Background: Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) is a common disorder associated with dysfunction of the urinary bladder or urethra in tom-cats.
Aim: A prospective study was carried out on the point prevalence (PP) and odds ratio (OR) of the FLUTD in Shirazi and Baladi tom-cats at Ismailia governorate– Egypt, record the prominent clinical manifestation, as well identify the antibiogram, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance genes of the causative micro-organisms.
Methods: A total number of 420 tom-cats admitted to the veterinary clinics of Ismailia during the period June 2020 to May 2021 were examined for FLUTD. A total of 1260 urine samples were collected and analyzed.
Results: Haematuria, dysuria, and pollakiuria were the most evident signs recorded in a total of 120 Tom-cats diagnosed with FLUTD. The diagnosed cases of FLUTD were associated with causes like crystals (35.83%), pyogenic micro-organisms (19.16%), and mixed cases (45.00%). Prevalence reveals highly significant (p < 0.01) increases in the cases caused by Escherichia coli, E. coli mixed cases, and calcium oxalate at > 4-y; Staphylococcus aureus at ≤ 2; amorphous urate and phosphate at 2: 4 and > 4-y Shirazi and ≤ 2-y Baladi; triple-phosphate at ≤ 2-y Shirazi and > 4-y Baladi; and Staph aureus mixed cases at ≤ 2-y. The odd ratio of FLUTD reveals higher odds of associations with E. coli, E. coli mixed cases, Staph aureus, amorphous urate, and triple-phosphate, as well as lower odds with Staph aureus, calcium oxalate, amorphous phosphate, and Staph aureus mixed cases. Isolated E. coli reveal higher resistance to amoxicillin (83.4%), ceftriaxone (83.4%), ceftazidime (75.0%), and cefoxitin (50.0%), and Staph aureus to oxacillin (100%), cefoxitin (100%), amoxicillin (85.8%), ceftazidime (76.2%), and cefoxitin (50.0%). Staph aureus detected virulence genes were mecA, coa, spa, and tetK, and E. coli were fimH, iss, iutA, papC, blaTEM, blaCTX-M, and tetA. About 100% of E. coli and 76.1% of Staph aureus isolates exhibited multidrug resistance.
Conclusion: FLUTD in tom-cats is associated with higher odds in E. coli, E. coli mixed cases, and triple-phosphate at older ages (>4-y) with high antimicrobial resistance in the microbial isolates contributing to the disease.
Key words: Antibiotic resistance, Crystals & Microbial, Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease, Prevalence, Odd Ratio, Virulence.
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