Urinary tract infection
Common info
Urinary tract infection is an infection that affects the urinary system, often known as Urinary tract infection or pyelitis. The symptoms include frequent abdominal pain, frequent urinate without wanting to.
History
Urinary tract infection is the infection that can occur in every part of the animal urinal, mostly derived from fecal contamination, sometimes from environmental factors. The most common factors are the infections of bacteria E. coli, Staphylococcus, Proteus and streptococcus. Urinary tract infection causes difficulty in urinating, if the infection spreads to the kidneys. It can cause death.
Description
Urinary tract infection is often found in female cats and dogs because of the short and wide urinary system. There are many factors that cause the disease such as :
Weight: overweight animals have more chances to contract the disease.
Immune system: Elderly animals and animals with low immune system have a risk to contract the disease.
Physiology: Animal vagina is the bacterial accumulator which benefits the bacterial growth.
Chronic Disease: Cancer or Diabetes can cause Urinary tract infection.
Vaccinations: Cats who have immune system problems, there might be the risk to get infected.
Stones in the bladder: It causes a blockage in the bladder.
Medications: Using corticosteroids in animals increases more chances of getting an infection.
Symptoms
Common symptoms are :
- Urine incontinence
- Hematuria (or blood in the urine)
- Diluted and smelly urine
- Frequent urination and dribbling of urine
- Licking the sex organ.
- Abdominal pain from urine incontinence
Treatment and Prevention
For treatment, using the antibiotics to kill the bacterias, the treatment period depends on different factors such as age, recurrence infection, the response of bacteria towards antibiotics, and other complications.
- Wikipedia | Urinary tract infection
- Canna-Pet | Urinary Tract Infections in Dogs & Cats
- Bluepearlvet | Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
- M.F. Thompson et al.2011. Canine bacterial urinary tract infections: New developments in old pathogens. The Veterinary Journal 190 : 22–27.
- S. Lew-Kojrys et al. 2017. Evaluation of clinical signs and causes of lower urinary tract disease in Polish cats. Veterinarni Medicina, 62 (07): 386–393.
