My cat's struvite crystals returned. Is a vet visit necessary?

Question

My 3 year old cat had struvite crystals 9 months ago, likely from stress. She had been on a dry diet so I put her on Hills canned prescription c/d, added a pheromone plug in and tried to decrease her stress. She had a stressful last week and it seems like her symptoms are back. The vet will not do another urinalysis unless she has an examination as well. I have begun adding a lot of water to her canned food to see if that will help. Do I really need to make the vet appointment? Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 3 years and 3 months old | 10.5 lbs

Destini R. Holloway, DVM · Accepted Answer

Poor girl. Crystals in the urine don't come from stress typically. This is a metabolic issue that is causing her to not break down her food properly, which causes crystals to form in the bladder. Stress in cats only causes hematuria (bloody urine) without infection or stones. This is called Stress cystitis. Therefore, if your pets "symptoms" have returned, I would be best to have Kiki rechecked. In particular, I would consider getting her bladder checked for urinary stones by having an x-ray done. She also could have developed a UTI, so a urinalysis should be done first. Adding water is good, but it does not help resolve any of these possible issues. She needs to be seen unfortunately to get to the bottom of things, since this is a bit complex in nature. I hope that your pet Kiki has some resolve to her urinary issues soon! Best wishes and take care.

My cat's struvite crystals returned. Is a vet visit necessary?

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