Calcium oxalate urolithiasis in cats

Abstract

Urolithiasis has long been recognized as a cause of irritative voiding in cats. Before the late 1980s, sterile struvite was the most common urolith; today, however, 40% of feline uroliths are of calcium oxalate. This change may be partly attributable to the change to urine-acidifying, magnesium-restricted diets that were introduced to reduce the formation of struvite. However, it is possible that the diet modifications made by cat food manufacturers simply exposed a population of cats predisposed to calcium oxalate stone formation. Urolithiasis in cats appears to be diet sensitive rather than diet induced. As in humans, water is crucial in the prevention and treatment of feline stones.