What exactly is Cystitis?
When something irritates the internal bladder wall, this causes inflammation of the bladder, which is cystitis. Some common causes of this irritation can be due to the cat retaining urine for an extended amount of time, the presence of stones or crystals which rub against the bladder wall, or infectious organisms that have built up inside the bladder. Since the anus of the cat is located directly above the urethral opening (in both males and females), this gives feces and bacteria an easy opportunity to collect and colonize in the urethra and bladder. This is normally not a problem with regular urination and healthy urinary tract cells, but it can become a problem with decreased urine volume, which leads to increased concentration of urine. Crystals, bacteria, and sloughed-off cells may cause a disruption of the urinary tract’s normal defenses, leading to a FLUTD / FUS attack. If you notice your kitty feeling like he/she needs to urinate frequently, but does not produce much urine in t
