Survey of veterinary practitioners about their experiences with urinary disorders in dogs and cats

Selected veterinarians were surveyed about their recalled experiences of urinary disorders, especially renal conditions, in current practice. When contacted by phone, 114 veterinarians in four states agreed to participate and 100 of them returned completed questionnaires. The three conditions of most concern nominated by 114 practitioners related to skin, endocrine and gastrointestinal systems (mentioned by 65, 35 and 32%, respectively), followed by urinary, cardiac and respiratory disorders (23, 20, 17%). From the questionnaire, the two body systems most often noted as abnormal in unwell dogs and cats were skin/eyes/ears and alimentary; urinary was third in cats and fifth in dogs. The urinary disorders reported as most common were bacterial cystitis in dogs and nonobstructed haematuria/dysuria in cats. The frequency of diagnosing renal failure in dogs and cats was mostly "one case per two weeks" (43%), with "one or more per week" (28%) or "one per month" (22%) the main alternatives. Methods used to diagnose or investigate renal disease were generally blood biochemical tests, haematology and urinalysis, but imaging techniques were also popular. Most favoured treatments for chronic renal failure were intravenous fluids, multivitamins, anabolic steroids, and commercial renal diets. Antimicrobials were often used, but phosphate binders, vitamin D analogues and erythropoietin were rarely employed