Struvite Crystals In Cats Surgery

These crystals are easy to distinguish from each other when viewed under the microscope and have different causes and treatment methods.

Struvite crystals in cats surgery.

Struvite crystals develop in concentrated urine once the urine becomes supersaturated crystals aggregate to form stones. Like with struvite crystals increasing your cat s water intake is essential to treat and prevent crystals and stones from forming. A diet designed to make your cat s urine more alkaline can help to prevent the crystals from forming. Struvite oxalate and urate.

Around half of all urinary stones in cats are struvite crystals. Struvite specifically is a material that is composed of magnesium ammonium and phosphate. The development of crystals and stones is mostly dependent upon the ph of the urine and the concentration of minerals in the urine. Once the stone is formed it increases in size over weeks or months.

Struvite crystals are the most common form of mineral crystals that form in a cats urinary tract. Urate crystals are more common in dogs but have been found in cats as well. The crystals themselves can be perfectly normal but become problematic when they combine to form grit or stones of varying shapes and sizes. You may be alerted to this problem when you see your cat straining to urinate urinating outside the litter box urinating frequently has an increased thirst and or has cloudy or.

A cat with urinary crystals may show a multitude of signs and cats are affected to varying degrees. Struvite crystals are made up of magnesium ammonium and phosphate. In urgent situations surgery may be required to remove a stone if it s blocking urine from leaving the cat s bladder. Struvite and calcium oxalate are the most common type of stones in cats.

Some male cats may require a different type of surgery to resize their urethra if struvite crystals continue to be a problem. Surgery to remove stones from the bladder is far safer than one which involves making an incision in the small urethra. There are three common crystals and stones in cats. Struvite crystals in cat urine especially in fresh samples suggests that the cat may be at higher risk for stone development even if there is no infection present.

Symptoms of urinary crystals in cats. Calcium oxalate they cannot be dissolved and have to be removed usually with surgery. Struvite crystals are microscopic crystals that are found in the urine of some cats.