Evaluator

Straining or not urinating

A male cat who cannot pass urine can die within hours. This is the most missed feline emergency.

Straining in the box with little or no urine — especially in males — is an emergency.

Step 1

Is your cat in or around the litter box, straining, crying, or visiting repeatedly?

Watch the posture: a hunched squat with no stream is different from a normal, brief urination.

Urinary tract — male cat, schematic
BladderUrethra (narrow)A plug here stops all urine.Schematic only — not a diagnostic image.