If you change the diet, monitor box activity and keep plenty of fluids
around, often it does not occur again. I sure would not consider "E"!!! At
the first sign of stress (less frequent urination or small balls of urine
clumps in box) get him to the vet. The big cost you've had is the
catheterization and hospitalization. I hope that your insurance comes
through. If you can catch any episodes early, it should not be so expensive.
Keep LOTS of bowls of water around. Consider switching to canned food. Get a
definite diagnosis of the crystals so the righ food can be found. I don't
understand the confusion about which kind of crystal it is.


Thanks for the reply Karen. The ER vet saw a few calcium oxylates. We
swicthed him to canned food to swing the Ph in the opposite direction.
Then a ua revealed a possible struvite; vet tech wasn't certain because
the urine was bloody at that time. At any rate, the vet school doc (thank
god we have a great vet school hospital here) put him on a canned food
that creates a neutral ph.

I live in a community where vets charge a fortune. I happen to be a
community college teacher, and I live in the area because I work here. But
I don't make the income that many of this vets clientelle do.


ava