Description
This webinar is free to access thanks to the generous sponsorship of Nestlé Purina
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) affects many cats in Britain, causing them, and their owners, considerable distress. Affected cats may have pain and difficulty on urination, increased frequency of urination, haematuria, inappropriate urination, and/or urethral obstruction. A number of different conditions can be involved, including bacterial (and occasionally fungal) infection, congenital defects, trauma, and neoplasia; however, in the majority of cases the cause appears to be the cat’s inability to cope with their environment, and their stress results in bladder dysfunction. Since this bladder dysfunction can even result in life-threatening urethral obstruction it is essential to understand the powerful role that behaviour plays if we are to treat these cats effectively. It is essential to understand the behavioural needs of cats, especially those with little access outside, if we are to reduce the pain and dysfunction in these cats. Treating FLUTD therefore requires behavioural, medical and, occasionally, surgical intervention. The aim of this webinar is to consider the causes of FLUTD, and examine the overlap between the behavioural and medical causes in the knowledge that stress plays such a pivotal role in medical as well as behavioural cases. In these cases, disease most commonly represents the effect of placing a susceptible individual within a provocative environment. It is only by understanding the overlap between medical and behavioural cases and addressing the underlying factors that we can hope to manage these often very frustrating cases. This webinar will cover the causes and treatment options of for feline urinary tract disorders, but will focus on FIC as this is by far the most important cause of FLUTD. Discussion will include the advances in our understanding of the causes of these conditions, as well as some very practical tips on their treatment.
