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My male cat has a urinary blockage. Is this an emergency? What now?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 4 years and 3 months old | 20 lbs

My male cat is having an issue with blockage and I can't get him to the vet until tomorrow. What can I do to alleviate his pain?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on August 14th, 2017

If he is blocked, he cannot wait until tomorrow. A urinary blockage is a veterinary emergency and requires immediate treatment. Left untreated, toxins will build up in his blood threatening his life. Do whatever you can to have Precious examined and unblocked tonight. Go to the nearest veterinary ER. There is nothing you can do at home to help him.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Anna M., DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 18th, 2017

    Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Xerxes! Unfortunately, a urinary blockage is a serious and immediately life threatening issue, so while it may sound extreme, your vet is right - Xerxes needs to be sedated to have a urinary catheter placed in order to allow him to urinate again, and then these cats generally require a few days of hospitalization while their urinary tract recovers or they are likely to re-block in the next few hours or days. The most expensive part of treatment is usually the sedation and un-blocking - so you could talk to your vet about the option of simply unblocking Xerxes and then treating him as an outpatient, and keep your fingers crossed that he doesn't re-block (you'd have to carefully monitor his urine output at home), but unfortunately that probably wouldn't dramatically decrease the cost, as the really essential part of treatment is the sedation and unblocking. Without doing that as a bare minimum, Xerxes will remain unable to urinate and will almost certainly die from painful complications such as kidney failure or a ruptured bladder and resulting uroabdomen (urine free in the abdomen). We vets don't like the fact that sometimes this means euthanizing cats for obstructions - but if a cat can't be treated due to the cost concerns, euthanasia is a more humane option than leaving the condition untreated. If it would be helpful to discuss this in more detail, you are absolutely welcome to request a consultation. Hope this helps and sorry again for the predicament you face with Xerxes.

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