My cat is trying to urinate, but nothing is happening?

I really couldn’t tell you how often my cats use the litter box. If I see it, and it’s been used, I change it. But I’ve got bigger fish to fry than follow my girls to the litter tray every time they head to the laundry. It’s especially hard to track toileting habits when you have more than one cat. But if you notice one cat just keep going back to the litter box, follow him and have a look at what he’s doing. Is trying to urinate? Is he crying when he’s weeing? Is actually able to wee?

If you notice that your cat is trying to urinate, but isn’t producing any urine, or only small amounts, it is an absolute, non-negotiable emergency. You must bring your cat in to see us. We know he hates us. All cats hate the vet. But urinary obstructions are incredibly common, and can make him very sick, very quickly.

If you notice that your cat is trying to urinate, but isn’t producing any urine, or only small amounts, it is an absolute, non-negotiable emergency. You must bring your cat in to see us.

What I mean by urinary obstruction is a stone, or sand, that has formed in the bladder, and gotten lodged in the urethra (in the penis). Yes, this is a boy cat problem. So, imagine you can’t urinate because the outlet pipe of the bladder has been plugged up. This is bad. That’s because Felix still keeps making urine, but it’s got no way to get out. So, he’s bladder gets enormous, and his heart and kidneys can start shutting down.

If we suspect that Felix can’t urinate because he is ‘blocked’ – we gotta unblock him. Stat. First, we run some tests to make sure that it’s safe to go ahead with a general anaesthesia and know what kind of blockage we’re dealing with. Whilst he’s sleeping, we pass a urinary catheter into his bladder, and dislodge whatever has caused the blockage. You can expect Felix to stay in hospital for a few days until he’s feeling better and that catcheter can come out.

If we suspect that Felix can’t urinate because he is ‘blocked’ – we gotta unblock him.

You know cats are complicated, so you know that this isn’t the end of it. Sending Felix home is just the beginning. Once he’s feeling better, we need to work out why this happened, to try and best to keep it from happening again.

Are you worried because your dog has been vomiting?

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Please be sensible – this is not a complete, or comprehensive list. But, if your dog fits any parts of this list, you need to bring them in to see us immediately.

Dr. Vicky Wade

Veterinarian