Your cat keeps going back to the litter box. They squat, strain, and hardly anything comes out. Maybe nothing does. Now you’re stuck on one question: can this wait until your regular vet opens, or does your cat need to be seen today?
Autumn Trails Veterinary Center, the Charlottesville area’s first Animal Urgent Care Center, has a veterinarian available from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. Its Google reviews include owners who brought in a cat that wasn’t peeing the way it should, and owners of cats that had blocked more than once. Here’s what a urinary blockage can look like, why nobody can rule one out at home, and where to go depending on the time of day.
A urinary blockage in cats, called a urethral obstruction, happens when the tube that carries urine out of the bladder becomes plugged, so the cat strains but passes little or no urine. The Cornell Feline Health Center describes urethral obstruction as a true medical emergency that needs immediate veterinary attention. A cat that’s straining with little or nothing coming out should be seen by a veterinarian right away: at Autumn Trails between 8am and 8pm, or at a 24-hour emergency hospital after 8pm.
What a urinary blockage can look like at home
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A blocked cat usually starts out looking like a cat with any other urinary problem. The Cornell Feline Health Center lists these as the most common signs of lower urinary tract disease in cats:
- Straining, or seeming to hurt, while urinating
- Going to the litter box more often than usual
- Crying out while trying to pee
- Blood in the urine
- Peeing outside the litter box
- Licking the genital area a lot
What sets a blockage apart, according to Cornell, is that the cat passes little or no urine and becomes more and more distressed as time goes on, often crying out in pain. The cat is trying hard and getting nowhere. Those repeated trips in and out of the box aren’t fussiness. They’re one of the signs on that list, and Autumn Trails’ own urgent care page lists frequent urination or straining to urinate among the reasons a pet may need urgent care.
Why a blockage can’t be ruled out at home
Straining in the litter box has several possible causes. Cornell names infections, inflammation, diet and behavioral issues among them, along with bladder stones, a painful bladder condition called idiopathic cystitis, and soft plugs of minerals, cells and mucus that can lodge in the urethra. Some of these block the flow of urine. Some don’t.
Here’s the catch. According to Cornell, a blocked cat usually behaves much like a cat with urinary signs from another cause. From the outside, a cat with an irritated bladder and a cat with a plug can look the same. It isn’t always obvious from across the room whether a straining cat is trying to pee or trying to poop, either, which is one more reason not to guess.
Telling them apart takes an exam and a urine test, and sometimes bloodwork, X-rays or an ultrasound. That’s a veterinarian’s job, and no amount of careful watching at the litter box can do it. So the useful question at home isn’t “how serious is this?” It’s “has a vet checked my cat yet?”
Charlottesville, VA
Worried about your cat’s litter box trips?
Autumn Trails Veterinary Center’s urgent care sees pets from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. Walk in or call ahead.
Which cats are most at risk
Any cat can develop urinary problems, but some are more likely to than others. The Cornell Feline Health Center notes that:
- Male cats, including neutered males, are at greater risk of a blockage than females, because their urethra is longer and narrower.
- Urinary signs show up most often in middle-aged cats that are overweight, get little exercise, use an indoor litter box, have limited time outdoors and drink less water.
- Stress can play a part, including living with several cats or a change in routine such as moving to a new home.
None of that rules a cat in or out. A young, slim female cat straining in the litter box still needs to be checked. Risk factors explain why this happens more often to some cats. They can’t tell you what’s going on with yours.
What to do right now
Between 8am and 8pm
Call Autumn Trails Veterinary Center at (434) 971-9800, or bring your cat to 2407 Hydraulic Road. The practice’s urgent care at Autumn Trails works on a walk-in or call-ahead basis, and calling ahead can sometimes mean a shorter wait. You don’t need to be a regular client, and the practice forwards your cat’s records to your regular veterinarian afterward.
After 8pm
Go to a 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital rather than waiting for morning. If you’re not sure how the two differ, this explainer on urgent care versus an emergency vet walks through it. It’s also worth looking up your nearest 24-hour hospital now, as part of a pet emergency plan, so you aren’t searching for one late at night with a cat in distress.
What not to do
Don’t wait to see whether it passes, and skip the home remedies that turn up in online forums. Relieving a blockage is veterinary treatment: Cornell describes it as usually involving a narrow tube passed up the urethra while the cat is sedated or anesthetized.
What happens at the vet
Every cat is different, but Cornell describes the usual steps:
- A physical exam and a urinalysis, which is a microscopic check of a urine sample
- Where needed, bloodwork, X-rays, an abdominal ultrasound or a urine culture
- For a blocked cat, relieving the blockage, usually by passing a narrow tube called a catheter up the urethra under sedation or anesthesia
- After a blockage is relieved, and depending on the cat’s condition, intravenous fluids to treat dehydration and imbalances in the blood’s electrolytes
Cornell notes that a blocked cat’s hospital stay can range from a few days to several weeks, depending on how severe the blockage was and how long it lasted. The veterinarian who examines your cat will explain what it needs next, including where it will be cared for if it has to stay.
Cat straining with little or nothing coming out? Call Autumn Trails’ urgent care, open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
If your cat has blocked before
Some cats have repeat episodes. Among cats that have had lower urinary tract problems, Cornell says a few experience frequent recurrences, including repeat blockages, while most rarely have the problem again or have it only occasionally. Autumn Trails’ reviews include owners of cats that have blocked more than once, so this is something the practice’s clients know firsthand.
A history doesn’t change the rule. If a cat that has blocked before starts straining again, it needs to be seen again right away. Care at home after a blockage depends on what caused it, so that plan should come from the veterinarian who treated your cat.
For other warning signs worth acting on, see 5 signs your cat needs immediate veterinary care.
Questions cat owners ask
How long can a cat go without peeing?
There’s no safe amount of time to wait and see. The Cornell Feline Health Center says the time from a complete urinary blockage until death may be less than 24 to 48 hours. A cat straining with little or no urine should be seen by a veterinarian right away.
Can female cats get a urinary blockage?
Female cats can have urinary problems too. Cornell describes male and neutered male cats as being at greater risk of a blockage than females because of their longer, narrower urethra. Greater risk isn’t the same as the only risk, so any cat straining to pee needs a veterinarian to check it.
Is it a UTI or a blockage?
You can’t tell by watching. Infection, bladder inflammation, stones and a blockage can all cause straining, and Cornell notes that a blocked cat usually behaves like a cat with other urinary problems. A veterinarian tells them apart with an exam and a urine test, and sometimes bloodwork, X-rays or an ultrasound.
Can a cat that has blocked before block again?
It can happen. Among cats with lower urinary tract problems, Cornell notes that a few have frequent recurrences, including repeat blockages, though most rarely have the problem again. A cat with a history of blocking that starts straining should be seen right away, not watched.
What if it happens after 8pm?
Autumn Trails’ urgent care is open 8am to 8pm, so after 8pm, take your cat to a 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital. Cornell calls urethral obstruction a true medical emergency, so don’t hold off until morning.
Don’t wait on a straining cat
If your cat is straining in the litter box and little or nothing is coming out, don’t wait for it to settle. Between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week, call Autumn Trails Veterinary Center at (434) 971-9800 or walk in at 2407 Hydraulic Road. You don’t need to be a regular client. After 8pm, go to a 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital.
