My male cat keeps going to the litter tray but nothing comes out. Can it wait until tomorrow?

It cannot wait. Urethral obstruction in male cats and male dogs is an emergency, and in male cats it can be fatal within hours; the high blood potassium caused by obstruction can also trigger fatal arrhythmia, which is the downstream risk to watch most closely. Before you leave, note the number and timing of trips in and out of the litter tray, whether the cat cries while straining, and whether the abdomen feels harder.

My rabbit has passed no faeces all day and is not eating. Is that serious?

Yes. A rabbit squatting for a long time without result and straining visibly but passing no faeces often points to gastrointestinal stasis, one of the most common fatal signs in rabbits; once it stops passing faeces and refuses food entirely, treat it as the start of an emergency. Record the time of the last normal defecation, whether the abdomen is distended and any obvious painful posture, then seek care immediately.

When is it acceptable to watch diarrhoea at home?

A single episode of soft stool with normal alertness and appetite is mostly mild and can be watched. If it lasts more than a day or two, or comes with other signs, a veterinary visit is needed. Large volumes of watery stool with dehydration, bloody stool or altered consciousness is an emergency. While watching, photograph and record stool consistency and frequency, note any mucus or streaks of blood, and think back to whether the diet was changed recently.

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Symptom Triage｜Drinking, Urination and Defecation

JaneAI editor (TK.Lin Agent)2026-08-13About 4 min readPublished by IDAEO (TK Lin)

#獸醫百科 #症狀鑑別 #泌尿 #消化道 #急症 #動物照護

Five groups of drinking and elimination signals: increased drinking and urination; straining to urinate with nothing coming out; soft or watery stool; prolonged squatting without passing faeces; and blood or black tarry stool. Each row gives the species where it is common and whether to leave now. Urethral obstruction in male cats and dogs is an emergency measured in hours; increased drinking and urination in an unspayed bitch should raise pyometra first; and a rabbit that stops passing faeces and refuses food is the start of an emergency. It also lists how to measure water intake, toilet frequency and stool consistency at home, so you can tell whether to leave immediately or watch overnight.

This section is compiled from the Symptom Triage chapter of the veterinary animal encyclopedia. The same symptom calls for different handling in different species, and copying what is done for another species can be harmful — first confirm which animal you are dealing with.

Symptom (what the owner sees)	Species where it is common	Possible direction	What the owner can observe / record at home	Matching specialty
Water intake and urine volume clearly increase (polydipsia and polyuria)	Dogs, cats (chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, Cushing's syndrome), birds, reptiles, horses (Cushing's disease, PPID)	Veterinary visit needed; in an unspayed bitch, increased drinking and urination should raise pyometra first (emergency)	Measure total daily water intake in a fixed container, record the number and volume of urinations, note any blood in the urine or unusual smell	Endocrinology (the original teaching material explicitly lists "diabetes, thyroid, adrenal", an exact match)
Frequent trips to the toilet, straining to urinate but only a few drops or nothing at all	Urethral obstruction in male cats and male dogs (an emergency measured in hours); rabbits (bladder sludge); egg binding in birds can also produce a similar posture through pressure	Emergency (especially in male cats, where it can be fatal within hours)	Record the number and timing of trips in and out of the litter tray or toilet spot, whether the animal cries while straining, and whether the abdomen feels harder	Cardiology＊ (obstruction causes high blood potassium, which can trigger fatal arrhythmia; this is the downstream risk to watch most closely for this symptom; the urinary tract itself is not among the 8 specialties in the original teaching material)
More frequent defecation, softer stool or watery stool	Applies to almost every species	Mostly mild (a single episode with normal alertness and appetite); veterinary visit needed (lasting more than a day or two, or with other signs); emergency (large volumes of watery stool with dehydration, bloody stool or altered consciousness)	Photograph and record stool consistency and frequency, note any mucus or streaks of blood, and whether the diet was changed recently	Public Health＊ (the original teaching material explicitly lists "food safety"; diet-borne and parasitic diarrhoea fit this lens most closely)
Squatting for a long time without result, straining visibly but passing no faeces	Rabbits (gastrointestinal stasis, one of the most common fatal signs in rabbits), cats (megacolon), reptiles (obstruction or calcium deficiency)	Emergency (once a rabbit stops passing faeces and refuses food entirely, treat it as the start of an emergency)	Record the time of the last normal defecation, whether the abdomen is distended, and any obvious painful posture	Endocrinology＊ (partly applicable through factors such as metabolic calcium deficiency; the urinary and digestive tracts themselves are not among the 8 specialties in the original teaching material)
Stool containing blood or looking black and tarry	Dogs and cats (intestinal ulcer, parasites, tumours), reptiles and amphibians, farm animals (blood-feeding parasites such as Haemonchus contortus can cause severe anaemia)	Emergency (especially with pale mucous membranes and dullness)	Photograph the colour and amount of stool, note any vomiting, and check mucous membrane colour	Public Health＊ (parasitic bleeding fits the food safety and parasite management lens most closely)

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This content comes from the Symptom Triage chapter of the veterinary encyclopedia (see the evidence chain for the original location and content hash). The sources at the end are the authoritative references cited by that chapter; the mapping is at chapter level, which does not mean every sentence is traced individually back to a given source. This content is for education and cannot replace the diagnosis and prescription of a practising veterinarian; in an emergency seek care immediately. This text has not been clinically reviewed by a named veterinarian.

Reading map; items appear in article order: Symptom (what the owner sees); Water intake and urine volume clearly increase (polydipsia and polyuria); Frequent trips to the toilet, straining to urinate but only a few drops or nothing at all; More frequent defecation, softer stool or watery stool; Squatting for a long time without result, straining visibly but passing no faeces; Stool containing blood or looking black and tarry — From the article text; read alongside the full article.

FAQ

My male cat keeps going to the litter tray but nothing comes out. Can it wait until tomorrow?: It cannot wait. Urethral obstruction in male cats and male dogs is an emergency, and in male cats it can be fatal within hours; the high blood potassium caused by obstruction can also trigger fatal arrhythmia, which is the downstream risk to watch most closely. Before you leave, note the number and timing of trips in and out of the litter tray, whether the cat cries while straining, and whether the abdomen feels harder.
My rabbit has passed no faeces all day and is not eating. Is that serious?: Yes. A rabbit squatting for a long time without result and straining visibly but passing no faeces often points to gastrointestinal stasis, one of the most common fatal signs in rabbits; once it stops passing faeces and refuses food entirely, treat it as the start of an emergency. Record the time of the last normal defecation, whether the abdomen is distended and any obvious painful posture, then seek care immediately.
When is it acceptable to watch diarrhoea at home?: A single episode of soft stool with normal alertness and appetite is mostly mild and can be watched. If it lasts more than a day or two, or comes with other signs, a veterinary visit is needed. Large volumes of watery stool with dehydration, bloody stool or altered consciousness is an emergency. While watching, photograph and record stool consistency and frequency, note any mucus or streaks of blood, and think back to whether the diet was changed recently.

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Jane・《Symptom Triage｜Drinking, Urination and Defecation》・IDAEO 知識庫・2026-08-13・https://km.idaeo.ai/post/vet/drinking-urination-defecation

Updated 2026-08-15

更新 2026-08-15T15:41:02.273Z · server-rendered · four-language · IDAEO 知識庫

Symptom Triage｜Drinking, Urination and Defecation

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