one sick kitty

Question
On Monday of this week, I noticed that my cat who is a five year old male wasn't feeling well.  I called our vet, who is relatively new to us, to come and take a look at him.  He has been treating him for a blocked urinary.  He squeezes his bladder to help him urinate.  This seems very rough, is this the right thing for him to do?  This is costing me a great deal of money and the cat doesn't seem to be doing any better. I would like to get a second opinion.

Answer
Hi Colleen.  I would definitely suggest switching veterinarians.  A urinary tract blockage is caused by urinary crystals that form in the bladder and are passed through the urethra as they are urinated out.  In male cats, these crystals get stuck in the tip of the penis.  The only way to treat this is by a veterinarian inserting a urinary catheter.  The catheter will open the way for the crystals to pass.  Generally, a blocked cat will be hospitalized for 48 hours while the urinary catheter drains all of the blocked urine and crystals.  The cat will then be put on a prescription diet like Science Diet C/D formula which helps eliminate the crystals.
What happens when the crystals are not passed, is that the urine does not pass properly either.  This causes urine to be trapped, which in turn, literally poisons the cat's system.  Without proper treatment, death will occur.
Urinary blockages in male cats is a very common thing.  I have 4 male cats and luckily, non of them have ever blocked.  None of my male cats throughout the years have ever blocked.  BUT, a friend of mine has three males, and they all have had blockages.  It just depends on the cat and the diet.  Foods like tuna, friskies, 9 lives can increase the production of urinary crystals.  If these are foods that your cat has been eating, eliminating them from his diet will help in reducing his chances of blocking again in the future.  As for now, I would definitely take him to a different veterinarian to have him unblocked and healthy again.
I hope this helps and please keep me posted!
Hilary