Bladder Problems During the Colder Months

There is definitely an increase in the incidence of urinary problems in the cooler and cold months of the year in family pets

The big reason for his increase is the longer hours of night and the cold weather makes the animals less active. Also because it is cold at night the animal is like its human owners – snug and warm in their bed and not wanting to disturb itself to actually get up and go to the toilet.

Your pet would rather lie n bed and think about going rather than actually getting up and go (sound familiar?). The longer they lay there the longer the urine stays within the bladder and starts to turn concentrated and irritated.

Also, like some animal owners, the wall is affected by the cold weather and loses its ability to expand therefore as the bladder becomes full of urine and the wall does not expand so the cells of the urinary tract  become irritated and inflamed

Always remember that urine is not just water – it is the waste products of the body and therefore it can be very toxic. The longer it stays there and the more it becomes concentrated then the more problems it can cause.

The problem with an irritated urinary tract is that as it starts to swell from the inflammation than the actual internal diameter becomes smaller. Circular objects always swell inwards and not outwards.

The urethra (pipe from the bladder to the outside of the animal) is small in diameter at the best of times – especially in male animals. As the urethra decreases its diameter so the animal has trouble passing the urine down the system and out of the body.  Therefore the bladder never fully empties and this, in turn, leads to further inflammation.

We now are on a spiral to trouble – the inflamed ureter and urinary system is now prone to infection because the normal defense mechanisms are being compromised and it does not take much to allow the system to break down completely

The infection of the bladder changes the pH of the urine from acid to alkaline  and this, in turn, allows the salts in the urine to sediment out and form crystals

These crystals are another story in themselves but they are dangerous to the bladder and ureters and precursor  of bladder or urinary stones