Pyometra in Cats: Causes, symptoms and treatment from a breeders perspective.

Pyometra can be a scary experience for breeders and pet owners of unaltered females alike. It can come on all the sudden and can sometimes even be silent. In this blog post we are going to dive deeper into what exactly Pyometra in cats is, what causes it, the symptoms to look out for and different ways that it can be treated. Note: This is not medical advise as we are not veterinarians, this is based off of what we have seen in our years of raising kitties. If you suspect your cat has Pyometra please take them to the vet.

What is Pyometra?

Pyometra is a potentially life-threatening uterine infection commonly seen in unspayed female cats. It is most prevalent in middle-aged and older cats but can also occur in younger cats with frequent heat cycles. The infection arises due to hormonal changes following a female cat's heat. Elevated progesterone levels stimulate the uterine lining to prepare for pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur after several heat cycles, the uterine lining continues to thicken, leading to cyst formation. This thickened lining and cysts produce fluids that create an environment susceptible to bacterial growth. Pyometra involves both hormonal and bacterial factors, with E. coli being the most commonly found bacteria.

How do I know if my cat has Pyometra?

Common signs of Pyometra include vaginal discharge, anorexia, lethargy, abdominal distenstion, pyrexia and polyuria/polidipsia (excessive urination/excessive thirst). In cases of closed Pyometra or with females that have meticulous cleaning habits, vaginal discharge may not even be present. If you suspect your female having Pyometra it is best to go to the vet and get an ultrasound.

Open Pyometra vs. Closed Pyometra and treatment.

There are two different types of Pyometra, open and closed.

Open Pyometra can almost always be caught early enough to be treated whereas closed Pyometra will almost always result in the cat being spayed. Open Pyometra is the result of the cervix being open and can be determined by whitish off colored discharge leaking from the female cats vulva. In the case of open Pyometra we have successfully been able to treat and our female has made a full recovery. This is not the case for everyone because there can be different degrees of severity. If you are a breeder that happens to catch it early on and your female is in good health otherwise (eating, drinking, being active, ect) then we recommend moving forward treating. Open Pyometra can be treated with Lutalyse and antibiotics. Lutalyse is an injection that the cat will recieve for five days, this causes the uterus to contract which results in the infection being expelled. The antibiotics that are recommened to treat Pyometra are Clavamox and in some cases Doxyciline. IF you are an established breeder, after treatment most females should be bred on their next heat to avoid another case of Pyometra and will go on to have completely healthy litters of kittens. If your female is a "frequent heater" then it is recommended to spay, if not the result is either over breeding or frequent cases of Pyometra, both can be harmful to your female.

Closed Pyometra can be more difficult to determine because the cervix of the cat is closed and there is not any discarge or physical sign of Pyometra being present. It can usually be diaganosed by an enlarged stomach, lack of appeite and lethargy. It is most commonly diaganosed by an ultrasound. In most cases of closed Pyometra it is recommended that the female is spayed. However, there have been cases where it is treated and the female goes on to have healthy litters of kittens. The treatment is rare and invloves a steriod blocker, such as aglepristone. This leads to the cervix being open without directly causing contractions (contractions occuring in a female with closed pyometra can be considered dangerous as this can cause infection to spill into the abdominal cavity and can potientally cause sepsis to occur). There is low data on this treatment being used so it is highly recommended to spay a female that has closed Pyometra.

When considering treatment it is always important to do whats best for your cat. In most cases Pyometra is not caught early enough so it is highly recommened to spay your cat, especially if they have other heath issues happening as a result to the Pyometra.

Here are some statistics on treating Pyometra found on vetclinicofmb.com

• The success rate for treating open-cervix pyometra is 75%-90%

• The success rate for treating closed-cervix pyometra is 25%-40%

• The rate of recurrence of the disease is 50%-75%

• The chances of subsequent successful breeding 50%-75%

If you are not a breeder it is highly recommened that you have your female cats spayed to avoid Pyometra and other health issues that can occur. It is absoluety something that you do not want to risk. Among other things, this is part of the reason most breeders early spay and neuter.

A Few Things to Consider...

We just gave you a ton of information so lets do a bit of a recap.

Pyometra is most commonly found in unaltered middle-aged and older cats BUT can be found in younger cats as well.

Pyometra is considered deadly if not treated promptly, it is best to go to your vet as soon as you recognize possible symptoms.

Symptoms include off-whitish discharge, lethargy, loss of appitate, increase urination and water intake. Some cases will not have discharge (closed Pyometra).

Treatments can vary. Open Pyometra can be treated in some cases with antibiotics and lutalyse. Closed Pyometra is treated by spay surgery.

As we stated above, this blog post is purely based off of facts and things that we personally have seen and experienced. This is not to be taken as veternarian advise. If your cat is experiencing Pyometra like symptoms please take them to your vet.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post, we hope that it was super helpful!

Much love,

The PurrCozi Crew <3