title: Risk factors for urate uroliths in cats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify demographic factors associated with urate urolithiasis in cats and determine whether the rate of urolith submission to a laboratory had changed over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series and case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases consisted of 5,072 cats with urate uroliths submitted to the Minnesota Urolith Center between January 1, 1981, and December 31, 2008. Controls consisted of 437,228 cats without urinary tract diseases identified in records of the Veterinary Medical Database during the same period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information on cat breed, age, sex, reproductive status, and location of uroliths was used to identify risk factors. Changes in annual urolith submission rates were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Purebred cats had significantly higher odds of developing urate uroliths than did cats of mixed breeding (reference group). On the other hand, cats of the Abyssinian, American Shorthair, Himalayan, Manx, and Persian breeds had significantly lower odds of developing urate uroliths than did mixed breeds. Neutered cats were 12 times as likely to develop urate uroliths as were sexually intact cats. Cats in all age groups had significantly increased odds of developing urate uroliths, compared with cats < 1 year of age (reference group). Cats ≥ 4 but < 7 years of age had the highest odds of all groups and were 51 times as likely to develop urate uroliths as were cats < 1 year of age. Urolith submission rates did not change significantly with time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings of this study suggested that the typical cat with urate uroliths was a purebred neutered cat, 4 to 7 years old, with uroliths in the bladder or urethra. This information may be helpful in predicting mineral composition of uroliths in vivo. However, no conclusions can be made regarding cause-and-effect relationships.
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Urolith Center, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA. albasan@ankara.edu.tr
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Albasan
authors.forename: Carl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Osborne
authors.forename: Jody P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lulich
authors.forename: Chalermpol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lekcharoensuk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D052878:Urolithiasis / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*