Urinary Crystals in Cats and What Every Cat Owner Needs to Know
If you’re like me, you probably haven’t thought too much about urinary crystals in cats. But if you have a cat who’s prone to cat urinary problems, you need to know more about cat bladder crystals.
Why Are Feline Urinary Crystals Important?
Even though these crystals are hard to see without a microscope, they have sharp edges which rub against the bladder walls, causing your cat’s bladder to become inflamed and irritated. This inflammation causes your kitty to show signs of a feline bladder infection.
Because a male cat has a long narrow urethra, it can easily become plugged if large numbers of feline urinary crystals are present. This is a veterinary emergency, as a cat that can’t pass urine will fall victim to a fatal case of uremic poisoning within a couple of days. Since it’s hard for an owner to tell if the cat is blocked or not, it’s important to have your cat examined by the vet if he has a feline urinary tract infection.
There are two main types of urinary crystals, struvite and calcium oxalate.
Struvite Crystals In Cats
Struvite crystals, which contain magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate, used to be very common in cats. This problem was thought to be a result of a diet with high levels of magnesium. Cat food manufacturers responded by producing diets lower in magnesium. Cats eating this food also produce more acidic urine. This helps to prevent the formation of struvite crystals, which are still the most common type of crystal that causes feline urinary blockage.
Although this dietary change helped to lower the incidence of struvite crystals in cats, now vets are seeing calcium oxalate crystals