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What causes urinary blockage in male cats? Is dry food a factor?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

regarding kidney blockage in a male cat: how does that happen? we went away for a week and they had a pet sitter, but might have been short water for almost 20 hours on the last day. He eats dry food mostly and is given some canned food in the morning, but not much. Paul Newman indoor cat food. just checking to see if the sitter was at fault.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Emily, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 1st, 2017

Hello Cats can develop urinary issues for lots of reasons including stones and infection. Sometimes we never know the cause. It is unlikely that mild dehydration would've caused an issue leading to an obstruction. I would check with the veterinarian that diagnosed your cat about what caused his obstruction and how to best for prevent a recurrence in the future.

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    Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on

    Urinary and kidney blockage tend to happen more often in male cats because of how the urethra is anatomically in them. In cats, the urethra has a sort of "U-shape" to it, which can cause urinary crystals to easily get lodged or stuck. Urinary crystals and kidney stones can also easily become lodged in the tubes leading to the bladder or out the urethra. While dehydration and stress can worsen symptoms, urinary issues can happen in any cat, and there are so many factors that can cause it that it would be hard to tell what happened. Usually, switching to a diet to prevent further crystals from forming is best.

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    Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I'm assuming that you are referring to a urethral obstruction (UO), which is actually a urethral blockage that stops the bladder from emptying - not obstructing the kidney. (True kidney/ureter blockages are pretty rare.) In this case, the sitter is not at fault. UOs can occur due to stones obstructing the urethra, crystals/mucus/gritty debris obstructing the urethra, infection or stress leading to urethral spasm. The most common factors that lead to a UO are related to dry food diets and stress. Cats are pretty resourceful and even if your cat was without water, I imagine that he would find the toilet as an available option. This website has some great information for further reading: https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/urinary-obstruction-cats I hope that your cat is doing well now!

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