Seasonality and age-related propensity of cats to occur bacterial urocystitis

Diseases of the urinary system are relevant for cats regardless of how they are kept. During the year, cats' bodies are prone to infectious diseases, but the degree of manifestation in different periods is different. Bacterial urocystitis in cats is caused by several factors, which include a decrease in the protective functions of the immune system, improper diet and housing conditions, complications of non-infectious pathologies, and subclinical bacteriuria. The seasonality of bacterial urocystitis, mainly when relapses characterize the disease, is essential for early detection and timely prevention. A calculated approach to determining the most susceptible age groups of cats and the seasonality of infectious urocystitis determines the patterns of the spread of this disease. Mathematical approaches to modeling the early increase in the frequency of bacterial urocystitis in cats will make it possible to limit the uncontrolled use of antibiotics. Retrospective analysis of microbiological urine test data of 34 cats diagnosed with bacterial urocystitis during 12 months from June 2023 to May 2024 in the conditions of the Zoolabix veterinary laboratory in Lviv. The results showed that 55.9 % of disease cases occur in autumn. It was established that the number of patients increased gradually starting in September. The highest level of incidence occurs in November and is 29.4 % of all cases, while in spring, it is only 5.9 %, which is 9.5 times less than the number of patients in the autumn period. Urethral and bladder infections in cats were diagnosed sporadically during the spring months. The analysis showed that among cats of different ages, the frequency of bacterial urocystitis increases in animals of geriatric age (44.1 %), while young animals get sick the least often (23.5 %).