Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Recurrent, nonobstructive, idiopathic feline lower urinary tract disease: an illustrative case report
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association
- Year:
- 1995
- Authors:
- Kruger, JM & Osborne, CA
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A three-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat was seen by a veterinarian because she had been experiencing blood in her urine, difficulty urinating, and needing to urinate more often for about a year. Most tests came back normal, but low levels of antibodies to a virus called bovine herpesvirus-4 were found. After ruling out other possible causes, the vet diagnosed her with nonobstructive idiopathic feline lower urinary tract disease, which means the exact cause of her symptoms was unknown. Remarkably, her symptoms improved on their own within about a week without any specific treatment. Over the next five years, her owners noticed a few more episodes of blood in her urine and frequent urination, but these also resolved without intervention, and the low levels of the virus antibodies remained.
Abstract
A three-year-old, spayed female domestic shorthair was evaluated because of recurrent hematuria, dysuria, and pollakiuria of one year's duration. With the exception of hematuria and proteinuria, results of other physical, clinicopathological, radiographic, and microbiologic evaluations were normal. Low concentrations of bovine herpesvirus-4 (BHV-4) antibodies (titer 1:40) were detected by an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). A diagnosis of nonobstructive, idiopathic feline lower urinary tract disease was established by exclusion of other known causes of hematuria and dysuria. Clinical signs resolved in approximately seven days without symptomatic therapy. During the next 69 months, the owners observed five episodes of self-limiting, gross hematuria and pollakiuria. Persistent low titers of BHV-4 antibodies were detected by the IFAT. This case typifies the clinicopathological, radiographic, and microbiologic findings and the natural course characteristics of many cases of nonobstructive, idiopathic feline lower urinary tract disease.
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