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 MEET
SOME OF OUR PATIENTS: “Sophie"
Sophie was feeling the cold; it was deep in a Scottish winter
and for some time, she had been losing hair along her back and
down her legs, leaving quite large balding patches. Her owner
had been aware of Sophie grooming these areas excessively, and
also paying close attention to her bottom as well. On presentation,
her hair loss pattern looked very typical of a flea allergy
- some cats are highly sensitive to flea saliva, so when just
one flea bites them, the resultant irritation can cause quite
severe problems. Other less sensitive souls can sometimes seem
to have legions of fleas on them, with very little outward signs
of discomfort. No evidence of fleas could be detected (it's
rare to actually find a flea on a cat; usually we find very
small black specks, looking very much like coal dust, which
are actually flea droppings. The flea feeds on the cat's blood
and then passes tiny amounts of black digested blood) but as
a precaution a course of flea treatment was prescribed.
A physical examination of the rest of Sophie revealed the area
under her tail and around her genitalia to be quite swollen;
the owner also mentioned that Sophie had started to pass urine
more frequently. She wasn't very happy about having her abdomen
palpated and the bladder itself felt small and hard. A possible
infection was provisionally diagnosed, so antibiotics and anti-inflammatories
were prescribed, and the owner was asked to bring in a urine
sample so we could run some tests. The easiest way to get a
sample of urine from a cat is to replace ordinary litter with
a special reusable non-absorbable type (such as Katkor- available
on our webshop).
When the cat uses the tray, the urine is not absorbed so the
owner can transfer some into a pot (which, along with a pipette,
is supplied with the litter).
Within a few days, Sophie was much happier in herself, eating
well and bright but a few weeks after the treatment had finished,
the owner noticed that she was passing urine with blood in it.
A sample was obtained and brought to the clinic where it was
sent away to a laboratory for urinalysis. The results came back
showing that there were lots of red blood cells in it and lots
of struvite crystals. It was decided to admit Sophie for a series
of x-rays to see what was going on inside her bladder. If there
was one large stone, then an operation to remove it was the
only answer. Alternatively, if Sophie was producing just the
crystals, then a change of diet would be the solution.
The x-rays revealed that there were a couple of large stones
in her bladder - too large to pass - that were causing irritation
and therefore the symptoms she was exhibiting, including the
furious licking of her hair. These were duly removed and sent
away to be analysed to find out what type of stone they were.
 Cats'
urine usually has an acidic pH but some individuals tend to
produce more alkaline urine, as did Sophie. Under these conditions,
certain type of stones can be formed and the analysis confirmed
that Sophie was producing struvite crystals in her urine, which
are formed when the urine's pH isn't acidic enough. It's possible
to change the pH of urine by feeding certain diets and so Sophie
was changed onto one such diet and almost immediately after
the operation, the owner reported a different cat. The excessive
grooming and licking completely stopped, as did the weeing outside
the tray. In herself, Sophie was a much more relaxed and happy
individual, and back to her shiny glossy self.
Sophie's story shows that apparent skin problems in cats can
be quite complex and we have to consider internal health problem
in addition to the more more typical external causes.
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