When a pet is diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, owners
often ask: What are the causes? Will it happen again? The
urinary tract in dogs and cats includes the kidneys, ureters,
bladder and urethra. Kidneys remove waste materials from the
blood, forming urine. Urine moves from the kidneys into the
ureters and is collected in the bladder. When the animal
urinates, urine leaves the body through the urethra. Although
kidneys can become infected, the term urinary tract infection
(UTI) is most commonly used to refer to a simple bacterial
infection of the urinary bladder. Normal urine in the bladder is
sterile – it does not contain any microorganisms, so if bacteria
make their way up through the urethra and into the bladder,
problems occur. How UTI's Develop During self grooming, an
animal may transfer fecal bacteria from the anal area to the
opening of the vulva or prepuce, which then may move into the
urethra. Most of the time, bacteria is washed back out of the
urethra with urination. If not, it can enter t