LAUSR

OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of urinary catheter type on recurrence rate (rUO) in cats with urethral obstruction. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Two private referral hospitals. ANIMALS Ninety-one cats diagnosed with urethral obstruction treated with a 3.5-Fr Argyle (AR) or 3.5-Fr red rubber (RR) indwelling catheter presenting in 2014. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS One hundred sixty-six cats were identified using diagnostic code search with 91 cats meeting inclusion criteria. All were treated with IV fluids, buprenorphine, prazosin, and an indwelling urethral catheter with a closed collection system. Catheter groups did not differ statistically in baseline characteristics, medication treatment, or catheterization time. Follow-up was available for 91 cats at 24 hours, 86 cats at 7 days, and 84 cats at 30 days. There was no statistical difference in rUO between cats with different catheter types at any time in this retrospective study. CONCLUSIONS No difference in rUO was found in cats treated for urethral obstruction with a 3.5-Fr AR or RR catheter, however, due to the retrospective nature of this study the inability to detect a difference may be due to the small sample size of this study. Recurrent urethral obstruction in this study at 30 days was 11%.