Research Note: Association Between Clinical Abnormalities & Tissue Damage in Blocked Cats

This retrospective study reported the gross and histopathologic postmortem findings of the urinary tract in 14 cats with a history of urinary obstruction and compared results with the clinical severity of disease. Gross and histopathologic bladder and renal lesions were common, with renal lesions typically consisting of tubulointerstitial nephritis and lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate. The severity of urethral lesions was not associated with the severity of bladder lesions; however, the degree of serum hyperkalemia was associated with the severity of bladder and kidney lesions. An association between severity of bladder lesions and degree of azotemia could not be determined because of the study’s small sample size and exclusion of those cats with the highest levels of azotemia.