Just about eight years ago, I had a mighty sick cat on my hands. My gentle-tempered orange tabby had been unwell since he was a kitten. Six years into his life, I was thoroughly exasperated and struggling to understand why it was that this well-cared for, amply loved creature had relentless diarrhea and low energy. I'd lived with and loved cats before, and I had what I thought was a pretty impressive library of cat care books. I did everything my vet suggested, forking over whatever I had to for quality "prescription formula" food and waiting impatiently for

Cystitis and stones are extremely common in the cat and can be very painful and life-threatening. Cystitis can lead to inappropriate urination — urinating outside of the litter box — and stones can cause a fatal rupture of the bladder by blocking the outflow of urine.

 

Any cat that is repeatedly entering the litter box but not voiding any urine is in need of immediate medical attention. It is important to note, however, that "crystals" are not the same thing as stones.

The digestive system of a carnivore is very simple. Unlike herbivores and omnivores, cats lack salivary amylase used to initiate digestion of dietary starches. Their jaws have limited side-to-side motion, which is necessary to grind food, and they have no flat or grinding teeth in their mouths. Their teeth are designed for grasping, cutting, tearing and biting.

 

The domestic cat's stomach, which is quite small, has two purposes. It holds the food and it is not necessary to