Surgery to remove stones from the bladder is far safer than one which involves making an incision in the small urethra.
Struvite crystals in cats surgery.
The development of crystals and stones is mostly dependent upon the ph of the urine and the concentration of minerals in the urine.
These crystals are easy to distinguish from each other when viewed under the microscope and have different causes and treatment methods.
Around half of all urinary stones in cats are struvite crystals.
In urgent situations surgery may be required to remove a stone if it s blocking urine from leaving the cat s bladder.
Struvite oxalate and urate.
A diet designed to make your cat s urine more alkaline can help to prevent the crystals from forming.
Struvite crystals in cat urine especially in fresh samples suggests that the cat may be at higher risk for stone development even if there is no infection present.
There are three common crystals and stones in cats.
Struvite crystals develop in concentrated urine once the urine becomes supersaturated crystals aggregate to form stones.
Struvite crystals are made up of magnesium ammonium and phosphate.
Calcium oxalate they cannot be dissolved and have to be removed usually with surgery.
Once the stone is formed it increases in size over weeks or months.
The crystals themselves can be perfectly normal but become problematic when they combine to form grit or stones of varying shapes and sizes.
Less common stones include ammonium biurate cystine and uric acid.
Struvite crystals are microscopic crystals that are found in the urine of some cats.
Symptoms of urinary crystals in cats.
You may be alerted to this problem when you see your cat straining to urinate urinating outside the litter box urinating frequently has an increased thirst and or has cloudy or.
Like with struvite crystals increasing your cat s water intake is essential to treat and prevent crystals and stones from forming.
This surgery is required if your cat has developed large struvite stones.
Urate crystals are more common in dogs but have been found in cats as well.
A cat with urinary crystals may show a multitude of signs and cats are affected to varying degrees.
Struvite crystals are the most common form of mineral crystals that form in a cats urinary tract.
Some male cats may require a different type of surgery to resize their urethra if struvite crystals continue to be a problem.
