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My cat has bladder stones and is straining to pee. Is it an emergency?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 9 years and 4 months old | 9.3 lbs

My cat (age 9) was diagnosed with bladder stones and it was said should have surgery but the surgery is 3 days away. There was no urinalysis to know the type of stones and I am also worried that she can't pee very much and is trying and the surgery is days away.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Emily, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 17th, 2017

If Scout is straining to urinate and not producing any urine she needs to be seen by a veterinarian immediately. A stone could be blocking her bladder and causing an obstruction which can prove deadly. While some stones are caused by infections and they resolve with antibiotics and a diet change once they have any signs of a bladder obstruction surgery is necessary as soon as possible.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr Stafford, BVetMed, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Poor Scout, she must be very uncomfortable! I would contact your vet and explain your concerns. If she cannot pass urine because the stones are blocking the outflow her bladder could get very large and possibly rupture or damage the muscle. You could gently feel her belly to see if you can feel a hard ball this would be indicative if a full bladder. Be very gentle! The stones that are removed can be sent to the lab for analysis and identification, request this from your vet.

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    Answered By Joy Fuhrman, DVM, MBA, CPA

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    If Scout is unable to pee and if your veterinarian is unable to get her in sooner I would recommend taking her to an emergency vetetinarian to get the surgery done as soon as possible. The stones can be submitted for analysis after the surgery.

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    Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 27th, 2017

    Poor Boots. If she's really miserable and straining frequently, it's never wrong to get emergency attention. The issues I would be most worried about are idiopathic cystitis (basically a UTI without the actual infection, very common in cats), bladder stones, bladder tumors, and a blockage of her bladder. The blockage would be a life threatening emergency, while the other issues can wait four hours. A blockage would be quite unusual in an older female cat, but not impossible. If she's eating and moving around, even in the unlikely case that she is blocked, she will probably be ok for 4 hours. There is some risk in this situation that she is blocked and will compensated rapidly. Death is certainly possible with urinary blockage. I would ask your vet if you can swing by and have a tech (or doctor) feel her bladder in the treatment room to make sure it's not dangerously distended. I would NOT expect to talk to the tech or doctor if you do this. If it distended, you'll need to go to an emergency clinic (depending on your regular vet clinic they could deal with it there, but it completely depends on how many staff they have available to handle emergencies). If her bladder isn't distended, she can wait for her appointment (offer her lots of water, canned wet food with extra water, chicken broth, etc while you're waiting to help with comfort). If your vet can't do this (could be issues with space, staff availability - this is certainly not a typical request), you have to decide if you want to chance it or be more aggressive and take her straight to the emergency clinic. Good luck! I hope Boots is feeling better soon. Please let me know if this was helpful information.

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