Vetdle

Think. Diagnose. Play.

Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #74: Feline Idiopathic Cystitis

Cat veterinary case - Medium - May 16, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. A young indoor cat is visiting the litter tray frequently and passing only tiny amounts of urine.
  2. The owner has noticed licking at the perineal region and small blood spots in the litter.
  3. The cat is uncomfortable but the bladder is not grossly enlarged.
  4. There is a history of recent environmental stress in the household.
  5. Quantitative urine culture is negative, providing no evidence of bacterial urinary tract infection.
  6. Abdominal radiography and ultrasonography show no urolith, mass, or structural urinary tract abnormality, supporting feline idiopathic cystitis as a diagnosis of exclusion.

Diagnosis

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis

This case is most consistent with Feline Idiopathic Cystitis because a young indoor cat has stress-associated pollakiuria, dysuria, and haematuria, while quantitative urine culture is negative and imaging excludes uroliths, masses, and structural disease. Feline lower urinary tract disease describes the clinical syndrome; exclusion of identifiable causes supports FIC as the specific diagnosis.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

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

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: A young indoor cat is visiting the litter tray frequently and passing only tiny amounts of urine.
  2. Clue 2: The owner has noticed licking at the perineal region and small blood spots in the litter.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: The cat is uncomfortable but the bladder is not grossly enlarged.
  2. Clue 4: There is a history of recent environmental stress in the household.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: Quantitative urine culture is negative, providing no evidence of bacterial urinary tract infection.
  2. Clue 6: Abdominal radiography and ultrasonography show no urolith, mass, or structural urinary tract abnormality, supporting feline idiopathic cystitis as a diagnosis of exclusion.

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 Idiopathic Cystitis?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Feline Idiopathic Cystitis?

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.