Kidney Stones in Cats – Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Cat Kidney Stones – Causes & What to Do for Treatment

There is no doubting the fact that kidneys are simply one of the more important organs within the body, not only for humans, but for your pets as well and yes, this includes your cat.  Kidneys allow your cat’s body to perform an extremely important function, that being the filtering of their blood and removal of any waste within that blood, some of which includes urea, toxins, and much more.  The waste materials that are filtered by the kidneys are then combined with urine and eventually excreted from your cat’s body.

Unfortunately, there are often times when a small insoluble particle will remain within their kidneys, which will then form into small crystals that are better known as renal calculi.  Over time, these small crystals will start to expand and grow, eventually turning into kidney stones. Here is everything that you need to know about kidney stones in your cat.

Kidney Stones in Your Cat

Kidney stones are extremely hard to detect within your cat as they are one of those diseases that are rarely going to be visible during their initial stages.  In fact, there is actually a really good chance that you will have no clue that your cat is actually having kidney stones until it has grown to a size so large that it starts to cause other serious problems, such as an obstruction or even an infection.

When it comes to kidney stones, they are going to be pretty common no matter what breed of cat that you have, but they are going to be much more prevalent within male cats that belong to Shorthairs breed.  Most of the other breeds of cats and female cats of this particular breed are going to have much lower chances of growing kidney stones during their lifespan. While the exact reason that this is true is not known, some of the researchers who have studied this have come to this conclusion based off of all the data that they have collected over the years.

As long as your cat’s kidney stones are able to stay smaller in size, they are not going to present any real problems.  However, when the stones do start to grow larger and become bigger in size due to an increased amount of waste materials and residue, it will become much more difficult for your cat’s stones to pass through their urethra and reach their urinary tract.  This is going to be the reason why there are often times obstructions and even infections when it comes to kidney stones in your cat. Essentially, these larger kidney stones are going to remain in your cat’s kidneys, preventing the kidneys from doing their job correctly.

Symptoms of Kidney Stones

Some of the more common symptoms to look for that will let you know your cat has kidney stones include:

• Vomiting
• A sudden loss of appetite
• A significantly changed eating pattern
• Having blood within their urine
• Urination has become painful.  If you ever see your cat starting to feel uneasy or even whimper when they are urinating, it is a good indicator that they are experiencing kidney stones.
• Pain in the abdomen.  If you notice that your cat isn’t able to get up or seems to be in pain, be sure that you contact your vet and check with them.  While not all of the abdomen pain is going to lead to a kidney stone, when partnered with the other symptoms listed here, it is a good indicator that kidney stones are present.
• UTI (urinary tract infection).  Whenever your cat is passing urine in smaller quantities and more frequently, it is an indicator that they are possibly dealing with a UTI.  As with the abdominal pain, this is not necessarily going to mean that your cat is experiencing a kidney stone, if other symptoms are present, it can be a good indicator.

If you have noticed that one or more of the above-mentioned symptoms are present within your cat, be sure that you take your cat to your veterinarian as soon as you can in order to have them looked at and further examined.  Even if kidney stones are not the cause of their problem, whenever symptoms such as abdominal pain or a urinary tract infection are present, they are going to require some type of medical intervention.

Causes of Kidney Stones in Your Cat

The main reason that your cat is going to experience kidney stones is due to the presence of certain minerals within their kidneys.  During the filtering and excretion process, some of these minerals will be left behind. As these minerals start to buildup, they will become more noticeable and start to cause symptoms related to kidney stones.

When it comes to your cat, there are over ten different minerals that can be the reason why they have developed kidney stones.  While there are going to be many different reasons as to why your cat will have a presence of each of the different minerals, here is why they may lead to accumulating within your cat’s kidneys.

• Your cat has a kidney infection that was left untreated.  Some type of underlying infection of the kidneys will help prevent them from functioning properly, thus leaving behind minerals that will then start to build up and accumulate.
• Your cat has a bladder infection or urinary tract infection.  What this means is that minerals that should be excreted from their body are not going to be able to do so, leading to more mineral deposits being built up.  
• Whenever your cat’s calcium levels become too high, it will then start to mix in with their urine and blood.  With that being said, not all of it is going to be filtered and some of the particles will remain within the kidneys.  Having an excel level of calcium is more than likely going to be caused by your cat consuming the wrong type of food or foods that are going to be rich in calcium.  Unlike humans, your cat is not able to process very much calcium, meaning that if you are feeding them a calcium-rich diet, it can very quickly lead to kidney stones.
• Cat supplements that leave a higher, more alkaline pH level within the urine.  Similar to food, some of the supplements available for your cat are going to increase their pH alkaline levels within their urine.  Not all of this elevated alkaline level is going to be filtered out as quickly as you may think, meaning that there are going to be some trace amounts remaining.  Over time, these levels can build up and form kidney stones.
• There are certain genetic problems in certain breeds of cats that make them much more predisposed to having kidney stones.  For example, Shorthair males are one of the breeds of cats that are more genetically predisposed to having kidney stones when compared to other breeds of cats or even females of the same breed.
• Dehydration is one of the leading causes of kidney stones forming.  If your cat is not drinking as much water as they should be, the kidneys will not have enough fluid to flush all of the minerals and toxins out of their body.  As a result, some of these minerals and toxins are going to remain in the form of residue. This is the exact reason that it is so important for your cat to always have access to some type of water source that is refilled constantly, especially if you are living in an area that has hot and dry or extremely hot during the summer months.
• Some illnesses can lead to an excess buildup of mineral deposits within your cat.  However, this is going to be extremely rare when you compare it to some of the other symptoms that your cat can have.

Treatment of Kidney Stones in Cats

 While the treatment of your cat’s kidney stones is going to depend upon the actual size of the stone that they have, your cat’s age and the amount of discomfort that they are in, here are some of the more common types of treatments that are used to eliminate kidney stones in cats.  Often times, the treatment will even combine more than one of these types of treatments.

• Special Medicines:  If the stones that your cat is dealing with are not too large or obstructing their urinary tract, special medications are normally going to be enough to help the stones dissolve.  Once they have dissolved, they will simply be passed out of the body through urine. Often times, there will also be an antibiotic that will be prescribed as well, mainly in the case that your cat is also dealing with a urinary tract infection as well.
• Drinking more fluids
• Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy or ESWL:  This is when shockwaves are sent through your cat’s body to the kidney stones in order to break them up so that they are able to be passed through the urine.
• Surgery:  For more severe cases.

No matter what the cause may be, if you suspect that your cat is experiencing kidney stones, be sure that you notify your veterinarian as soon as possible.