Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease

Do your Cats seem stressed, or do they seem to be normal? What if it told you that some cats do not really show any outward signs of stress in the home. Cats are very good at hiding their stress. When cats become stressed in the home  you may start to see some of the inappropriate urinary issues often seen in these stressed cats. The main issue you can see is inappropriate urination or UTI symptoms. They will urinate outside of litter box and visit the litterbox more often. Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease occurs when the bladder becomes inflamed and irritated but it is NOT due to a bacterial infection. Cats can also form crystals in the bladder due to stress causing inflammation in the bladder leading to UTI symptoms. If crystals or stones are formed in the bladder, a special urinary diet is needed to dissolve the crystals and restore peace to the bladder.  There are many ways to reduce the stress at home, one of the best products uses to reduce stress in cats is called Feliway. It comes in a spray and a "Glade-like-diffuser" to use at home. Feliway is a natural pheromone that Ceva, a veterinary company, has produced to mimic the calming pheromones produced from the facial glands on cats. Having one litterbox for each cat plus one can also help, so if you have 3 cats have 4 litterboxes. Stress in cats can be very hard to pin point. My own cat has lower urinary tract disease, and had no outward signs of stress at all. Placing the calming pheromone and getting him on his urinary diet has made all the difference.