Did you know that up to 1.5 percent of all cats in the US are plagued with feline urinary problems? That's a lot of cats.

These problems can range from an uncomfortable cat bladder infection to a life-threatening cat urinary blockage. An an informed cat owner, you should always be on the lookout for cat urinary problems.

What's The Difference Between FUS And FLUTD?

Many cat owners are confused, and rightfully so, over the terms used to describe cat urinary problems. FLUTD is an acronym that stands for Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. FLUTD used to be known as FUS, or Feline Urologic Syndrome. Feline Urologic Syndrome has been renamed as Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease to reflect that most of the urinary problems in cats happen in the lower urinary tract, which includes the bladder and urethra.

Overview Of Feline Urinary Disease

There are many different aspects to feline urinary problems. Here's a quick overview of a few different conditions that can affect your cat's urinary tract.

Cystitis is an inflammation of your cat's bladder.
If your cat's urethra is inflamed, he has urethritis.
Idiopathic cystitis means that the cause of the bladder inflammation is not known.
Bladder stones in cats often occur as a result of feline urinary crystals.
A tumor in your cat's bladder may cause problems, too.

You can see that it's important to pinpoint what's causing your cat's urinary tract problems in order to treat his condition successfully.

Symptoms of Cat Urinary Problems

No matter what's causing the feline urinary tract problems, your cat will show these symptoms:

Bloody urine
Urinating in places other than his litter box
Urinating often, but passing only small amounts of urine
Straining to urinate, or not being able to pass urine at all
Crying out in pain in the litter box

Any of these symptoms should be enough for you to take your cat to the vet for a check-up.

What Your Vet Will Do

Your vet will examine your cat and feel his bladder to see how full it is. The vet will also want to do a urinalysis to check for infection or feline urinary crystals, and may want to do a cat urine culture to see if bacteria are present. If your cat's bladder is distended, that indicates a cat urinary blockage, and your vet may want to take x-rays or do an ultrasound to look for cat bladder stones.

What Can You Do To Prevent Feline Urinary Disease?

There are many steps cat owners can take to prevent their cats from developing feline urinary tract problems. The most important thing you can do is to feed a high-quality canned food. Cats are supposed to get most of their water from their food.

A cat who eats only dry food is usually chronically dehydrated, which leads to his urine becoming concentrated. And concentrated urine can lead to cat bladder stones, and a whole host of problems that goes along with them.

Be sure your cat always has access to plenty of clean, fresh water, too.

You may want to consider giving your cat a natural remedy for pets that supports bladder health in felines. This remedy should contain herbal extracts of barberry and uva ursi, along with the homeopathic remedies Cantharis and Staphysagria. These natural treatments have stood the test of time for bladder infections in humans, and they have been proven to work very well in cats.

Your goal now? To make sure your cat doesn't become a statistic suffering from feline urinary problems.

Darlene Norris has combined her long-time interest in natural healing with her experience working at a vet clinic to bring you her new website, Natural Pet Urinary Health. Learn how to prevent feline urinary problems, and find the best place to buy herbal pet remedies at http://naturalpeturinaryhealth.com

Isn't it fantastic when your little puppy finally gets house broke? Frustration is eased and we feel safe leaving our pet inside while we are gone. Then, oops! Our dog starts to experience incontinence again. This is a sign that there is something wrong.

Because of dog urinary problems our pets can not control the urge to urinate. Dog urinary problems can be a number of disorders including kidney disease, incontinence, and dog urinary tract infection. It is important as pet owners that we know when our pets are experiencing any problems.

As humans we can tell if something is wrong, its like a sixth sense. Though we wonder if the symptoms our pet is experiencing is something bad enough to warrant a veterinarian appointment. Vet bills are high and the visit can sometimes traumatize our pets. However, if the symptoms of dog urinary tract infection are serious, a veterinarian needs to be seen. If left untreated, the bacteria in one organ of the urinary tract can travel to another organ of the urinary tract and this could be life threatening.

Nobody enjoys watching their pet urinate and analyzing the situation for signs of infection but this where we start when we are looking for the signs of urinary tract problems in dogs. For example, if there is blood in the urine then there is something seriously wrong with the urinary tract.

If you notice that your pet is straining to urinate, urinating frequently, or whining during urination, seek veterinarian care. If your do is straining to urinate then that could be a sign of blockage in the urinary tract which can be caused by bladder tumors or bladder stones. Very foul smelling urine is another sign of dog UTI.

Once your vet has screened your pet and properly diagnosed a urinary tract infection, antibiotics will be prescribed. Antibiotics have serious side effects and should only be used as a last resort. Instead, discuss with your vet the use of herbal treatments.

Janet Markowitz has been a German Shepherd Breeder for over 20 years. She has always been interested in using natural and holistic remedies for her Shepherds whenever possible. She has found that by using natural Remedies in conjunction with conventional medicine, she has achieved great success in the health and longevity in her dogs.

http://www.PetsNaturalRemedies.net

So, you have come to know that your cat has thickened bladder which is causing it a great deal of discomfort. Now, you have a lot of questions. Is it a serious problem? Can it be treated? Can it be prevented? In this article, you will find the answers to all your questions.

Is it a serious problem?

Not really. It is one of the common problems that can affect any cat. Thickened bladder, in fact, is not a disease. It is a symptom which indicates that something is wrong with your cat's urinary bladder. In most cases, it indicates the presence of a bacterial infection.

What causes this problem?

If your cat has thickened bladder, it means that it is not able to empty its bladder completely. If your cat has a bladder infection, it might have the urge to urinate frequently, but it will not be able to relieve the pressure. This puts significant strain on the muscle walls and they become thicker over time. When this happens, your cat develops a condition called urinary incontinence and starts having accidents.

How can it be treated?

There are two types of treatments for this problem. Conventional treatment specifically addresses this problem and involves using steroids and antibiotic drugs. Supportive therapies are also used in addition to, not as a replacement for conventional therapies. Natural treatment involves using homeopathic remedies like berberis vulg, cantharis, and uva ursi.

Are there any side effects involved?

Like any treatment, how your specific cat tolerates treatment may vary. Conventional medications often result in side effects as cats tend to be sensitive to stronger medications. Natural remedies are usually safe and provided without side effects, but should still be tested to make sure your cat will tolerate them well

Is this a recurring problem?

It depends on certain factors. If your cat is genetically predisposed, it might experience these problems again and again. If you feed your cat processed pet food, it might become vulnerable to such problems, as commercial pet food tends to alter the urine pH which could result in bladder problems.

Can it be prevented?

While nothing is certain, dietary modification could help to prevent urinary tract and bladder problems.

Certainly, it can be prevented. The first step in preventing such problems is dietary modifications. For example, if you switch from dry food to wet food your cat will receive more moisture (in the wild, cat's get their moisture from food). Supplements such as natural remedies could help to prevent bladder infections, bladder thickening, bladder crystals, urinary incontinence, and other such problems that commonly affect cats.

Are these homeopathic remedies very expensive?

No, they are not. A month's supply of these remedies will cost you only about $40. So, they are very much affordable.

I hope the article answered all your questions about urinary problems in your cat. Thickened bladder, as I said, can not only be treated, but can also be prevented. So, understand what is good and what is bad for your cat's health and keep it healthy and happy for a long time.

Jeff Grill is an editor of the Cat Health Guide which has more information on cat thickened bladder treatments and other cat bladder problems. To learn more about natural treatment options visit this site on natural approaches to preventing cat bladder problems.