cat urinating problem

Question
Hi, and thank you for taking my question, my 10 year old male (neutered) tiger cat went to his litter box this morning, and I happened to be working nearby, he stayed on his crouch for a good 2-3 minutes, when he finished, I figured I would clean it out immediately but noticed there was barely a spot of urine! I heard about the frequency of urinary problems with cats and immediately thought of a blockage, he seems fine and hasn't gone back since, but I noticed he isn't interested in his treats, which he normally crawls up my leg to get at them, what should I watch for as far a behavior , it is Saturday evening and I won't have access to a vet until Monday morning...

Answer
Hi Nick.  Well it sounds certain that he has some urinary tract pain going on.  Besides straining in the litter box, many cats won't show other symptoms when they have urinary tract infections, stones or other urinary tract conditions, such as interstitial cystitis, an inflammatory condition.  If your kitty has a loss of appetite or lethargy, he's probably feeling pretty shabby!  It may have spread beyond the lower urinary tract.  There is the potential that it may have spread to the kidneys if he has a urinary tract infection.  Antibiotics can usually cure this if caught early on.  Longer standing infections may be more difficult to treat.

As long as he is passing urine, this is a good sign, but I would certainly have him seen by a vet Monday.  If it gets to the point where he is NOT passing any urine, however, the situation is a true emergency.  A complete urinary tract blockage could be deadly in as little as 24 hours.  If you use clumping litter, you'll be able to keep an easy eye on his urinary output.  Since he did pass a small amount of urine, I would imagine he is just inflamed and feels the need to urinate even though his bladder isn't full.  However, I would pull out the yellow pages and locate an emergency vet just in case you find he gets in the box and can't urinate at all by tomorrow.  Obvious signs of an absolute emergency would include seizures, breathing problems and unresponsiveness.  I would consider a trip to the urgent care center if he begins hiding on you or vomiting, too.  These are signs of a kidney infection but also early signs of a blockage.