Cat urinary problems
Urinary trouble in cats runs from uncomfortable bladder inflammation to a complete blockage. The blocked male cat is the one people wait on too long. If you remember one rule, make it this: a male cat who visits the box again and again and produces little or no urine needs an emergency clinic.
Blockage versus cystitis
A urethral plug or stone stops urine from leaving. The bladder fills, potassium rises, and the cat becomes painful, then weak, then collapsed. Early signs are easy to misread as constipation: squatting, crying, licking the penis, a drop of blood on the rim of the box, vomiting, and hiding. Feel the belly only if you can do it without hurting him. A bladder the size of an orange that feels like a rock is an emergency. If you are unsure, go anyway.
Female cats block less often and still get feline idiopathic cystitis and stones. Blood in the box, urinating outside the box, and frequent small puddles deserve a same-day visit. Crystals and infection are diagnosed from a urine sample the clinic collects. The sample you scoop off litter is often too contaminated to trust.
What not to do overnight
Do not wait for a male cat to "pass it" until morning. Do not give human painkillers. Do not force water with a syringe into a cat who is vomiting. A prescription urinary diet is useful after a diagnosis and is not the treatment of a cat who is already blocked. Those cats need the obstruction relieved, fluids, and monitoring.
After an episode, clinics often talk about water fountains, canned food to raise moisture, litter-box number (more boxes than cats), and reducing stress in the house. Those steps lower recurrence. They are the follow-up, not the emergency plan.
Other cats in the house
A cat who avoids a dirty or ambushed box may urinate elsewhere without having bladder disease. If the stream is large, the cat is comfortable, and there is no blood, a behavior and husbandry review is reasonable. The moment there is straining, blood, or vocalizing, assume a medical problem first. Use the when-to-see-a-vet checker, and read cat not eating if nausea showed up too. The vet help hub links the rest.
Sources
Clinic decisions belong to the veterinarian who can examine the animal. This page is background reading.
Cat urinary questions
Is a male cat straining an emergency?
Yes. A urethral blockage can become life-threatening within hours. Go to an open clinic if a male cat strains, cries, or produces little or no urine.
What if there is blood but the cat still passes urine?
Blood with a normal stream still needs a veterinarian promptly. It is less immediately deadly than a blockage and it is not a wait-and-see week.
Will stress alone cause this?
Stress and a dry diet are part of feline lower urinary tract disease. They do not let you skip the exam, because you cannot see a blockage from across the room.