Relationship of Nutritional Factors to the Cause, Dissolution, and Prevention of Feline Uroliths and Urethral Plugs

Abstract

Feline lower urinary tract disease is often associated with uroliths and urethral plugs. Uroliths and urethral plugs are composed of variable quantities of matrix and a variety of minerals (including struvite, calcium oxalate, ammonium urate, calcium phosphate, and cystine). Knowledge of nutritional factors associated with the pathophysiology of uroliths and urethral plugs facilitates the modification of diets for the dissolution of several minerals contained within them.