What is Inflammation of the Urethra?
If your cat’s urethra is inflamed, he may begin to strain when trying to urinate. Some cats may have spots of blood in their urine, while others may have blood or discharge coming from their genitalia. If you notice any of these symptoms, take your cat to a veterinarian as soon as possible.
The urethra is the part of the lower urinary tract that transports urine from the bladder out of your cat’s body. When the urethra becomes inflamed, this narrow channel begins to swell, making it more difficult for the cat to pass urine. Although less urine is coming out, the cat may have the urge to urinate at all times when inflammation is present. This condition, known as urethritis, can be caused by a number of factors, including bacterial infections, bladder stones, trauma, and even cancer. Sometimes, urethritis is idiopathic, meaning there is no known cause.
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Symptoms of Inflammation of the Urethra in Cats
When the urethra becomes inflamed, your cat will most likely experience discomfort when trying to urinate and may find it difficult to pass urine. Some of the symptoms you should look out for include:
- Straining to urinate
- Bloody urine
- Excessive urination
- Pain in the lower abdomen
- Blood or discharge from the genitals
- Inability to urinate
Causes of Inflammation of the Urethra in Cats
If the vet is unable to find an underlying cause of the condition, your cat may be suffering from idiopathic urethritis, which means there is no known cause for the inflammation. However, there are a number of known causes for inflammation of the urethra, or urethritis. Known causes include:
- Bacterial infection
- Bladder stones
- Bladder infection
- Vaginal infection
- Prostate infection
- Trauma
- Cancer
Diagnosis of Inflammation of the Urethra in Cats
If you notice any of the symptoms of urethritis, take your cat to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Tell the vet what symptoms you have observed and when they first began. The vet will immediately know something is wrong with your cat’s urinary tract after hearing about the symptoms, but he will need to perform some tests to determine the issue.
Tests such as a complete blood count and blood chemistry profile may be performed as part of the standard procedure, however they will not give much insight into what is causing the problem. A urinalysis will also be performed, which will show the presence of bacteria if your cat has any sort of infection.
The vet may also need to perform X-rays to see if there are any bladder stones. If cancer is suspected, the vet may suggest either an urethral cytology or an urethral biopsy, which are the most effective ways of diagnosing cancer of the urinary tract. If the vet finds cancerous cells, he might need to take X-rays of the rest of the body or perform additional tests to see if the cancer has spread.
If no underlying cause can be identified after performing all of these tests, the vet will likely make a diagnosis of idiopathic urethritis.
Treatment of Inflammation of the Urethra in Cats
The treatment your cat receives will depend on the underlying cause, if any is found. If the cause is a bacterial infection, the vet will prescribe antibiotics to your cat to help eliminate the bacteria from his system. However, if bladder stones or cancer is causing the inflammation, surgical treatment may be necessary. The bladder stones will need to be removed to prevent blockages in the urethra.
Treating cancer is a bit more difficult, and may involve a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The vet may perform surgery to remove cancerous tumors or tissue, and then suggest radiation or chemotherapy afterwards if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Regardless of the underlying cause, the vet will need to make the cat more comfortable while he recovers. To reduce the cat’s discomfort, the vet will prescribe anti-inflammatory medication that will reduce inflammation in the urethra and make it easier to urinate.
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Recovery of Inflammation of the Urethra in Cats
Unless the diagnosis is cancer, your cat will most likely make a full recovery from urethritis. If your cat does have cancer, the sooner it is treated, the more likely it is that he will recover.
Be sure to administer all medications as advised by the veterinarian. This is especially important for bacterial infections since missing one dose could allow the bacteria to build a resistance to the antibiotics. Monitor your cat closely as he recovers to ensure he is not still having trouble urinating. If he is, take him to a veterinarian for reevaluation.
Your vet will need to see the cat again for a follow-up visit after the surgery or the treatment with medication. Tests will be performed again to ensure the underlying cause of the condition has been successfully treated.
