The penis of a male cat is covered with a layer of foreskin, and the penis only protrudes from the foreskin when urinating or mating.

Phimosis, that is, the foreskin is too long, is a disease in which the foreskin opening is narrow due to infection or congenital reasons, and the penis cannot extend out of the foreskin sac. Male cats with phimosis will overflow urine in the form of urine droplets and cannot urinate smoothly. Likewise, affected cats are unable to mate successfully. Cats born with the process of congenital phimosis are relatively rare, and below is one of the few photos of a case I have been able to collect.

▲ In the picture above, in the first picture you can barely see where the urethral opening is, but in the second picture, after squeezing hard, you can find a head sticking out of the penis. This congenital phimosis defect is rare and must be treated surgically.

　01 Causes of phimosis

In addition to the rare congenital factors mentioned above, the causes of phimosis in male cats are as follows, which are also relatively common:

Edema, inflammation, and scar tissue caused by external damage to the foreskin

Post-infectious tumors

Balanitis, penile bone fracture, foreskin sac eversion, etc.

　02 Signs of phimosis

If the male cat shows the following signs, you have reason to suspect that the male cat may have phimosis:

Desire to mate, but after several failed attempts, lose interest in mating;

I have a problem with urination, and my urine is squeezed out drop by drop;

Licking one’s own penis excessively;

The penis looks dark or strange.

03 Diagnosis of phimosis

Although the behavior of some cats with phimosis may be similar to lower urinary tract problems, there are important differences. Diagnosing phimosis simply requires you to squeeze the male cat's penis, if you can't squeeze the penis out of its penile sac. It can be concluded that it is phimosis.

04 Treatment of phimosis

Treatment for phimosis varies depending on the cause. The treatment principles for inflammatory phimosis are antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-swelling, and improving the body's resistance. You can use Kelu oral spray to spray the penis while taking oral or injected broad-spectrum antibiotics. In addition, trim the hair around the penis to prevent secondary bacterial infection caused by moisture in the surrounding hair. For phimosis cases where scar tissue has formed, surgical removal of the foreskin and scar tissue can be performed. Specific treatment plans can be discussed with your doctor. What needs to be emphasized here is that male cats with congenital phimosis should not be allowed to join the breeding program even if the prognosis is good after treatment..

　05 Prevention of phimosis

The hair around the foreskin should be trimmed before breeding, especially for long-haired cats. The male cat's genitals should be checked regularly to prevent irritants and hair rings from irritating the penis and foreskin. Article source: Cat Academy