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My shy cat can't urinate when stressed by company. What should I do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | unspayed | 8 lbs

Hello, I will do my best to explain this without excessive detail. I have a shy cat named Shadow. She typically doesn't like it when a lot of company is around. Yesterday I had to deliver a stillborn and today my family is visiting to help with the loss. I noticed today that my female cat doesn't appear to be able to urinate. Could she be really stressed out because all these people are in her house and staying? I placed her in a quiet room to hopefully help her for now. It's 3am after all.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Jeffrey Milner

Veterinarian

Published on July 19th, 2018

I'm sorry to hear about what is happening. In terms of your cat, felines definitely can have a physiologic response to stress resulting in what you are seeing. The one thing that you would definitely want to be sure about is whether or not Shadow is refusing to urinate or is unable to urinate. One is obviously an emergency while the other is a waiting game. If she has refused to urinate for any more than a day, I would start to be somewhat concerned. I would be much more concerned if you start to see any straining in the litterbox or indications of pain / discomfort. This condition is something we are more likely to diagnose in male cats, but can occur less frequently in females. I think keeping her somewhere quiet for now is great provided she has free access to water and a litterbox. I would also make sure you are checking frequently for any changed in urination status or Shadow's behavior / demeanor. If you come to believe there may be an inability to urinate, take Shadow to the veterinarian immediately. Hope this helps.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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