Cystitis

By definition, “cystitis’ means inflammation of the urinary bladder. This occurs very frequently in both dogs and cats, although the causes often are different. The causes of cystitis are many and varied and include genetic predisposition, certain systemic diseases, bladder stones, cancer, food, use of steroids, and even outside contamination by licking their private areas. The most common symptoms include urinary accidents, frequent urination, straining to urinate and sometimes bloody urine. In cats and female dogs it is sometimes confused with constipation by owners. Cystitis often upset owners who are frustrated by this condition and think their pet is not trainable, poorly trained or forgot their training. Some people have even given up their pets because of the symptoms without having their pets urine checked. In most cases, cystitis is easily diagnosed and easily treated by a 2 week course of certain antibiotics. Occasionally, it is more involved and requires radiographs and even surgery to remove urinary calculi (stones) from the bladder (not the kidney). In male dogs and cats, calculi can cause an obstruction of urinary flow and thus become a serious and often emergency surgical case.