My male cat is straining to pee, is it an emergency?

Merck says male cats are uniquely predisposed to urethral obstruction as a complication of lower urinary tract disease, and that in male cats most cases are caused by urethral plugs. Cornell adds that male and neutered male cats are at greater risk of obstruction than females, and that urinary stones, most often struvite or calcium oxalate, can block the bladder or urethra too.

Once urine cannot leave the body, waste and potassium build up in the blood. Merck describes how high potassium becomes life-threatening because it upsets the heart's rhythm, and lists depression, dehydration and shock as possible signs depending on how severe the blockage is. This is why a cat that was straining in the morning can be collapsed by night.

Female cats block less often, since Cornell says males are at greater risk, but a straining female cat still needs a vet soon: the same signs can come from cystitis or stones.

Merck's outline of treatment starts with stabilising the cat, usually with fluids into a vein, and treating high potassium promptly with heart monitoring. The blockage is then relieved, which in male cats is usually done under general anaesthetic with pain relief, by passing a catheter. If the cat is too unstable for anaesthesia, the vet may drain the bladder with a needle first. Merck lists a stent, a bladder tube or surgery on the urethra among the other options for some cats.

Your vet will look for the cause, which Cornell says is often more than one thing: idiopathic cystitis, an inflamed bladder with no other disease found, is the most common diagnosis in cats with urinary signs, followed by stones and plugs. Cornell notes that cats that have formed stones are at higher risk of forming them again, although most cats rarely have the problem again. Follow-up visits and any diet the vet prescribes matter.

Cornell says urinary signs are seen most often in middle-aged, overweight cats that get little exercise, use an indoor litter box, have limited outdoor access and drink less water, and that multi-cat homes and big changes such as a house move raise the risk. That describes many cats in Indian flats: kept indoors for safety on high floors, fed dry food, and living through festival noise, guests and moves.

Heat adds to it. Cornell links drinking less water to urinary signs, so in summer keep several fresh water bowls around the home and refresh them often. If you go away, tell your sitter that a male cat straining in the tray is an emergency. A Petym sitter checks the litter tray on every visit, follows your plan and, in an emergency, calls you and takes your cat to the nearest 24-hour vet.