Section: Information In-depth
Hematuria (blood in the urine) can be caused by several different disorders. The most common causes of hematuria are:
Bacterial urinary tract infection
Stones in the urinary tract especially in the bladder or urethra
Cancer of the urogenital (urinary or reproductive) tract, especially cancer of the bladder or urethra
Urogenital (urinary or reproductive) disorders such as uterine infection and vaginitis in females and prostatitis in males
Normal heat cycle in sexually intact female dogs
Congenital abnormalities (those present at birth) of the urinary tract, most often an outpouching of the bladder called a urachus
Less common causes of hematuria include:
Clotting abnormalities caused by low platelet count (called thrombocytopenia), warfarin (rat poison) ingestion, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (a systemic clotting problem seen in seriously ill animals)
Parasites of the urinary tract (the kidney worm Diotophyma renale and the bladder worm Capillaria plica)
Trauma to the urinary tract (kidneys or bladder)
Some drugs such as cyclophosphamide (a drug used to treat cancer and immune disorders) can cause hematuria by inducing a sterile (non-infectious) hemorrhagic cystitis
Bleeding from the kidney of unknown cause (referred to as "benign renal hematuria") is rare but when present can cause hematuria that is severe enough to lead to anemia
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