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Feeding dry food only to your cat, especially your male cat, is dangerous. Feeding it ad lib is particularly harmful. Dry food is convenient and the premium diets are well-balanced with all nutrients - except water. The cat's urine becomes super-concentrated, predisposing male cats to blockage of the urethra. If the male cat is also overweight and not very active the risk of blockage increases. Cats on an ad lib dry food diet tend to become overweight. Dry food is like space food. A lot of calories are packed into a very small package. A tablespoon of dry food is equal to a can of wet food. Cats grazing on dry food all day and not moving around much are bound to pack on the kilos. All cats have a poor drive to drink. In the wild most of their fluids come from their food. They avoid water sources as that is where they are most vulnerable to predators. A cat on a dry food only diet drinks more than a cat on a wet diet, but not enough to remain properly hydrated.This puts pressure on the kidneys. When they are young they can compensate to a degree but as they age it may accelerate kidney failure.

If you see your neutered male cat jumping in and out of the litter tray and straining to pass urine it is an emergency. He could have a blockage in the urethra, the passage from the bladder to the penis. Please call us as soon as you notice he is having trouble urinating. If he is not treated the bladder will continue to enlarge and he will become toxic. Urine banks up behind the blockage damaging the bladder wall and endangering the kidneys. His system soon overloads and death is likely. We will quickly relieve the blockage with a urinary catheter and treat him with fluids and electrolytes to reverse the toxicity. To prevent another episode feed wet food only. We may prescribe a diet which lowers the urine pH if a lot of struvite crystals are found. However, the main cause of urinary blockages in male cats is a dry food diet so avoid dry food as much as possible especially in the first few months after a blockage. Obesity, inactivity and anxiety are often predisposing factors, also. Discuss a weight loss strategy or ways to reduce anxiety with us before you take your boy home.