- My cat constantly goes in toilet, sits in its' pot but the urine runs in drops and with blood. I took him to a doctor, he prescribed No-Spa and 5-NOK, but the pills don't help him.
- My Hannibal wasn't been able to make water, yesterday I called a vet, two came, gave some injection and began to squeeze out the urine out of the alive cat. I don't know how he managed to survive. Today he can't make water again.
Troubles with urination happen when cat suffers urolithiasis, at which the gravel accumulates inside pelvises of the kidney and inside bladder.
One of reasons of this formation is incorrect feeding, and increased content of minerals in food in particular, feeding with specially produced fodders and canned food causing lack of vitamin B6, as well as deficit of vitamin A, glutamine, in food. This results in metabolic disturbance and acid-alkaline disbalance.
Inflammatory processes in pelvises of the kidney, urethras and urinary bladder and sudden displacements of urine reaction stimulate formation of gravel.
Urolithiasis most often happens in animals, which lead inactive way of life, or rarely or never leave their house.
Gravel, that forms in cats may be very different.
Urates consist of salt of urine acid.
Phosphates consist of calcium and magnesium phosphate, ammonia-magnesium phosphate. Generally this gravel accumulates in alkaline urine and grows fast.
The most solid gravel is - oxalates, they are made of salts of oxalic acids.
Oxalates and urates are usually found in acid urine.
In contrast to oxalates, carbonates are amorphous and brittle. This gravel is made of salts of carbonic acid.
Irrespective of what this gravel is and where it appears it may accumulate either in kidneys, or ureters, or bladder. In males it may accumulate inside urethra.
Most often urolithiasis affects males, urban cats mainly. It may happen in animals of different age, even in males, which are merely one year old.
Today this disease is met quite often.
This disease may not show itself for a long time. But under the increase of gravel, or its movement down the external signs of disease appear.
Animals become anxious, pose as if urinate, still only several drops of urine, sometimes bloody, are ejected. At these moments animals feel strong pain.
Later owing to painful feelings a cat stops to eat. Most of time it lies and may go into some included place. A total stoppage of urination may happen.
Treatment. In order to cease the pain, give an animal Boralgin, 1/16 - 1/18 of tablet depending on weight.
Beside this, patient needs the extracts of the following plants: Ear Lavender, leaves of Black Current, leaves of Birch, Vulgar Chamomile (flowers), Vulgar Juniper (berries), Vulgar Hop (cones), Crimea Rose (petals), Red Rose (petals) - 5 grams each; Vulgar Bearberry (leaves), Red Whortleberry (leaves), Buckhorn Plantain (leaves) - 10 grams each; Dioecious Nettle (grass) - 15 grams; Cinnamon Rose (pounded berries) - 20 grams; Tinweed (springs) - 30 grams.
Add 5 grams of mixture into 375 ml of boiling water. Infuse in bain-marie for half an hour. When the infusion gets cold, filter it.
After each urination or after an attempt to empty the bladder one must give warm infusion - from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon (depending on weight) 4-5 times a day. When the animal will be able to make water, reduce the dose of infusion: add 2.5 grams of mixture into 250 ml of boiling water, give infusion 3 times a day for about a month.
One may not find all the plants but infusion of eight-nine plants is effective.
However, since the animal has fallen seek suddenly and since the attack of kidney colic begins unexpectedly, especially when it happens for the first time, one may substitute this infusion with a juice of fresh parsley leaves or infusion of its' seeds, 1/4 of teaspoon 4 times a day, or red whortleberries infusion, 1-2 teaspoons 4-5 times a day.
In addition, an animal should be given a strawberry juice, or if you don't have such - carrot juice, 1 teaspoon on an empty stomach, 10-15 minutes before and after taking the infusion. You may also give a pumpkin stewed with honey.
10-15 minute bathroom is advisable too; temperature of water should be so as for a human. Probably, pail will be most convenient for this. Plunge the cat into water to the area of heart, which shouldn't get wet.
A bath with infusion of swamp cottonweed grass, Origanum grass, birch branches, Salvia leaves and chamomile flowers - 1 gram each plant - would be more effective. Add the mixture to a 0.5 l of boiling water; infuse for 2-3 hours in bain-marie (if necessary, reduce up to half an hour) and filter into a bucket with a hot water.
Baths have an antiphlogistic and anesthetic effect. After them an animal should lay calm for about an hour. Often after bathing the patient is able to make water himself.
When attacks disappear the treatment should be continued. Exclude canned food and other widely advertised food in form of stars, bolls, etc. from the ration of the patient.
Feed the animal with food, rich in vitamin A, B1, B2, B6 (see below). In spring and summer add fresh nettle and for rest of the year - a dried nettle into the diet.
It is very important to introduce changes into the way of life: everyday walks are urgent.
Since urolithiasis is a chronic disease, it needs treatment several times a year with herbs - give the animal nephritic tea and other medicals (see Chapter "Treatment") despite there are no any signs of disease, but the best is - infusion of grasses mentioned above, for it has an antiphlogistic effect, relieves spasms of unstriped muscles, furthers the removal of gravel, and improves the metabolism as well.
This infusion one may use in case of inflammatory diseases of kidneys and bladder - pyelonephritis, cystitis - as well.
Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).