Clinic Case of the Month

Asha and his Urinary Stone

Asha is a very sweet 10-year-old cat who visited us earlier this month. His owners rushed him straight to Selwood when they found his bladder had suddenly swollen to the size of a basketball.

A cat that cannot urinate is a serious veterinary condition known as FLUTD, or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. It occurs when there is a blockage to the lower urinary tract. It can be caused by cystitis (bladder infections), uroliths (urinary stones), bacterial inflammation, amongst other reasons. Male cats are more prone than females, and a FLUTD cat is likely to have a prior history of urinary tract infections. FLUTD is extremely painful for a cat, and can quickly cause kidney damage if not attended to by a vet.

Dr Amy quickly provided little Asha with pain relief as soon as he arrived at Selwood. Under anaesthetic, she located a very large urinary stone that had lodged in his urethra. Dr Amy removed the stone and placed a urinary catheter to allow Asha to urinate more easily. Unfortunately, the stone had also allowed lots of bacteria to enter Asha’s urinary tract, so Amy also placed him on antibiotics to help him fight a urinary tract infection.

For two days after his anaesthetic, Asha was watched over by our nursing team. We discovered he LOVES to eat and his favourite meal is warm chicken. Nurses Vanessa and Steph provided him with fluids, pain relief, antibiotics and very therapeutic chin scratches. After two days, Asha’s urinary catheter was removed. We were so pleased to see him urinate on his own again, free from pain!

If you notice your cat hasn’t urinated for a day, contact Selwood Vets as soon as possible. FLUTD has an excellent prognosis if it is caught early! Asha was a star patient for us, and we wish him and his family all the best.

This Case Study was written up by Beth Bourke who is Selwood's very first third year vet student. Selwood has begun participating in a program with the University of Sydney to support the learning of Veterinary Science students. Beth completed a two-week placement with us, learning all aspects of animal handling, including blood taking and IV catheters, anaesthetic monitoring, nursing patients and urine testing.