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Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #169: Feline Pyelonephritis

Cat veterinary case - Medium - August 19, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. Triage evaluates a cat with lethargy, poor appetite, and intermittent vomiting.
  2. Recent inappropriate urination accompanies a noticeable increase in drinking.
  3. On examination the kidneys are painful on abdominal palpation and the cat is febrile.
  4. Urinalysis reveals bacteriuria and an active sediment.
  5. Urine culture grows a significant bacterial isolate.
  6. Ascending bacterial infection can involve the renal pelvis and kidneys in cats.

Diagnosis

Feline Pyelonephritis

This case is most consistent with Feline Pyelonephritis because the cat has systemic illness, renal pain, and a positive urine culture indicating upper urinary tract infection. The most important clues are the fever and painful kidneys, which make uncomplicated cystitis less likely.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this cat case supports the provided diagnosis, Feline Pyelonephritis, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: Triage evaluates a cat with lethargy, poor appetite, and intermittent vomiting.
  2. Clue 2: Recent inappropriate urination accompanies a noticeable increase in drinking.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: On examination the kidneys are painful on abdominal palpation and the cat is febrile.
  2. Clue 4: Urinalysis reveals bacteriuria and an active sediment.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: Urine culture grows a significant bacterial isolate.
  2. Clue 6: Ascending bacterial infection can involve the renal pelvis and kidneys in cats.

Self-review prompts

  1. After clues 1-2, what evidence from this cat case shaped your initial interpretation?
  2. When you compare clues 3-4 with clues 1-2, what changed in your reasoning about Feline Pyelonephritis?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Feline Pyelonephritis?

Educational Use

Vetdle archive cases are educational veterinary games for diagnostic reasoning practice. They do not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional medical guidance.