Prevalence of Urinary Tract Conditions and Factors Associated with Urolithiasis in Domestic Cats in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

This was a retrospective study that covered a 10-year period from January 2009 to December 2018. The study had three aims which were to determine prevalence, clinical manifestations and factors associated with urolithiasis in domestic cats in Nairobi County, Kenya. It also considered prevalence of other urinary tract conditions that occurred in domestic cats in the same county. Clinical data of all cases of cats were collected from 5 purposively selected veterinary clinics. Specific data was retrieved, which included breed, sex, age, weight, neuter history, and clinical findings. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done to determine factors associated with urolithiasis. The total number of domestic cat cases in the 10-year period was 4,404. A total of 104 cases had urinary tract conditions, of which 28 had urolithiasis, thus making general overall prevalence of urinary tract conditions to be 2.4% and prevalence of urolithiasis 0.6%. Among cases with urinary tract conditions, prevalence of urolithiasis was 26.9%. Definitive diagnosis of causes of urinary tract disease in cats was recorded in 75 cases. Urolithiasis was the major cause 37.3% followed by idiopathic feline lower urinary tract diseases and idiopathic cystitis both at 22.7%. The results showed that history of dysuria, distended urinary bladder and body weight were significantly associated with urolithiasis in domestic cats. This current study concluded that prevalence of urolithiasis in Nairobi County, Kenya was low, but among cases with urinary tract conditions, it had the highest prevalence. These findings were different from similar literature where idiopathic cystitis is reported to be the major cause of urinary tract disease in cats. The main clinical symptoms of cats suffering from urolithiasis were dysuria, hematuria, stranguria, distended urinary bladder and painful abdomen.