Nino is a delightful young man who is one of our regular visitors at St Bernard’s Road Veterinary Clinic. He visited last week because he was straining and having trouble going to the toilet. It is very important that we check male cats when they are straining to toilet, because they are at risk of developing small stones which completely block the urethra and prevent them from being able to urinate.

As you can imagine cats who are not able to urinate become uncomfortable very quickly and these cats are often in crisis when we see them presented at the clinic.

Nino was admitted for some investigations and fortunately after x-rays it was found that his bladder was not blocked, but that he had some spinal trauma which was causing him to struggle and strain when he was trying to toilet. He has been treated with some anti-inflammatory medication to settle the spinal pain and he is recovering really well.

While our cats are often very private about their toileting, as owners it is important that we keep a close watch on what is going on in the litter tray.