True Emergencies – A series

#1 – The Blocked Cat 

Although animals can have obstructions in many ways, young male cats are particularly prone to Urethral Obstruction.  It is a specific condition that every vet and vet tech will cringe about when they hear it:  a “blocked cat.”  We hear the words and we immediately fear the worst.   It means he can’t pass any urine because the urethra is clogged by either a stone or a bunch of urinary crystals. 

Blocked cats are almost always young.  Like, less than three years old in most cases.  And it’s heart breaking because they are literally fine, and then they aren’t.  They suffer from an unfortunately narrow urethra, which means that it takes only the tiniest little stone or collection of crystals in their urine to cause an obstruction.  And then they can’t pee and, well folks, when they can’t pee it’s a medical emergency that needs to be addressed immediately.  

Symptoms usually include frequent trips to the litter box, or sitting in the box trying to pee but nothing is coming out.  Or both.  Sometimes he only produces a few drops.  They are often obsessively licking their genitals, and they may vocalize when they are in the litter box, or they just cry randomly, or they make no noise at all.  If your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, you may not notice any unusual urinary activity because he doesn’t use a litterbox anyway.  In any case, he eventually progresses to being lethargic, losing his appetite, becoming dehydrated, and vomiting.  It can happen in a matter of hours, so it is important to know the signs.

 
Once he is blocked, your kitty will need emergency medical care involving an anesthetic to pass a urinary catheter, initial and repeat blood panels, urinalyses, urine cultures, xrays, IV fluids, and hospitalization for usually 2-3 days.  He will also need some pain meds and something to relax his urethra to ease urination.  The good news is that most of them will do well with treatment.  The bad news is that not all of them do, especially if it isn’t detected right away, AND at the ER it will probably cost you 3000 – 5000 dollars. 

Blocked cats are the saddest emergencies I ever dealt with as an ER vet.  Sad because the cats are young.  Sad because it comes on suddenly.  Sad because most people want to do everything they can for their pets but are not made of money, and three to five thousand dollars is a hardship.  Sad because I had to put so many otherwise healthy cats to sleep because their owners simply couldn’t afford to save them.  Sad for every. Single. Person. Involved. 

So what can you do to prevent this from happening to your male cat?  Here are some great ideas:

1. Some people who have been through this trauma will automatically feed their remaining male cats a prescription urinary diet as a precaution.  This is a great idea!!  It is safe for all cats in the household, and is very effective at preventing urethral obstruction, but it must be fed exclusively.  No mixing it with another kind of food.  Ask one of our vets if this is a good choice for your cat.
2. Make an appointment to have routine bloodwork and urinalyses performed on your male cat at least once a year.  If there are an abundance of crystals in his urine, you might be lucky enough to find out before he blocks.  And then, well, refer to #1.
3. Purchase a pet insurance policy for every pet in your household.  If it’s not a urethral obstruction, it will very likely be something else.  You can budget for your pets’ health care monthly when you have pet insurance, rather than pay so much money out of pocket at once.