Cat Kidney Stone

Kidney stones or calculi are a problem that is shared between humans and cats.



A cat kidney stone is slightly different from a human one because of a variety of reasons like genetic predisposition of some breeds and the diets of cats being substantially more protein based than a humans. This does not mean that the way out is a vegetarian diet because this actually increases the propensity for kidney stones to form. The symptoms of feline kidney stones include frequent urination, dysuria (pain while urinating), and hematuria (blood in the urine).



Cats with kidney stones can sometimes be seen in an extreme squatting position when trying to pass urine. The condition is serious and requires the attention of a vet who will prescribe special medication to alleviate the problem, a special diet, and sometimes even surgery to remove the stones.

A kidney stone is something that forms either in the urinary bladder – in which case it could cause a case of cat cystitis or in the kidneys and ureters – or it could form in the area just outside the kidneys.



These stones are actually crystals of minerals that have been excreted by the kidneys and have collected to form a stone. These stones can be extremely painful and can scratch and scar the ureters if they ever pass from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In some cases, these stones will even block the urethra stopping the flow of urine. This would classify as a medical emergency as the cat will not be able to pass urine and the classic sign of this is the animal trying to urinate but being unsuccessful at it. Additionally, as the buildup of toxic chemicals continues, the animal will start vomiting, experience loss of appetite and worse.

Cat Urinary Calculi Treatment

Treating cat kidney stone depends mostly on how big the stone is. The first thing that is done is to increase the amount of water that cat consumes. The more dilute the urine, the more the stone will dissolve and reduce in size. There are some non-invasive methods that are available to deal with stones such as through the use of ultrasound to break up the stones into smaller particles that are then passed in the urine. If the stones are composed of calcium oxalate, then surgery might be the only way out since stones of this nature cannot be dissolved away. Recurrent urinary tract infections are a sure sign of kidney stones in a cat.