Pet Health And Care >> Cat Health >> Cat urinary incontinence

Incontinence in Cats:

Urinary incontinence in cats or any other living creature is a condition where the being loses voluntary control of urination.

Under normal circumstances, urination is controlled by properly working nerves and muscles of the bladder. Many people will tend to ignore the occurrence in cats believing it to be a natural sign of old age.

However, this will only serve to prolong any medical treatment during which the condition could potentially escalate into something more serious. One of the most common forms of urinary incontinence in cats is known as primary sphincter mechanism and is primarily the result of a weakened urethral muscle.

The condition is more prominent in middle aged, medium to large sized, female cats. The causes of the condition can be subdivided into two types. The neurogenic causes of the condition relate to the instances characterized by certain abnormalities of parts of the nervous system that are involved in the regulation of urination. The non neurogenic causes include problems such as abnormalities present at birth, over distension of the bladder as a result of some partial obstruction, excessive water consumption can also be the root cause of bladder incontinence in cats as it is likely to result in the overflowing of the bladder. However, it is important to note that there are a number of underlying medical conditions that may trigger excessive water consumption in your animal and may need to be treated first before the incontinence resolves itself. Some of these conditions include Cushing’s syndrome, hyperthyroidism, kidney failure and bladder infection.

Some of the symptoms of urinary incontinence in cats include dribbling of the urine, the presence of wet spots where your cat was sleeping as well as irritated skin from contact with urine. A single wet spot in the house on an occasional basis is unlikely to be a symptom of incontinence but is more likely to be the result of the animal being unable to reach the litter box in time when it has an overflowing bladder.

Urinary incontinence in older cats is more likely to be the result of a gradual loss of control of the body’s internal muscles. In most cases, there isn’t really much that the owner can do as it is a natural cycle of things. When your cat is affected by urinary incontinence, maintaining cleanliness in the household becomes more important although significantly harder.

Submitted on December 9, 2009