Inflammation of the Urethra Average Cost
From 389 quotes ranging from $200 - $3,000
Average Cost
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Inflammation of the Urethra Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
Female
Nazlı
15
2 found this helpful
2 found this helpful
My 15 years old cat had inflammation of the urethra three weeks ago. She started eating less food. After starting antibitics she became better. A week later she was alright.Unfortunately two weeks later again she started not eating. Day by day she lost. Her blood tests were normal.Her vet wanted another urine test. Again she had inflammation.Started antibiotics. It's so difficult to make her eat. We feed her with syringe.I'm very sad and anxious about her. If I cry she eats a bit to stop me crying but not more. Why does she have urethretis I don't understand. She loses 100 grevery week .She was 5 kg but now she is 3.900 kg.
What should I do to make her eat?
Feb. 19, 2018
2 Recommendations
There may be more going on than a little inflammation of the urethra, however discomfort can cause a loss of appetite especially in an aging cat; apart from the syringe feeding which you are doing already, there is nothing else to add apart from trying to treat the inflamed urethra. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Feb. 19, 2018
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DOMESTIC
ginger
4 Years
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Painful Urination
Hi,
My cat had FLUTD last year and needed to have a catheter inserted to unblock him. The vet said it was caused by stress, so we switched his food to Hills Prescription stress food which also helps dissolve crystals in the bladder and we also made changes at home to lower his stress levels. Ever since then, he's on and off with his health- he'll be completely normal then all of a sudden he'll seem to be in pain after peeing, but then he'll seem ok after a few days? (I monitor his toileting and he is passing urine) why does this keep happening and could it be related to something other then UTI etc?
Jan. 23, 2018
1 Recommendations
It would be a good idea to get a sterile sample container and get a urine sample for urinalysis as this would indicate if there is a recurrence of an infection, protein loss, presence of blood or urinary crystals; other issues may include masses which may impede urination making it painful or uncomfortable at times. Without examining Ginger and checking a urinary sample I cannot really give any constructive advice. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Jan. 23, 2018
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Common cat
Ziggy
2,5 months
3 found this helpful
3 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Stress
Straining To Urinate,
Pain When Urinating
Inflammation Of Urethra
Urinating All The Time
Ziggy has been struggling to urinate since he was a few weeks old. At the begging he had even a huge inflammation in the lower aria of his urinary tract. I performed x_rays and ultrasounds and everything is fine on the inside. He even had 7 days of shots with antibiotics. His urethra is still severely swollen and he is urinating without control and all over the place. What can be the cause and what other test do you recommend to be performed? Please help me
Nov. 23, 2017
3 Recommendations
There are many issues which may be affecting the urinary tract, however in this case if antibiotics have been ineffective and urinalysis is showing some signs of infection a culture and sensitivity test should be done to identify pathogen and determine most appropriate antibiotic. Also, neurological disorders, trauma, constant licking or biting among, hormonal issues among other causes may be to blame; at this point (due to the duration of the problem), it would be advisable to visit a Specialist to try to hone in on the specific problem. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Nov. 24, 2017
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American Shorthair
Orion
2 Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Unable To Urinate
5 days ago my male cat, 2, started showing signs of distress while trying to relieve himself. We took him to the vet the next morning and they determined he had a swelling issue and a catheter was issued. They had him on IV fluids all day but left him alone overnight and the catheter came out. They reapplied it the next morning and we took him home that night for monitoring since again, no one would be with him overnight. We kept him from Saturday night to Monday morning and took him back to the vet, which is when his IV was removed. We reported he was eating and drinking so the vet let us keep him at home. That was yesterday, and I have not noticed him being able to urinate again. Could the complications with the catheter have caused more swelling and stress? The vet was unable to find traces of virus, or stones and his kidney levels had returned to normal. I'm concerned that an expensive surgery could be needed, or many more vet visits to use additional catheters just to relieve him. How long should it take him to bounce back after the catheter was removed?
Inflammation of the Urethra Average Cost
From 389 quotes ranging from $200 - $3,000
Average Cost
$1,000
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