this disease has multiple causes, it is not advisable
to constantly change the cat’s diet because this in itself can
cause added stress to the cat.
Please consult your veterinarian if your cat experiences
any changes in behavior.
