An Emergency: Blocked Cats

One of the scariest feline emergency situation that can occur is when a cat is unable to urinate. To the veterinary field, these cats are simply called blocked cats. To you, all you need to know is that you need to get your cat to the veterinarian as soon as you possibly can!

Things to Know

Blocked cats happen mainly in male cats because their urethra is smaller than their female counterparts.

The blockage may happen for several reasons. Crystals or stones may build up in the bladder, but they are unable to make it through the urethra, not allowing the cat to urinate.

Signs of Blocked Cats

When these crystals or stones get stuck in a cat's urethra, it can be quite painful.

You may notice that your cat is in and out of the litter box often, trying to urinate.

You may even notice that your cat is crying and screaming in pain while trying to go.

While you may notice small amounts of urine in the box, it won't take long until your cat is unable to go at all.

His bladder will continue to fill with urine, and this in itself is quite painful!

This condition can be deadly. Since urine is used to remove toxins from the body, the toxins will build up as the bladder continues to grow in size. If left long enough, the kidneys will shut down and fail.

Treatment for Blocked Cats

If you want to give your cat the best chance at a full recovery, you will need to have your cat hospitalized for a few days.

The first thing that your veterinarian will do is unblock him using a urinary catheter. This is usually kept in for a day or two to ensure that your cat is able to urinate. After it is removed, your veterinarian will continue to watch for urination. There are times when your cat may re-block within hours of removing the catheter.

Since toxins often build up when cats aren't able to urinate, the truth is that you need to treat this also. Most veterinarians will run blood work to look at your cat's kidney function. They will also place your cat on fluids to help to flush out these toxins. Your cat's kidney function should be checked in a few days to make sure that the fluids helped to improve them.

So, what can you do for your cat?

The best thing that you can do for your cat is to prevent them from becoming blocked.

You can do this by making sure that your cat is getting enough water every day. Since most cats don't drink enough water, you can help by giving your cat canned food. If they won't eat canned food, you may want to add some water in with their dry food. You may even want to add water into your cat's canned food to ensure that he is drinking enough.

You may also want to make sure that he is drinking. Many cats enjoy drinking out of the faucet because it is running, so you may want to buy a fountain to see if that will increase his water intake.

If your cat has already blocked, you need to keep a close eye on him. Many cats will re-block, so it is important that you watch him to make sure that he is still able to urinate. You also want to make sure that he gets enough water in his diet.

Though a blocked cat can be extremely scary, he has a good chance at a full recovery if you get him to the veterinarian as soon as you possibly can!