Cat lovers, I ask for your assistance!
 

Rosa, my sisters cat who is kind of my cat now, too, is having a terrible problem. Ive never had a cat before; since Rosa moved in, Ive learned a lot, but this is something I havent encountered before.

She appears to be severely constipated. We keep her litter box is in the computer room - it isnt directly in front of me, but I can see her in my peripheral vision when she uses it. Normally I dont pay attention to what shes doing over there.

Around this time (6AM-ish) Monday morning, I noticed she was making repeated trips to her toilet, taking a long time, then leaving, only to return a short while later. I originally assumed her new brand of cat food was to blame. I was about to go to bed, so I sent my sister a text message about it, figuring shed know how to help the poor dear out.

She thought it could be a hairball issue and gave her some remedy paste. We waited to see if it would work. It didnt. She gave her a bit more. Rosa is still unable to do her business and clearly unhappy about it.

Meanwhile, Ive started quietly freaking out about this, thinking it could be a symptom of something fatal or... I dont know. Im worried.

Were taking her to the vet today.

She is voicing complaints about her situation, but other than that shes acting pretty normal, aside from the litter box visits. Shes still eating her food, drinking and even indulging in some catnip.
So Im wondering, has this kind of thing happened to your cat? If so, what was the cause and how did you treat it?

Maybe she's one of those cats that needs privacy when going to the box. We have a cat like that, she hates when people are around and will refuse to go.
You may have to move the litter box to a more private location.

repeated trips to the litter box "usually" means a urinary problem not constipation

you need to call a vet asap

Much agreed with Shani. Sometimes straining can indicate a UTI rather then constipation.

Either way, take her to the vet!

this does sound like a urinary problem, which can be treated by your vet. It is more common with indoor cats. We've been through it and had to change the food for our cats. Also, this will get worse very quickly, if not treated.

Any update on the poor thing?