Disorder - Xanthinuria

Organ Systems Involved
Urogenital

Alternative disorders described within LIDA

Urolithiasis

Presenting Signs

Xanthinuria is an excess of the compound xanthine in the urine. Symptoms are variable and include intermittent blood in the urine (haematuria), painful urination (dysuria) and increased frequency of urination with smaller volumes (pollakiuria). Affected cats may present with a blocked urethra, the tube carrying urine from the bladder to the outside. Some affected cats have 'mustard coloured' urine.

Cats at Risk

Male cats have an increased risk of urethral obstruction with xanthine stones compared with female. Both male and female equally affected with xanthinuria.

Treatment

Medical and surgical. Surgery and catheterisation is necessary to remove stones from the urethra of obstructed patients. Chronic male sufferers may benefit from a perineal urethrostomy which removes the narrowed portion of the urethra. Medical management aims to decrease the urine concentration of xanthine and increase the dissolvability of xanthine in the urine. This involves a combination of dietary modification, intravenous fluid therapy (diuresis) and alkalinisation of urine. Moist renal failure diets are ideal as they increase the volume of urine produced, decrease the quantity of purine precursors required for making xanthine and minimise the production of acidic urine. A urine specific gravity less than 1.025 is considered ideal.

PubMed References
Xanthinuria

Contributor
Fiona Simpson