Pyometra in cats: symptoms and treatment

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One form of purulent endometritis is a pyometra in a cat. This is a life-threatening condition requiring vet intervention in the shortest possible time. Earlier it was thought that a pyrometer occurs more often in nulliparous older cats, but recent studies disprove this opinion. Everyone is sick, both those giving birth and the young ones. It is not dangerous for only sterilized cats, if both ovaries have been removed together with the uterus.

The main causes of pyometras in a cat are hormonal disorders and untreated endometritis. Provocative formation in the uterine cavity of pus can be different conditionally pathogenic bacteria (cocci, etc.). In many cases, the owner himself increases the risk of pyometra:

  • control of estrus by hormonal agents such as contracex, anti-sex;
  • non-observance of rules of asepsis during estrus, obstetrics;
  • Uncontrolled matings, matings with unchecked cats.

How to recognize a pyometra?

In the overwhelming majority of cases, the owner observes the signs of pyometrics in a cat about two months after the estrus season. Estrus is accompanied by hormonal changes and the creation in the uterus of an environment favorable for the accumulation and development of various bacteria, the growth of which leads to the formation of pus.

In many respects, the symptoms of pyometrics in a cat depend on the form of the disease. If the cervix is open, there are abundant discharge from the vulva – the cat is more often licked, sometimes every twenty minutes. After resting on the litter, you can notice damp spots. The temperature rises by a degree-one and a half from the norm, appetite gradually worsens, thirst increases. If the uterus is closed, pus can not leave, accumulating directly in the uterus and its horns.

Then the signs of pyometras in a cat are more pronounced, the condition deteriorates rapidly:

  • secretions are minor, smearing or absent;
  • belly painful, enlarged, taut;
  • the temperature is greatly increased;
  • there is no appetite, the thirst is rapidly increasing;
  • possible disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
  • rapid urination;
  • the pet is apathetic, breathes heavily, does not react to the owner, lies all the time, moves with difficulty.

Sometimes the pyometra in a cat develops so rapidly that the pet dies before the appearance of any visible symptoms: the volume of purulent exudate accumulated in the uterus reaches a liter in just a couple of days! Stretched walls of the uterus can not withstand pressure, pus literally splashes into the abdominal cavity, leading to the death of the cat. Perhaps a prolonged course of the disease, when the signs are so weak that the owner for a long time does not notice the disease. Then the state of the ptomian sharply worsens, the cat is extinguished literally before our eyes.

Treatment of pyometers

Some owners are set categorically when they hear about the removal of pyometers in a cat. However, in most cases, surgical intervention is the only chance to save the life of a pet. During the operation, the doctor completely removes the uterus with pus accumulated inside and both ovaries. The forecast is generally favorable, if the condition of the cat is not heavy.

Medicamentous treatment of pyometra in a cat is an attempt to purify the uterus from a purulent exudate by administering hormonal drugs. Along with hormones, antibiotics and symptomatic agents are used. Approximately 15% of animals recover if the disease is detected at the very beginning of development. Of these 15%, approximately half of cats are resumed after the next estrus or through one estrus. About 7% lose the ability to bear offspring or to fertilization. As a rule, veterinarians insist on emergency sterilization due to low efficiency of such treatment and loss of precious time.

Prevention

Scheduled sterilization of all cats that do not represent breeding value is a 100% effective method of controlling the pyometra. Sterilization is also indicated in cases when hormonal disorders are diagnosed, pathologies of the uterus and / or ovaries are detected, a chronic disease that makes it undesirable to receive offspring from the cat, that is, virtually any chronic disease. Since the treatment of piometers in a cat in most cases reduces all to the same sterilization, it is wiser not to wait for a dangerous condition. Scheduled sterilization and emergency sterilization for medical reasons are two big differences. In the latter case, the risks of complications are much higher.

If for any reason the cat is prescribed a hormonal drug, after recovering the python, discuss with the veterinarian the appropriateness of sterilization. Hormonal therapy significantly increases the risk of developing pyometrics in cats, regardless of the duration of the course and the age of the cat.

Owners of fertile cats

• if the pet is not sterilized, you must visit a veterinarian every year to conduct a study of the ultrasound of the uterus;
• it is impossible to apply hormonal preparations that shift the periods of estrus or stop estrus uncontrolled;
• during the heat is extremely undesirable to attend exhibitions;
• To knit a cat it is possible only with the checked up manufacturers, after acquaintance with the certificates confirming absence at a cat of sexual infections;
• any uncharacteristic discharge from the vulva of the pitoma is an occasion for immediate treatment in the clinic.

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