5 Signs Your Cat is Having a Veterinary Emergency

When you have a feline family member, it’s natural to do everything you can to look after them well and keep them safe and healthy. Unfortunately, the chances are high that you’ll face a situation that could be an emergency at some point in your cat’s life.

Knowing how to distinguish true, time-dependent emergencies from milder illnesses and injuries is very important to ensure that you seek veterinary help in an appropriate timeframe.

Signs Your Cat Needs a Veterinarian Right Away

1.    Straining to Urinate

If you have a male cat straining to urinate, this could indicate a blocked urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body from the bladder). If grit, mucus, or a painful spasm causes a blockage to the urethra the bladder becomes more and more full.

Eventually, it can burst or cause permanent kidney damage. This condition can become life-threatening very quickly. Often cats are seen going in and out of the litterbox, vocalizing loudly, but unable to pass any urine. In later stages, cats can become lethargic and are unable to move around.

2.    Bleeding

Severe blood loss is always an emergency – whether from a wound, from the mouth, or vomit or diarrhea. When faced with a bleeding cat, it’s easy to panic, and it can look like there is more blood than there is.

Take a breath and try to quantify the amount of blood calmly – would it fill a coffee cup? Being able to explain to your veterinarian a rough estimate of how much blood there is will help decide whether it is an emergency and assist the veterinarian in beginning preparation for treatment like a blood transfusion if required.

3.    Straining During Labor

If your cat is having kittens and labor has started, but she has been straining continuously for thirty minutes or more with no kitten produced, this is an emergency. It could mean that a kitten has become lodged on the way out of the womb, forming an obstruction.

If left without veterinary intervention, one or more of the kittens could die, and the womb could rupture, causing life-threatening risks to the mother’s health. However, remember that there can be significant gaps between kittens in normal labor, so this is not an emergency if there is no straining.

4.    Collapse

If your cat collapses and can’t stand, you must contact a veterinarian immediately as it could mean a problem with their heart, lungs, brain, or blood circulation.

5.    Struggling to Breathe

Oddly, cats don’t tend to make a big fuss when they are in breathing distress. They are unlikely to make any noise and often hide. Signs that your cat is struggling to breathe include:

-          An elongated neck.

-          Laying on their front with their elbows out.

-          Increased movement of their chest.

-          Breathing through an open mouth (panting).

-          You may also notice blue-tinged gums.

If your cat is showing any of these signs of breathing distress, it is an emergency. You should immediately visit a pet/ cat hospital in Regina or anywhere near you.

If any of these problems seem familiar, visit Northgate Animal Hospital in Regina for a quick examination and treatment.