Types Of Crystals In Cat Urine

Crystals in cat and dog urine are often one of several common types.

Types of crystals in cat urine.

The problem is urine crystals are painful. Crystalluria is a medical condition where crystals are expelled into the urine. Though it would be reasonable to think that if the cat was proven to have struvite crystals on their urine exam that any stones present would also be struvite this is not always the case. The presence of crystals doesn t always mean that your pet has bladder stones or kidney stones but sometimes it can mean that your pet is at an increased risk for stone formation and other issues.

Younger cats can develop crystals in their urine just as easily as older cats so age isn t really a factor. Also any condition that changes your cat s urine ph such as kidney disease or long term medication use can cause crystals. Most commonly found in dog urine an abundance of these crystals may signal liver disease according to vet times. In some urine samples they do not have irregular protrusions but have smooth borders and can resemble calcium carbonate although these do not occur in the urine from dogs and cats.

Struvite crystals are microscopic crystals that are found in the urine of some cats. These crystals can be observed under low magnification particularly when seen in large number however low numbers may only be seen at higher magnification. Common types of urinary crystals. Depending on the crystals present and other factors such as the urinary ph we can make an educated guess as to which types of stone are present.

The crystals themselves can be perfectly normal but become problematic when they combine to form grit or stones of varying shapes and sizes. My cat spooki has urinary crystals we realized this after months of her urinating on our bed everyday out of nowhere and at some point i saw glitter in each pile of urine. There are many scientific types of research about its cause but the particular predisposing factor for the cause of crystalluria has not been fully understood. A cat affected with struvite crystals calcium oxalate crystals or any other type of crystal will suffer from the same array of symptoms and are affected in the same way.

I just changed her entire diet to wet cat food beginning today and going to see if i notice any changes in her urine within the next month. The detection of urinary crystals is not synonymous with kidney stones or the clinical signs associated with them nor is detection of urine crystals irrefutable evidence of a stone forming tendency but there is some association with an increased risk for kidney stones in animals that are. Struvite specifically is a material that is composed of magnesium ammonium and phosphate. Different types of crystals may develop if your cat isn t eating a proper complete and balanced diet.

Certain breeds like english bulldogs and dalmatians are predisposed to these crystals.