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This weekend I found my cat using the bathroom sink as a toilet. "Not good," thought I, "for he only does that when he's sick." My concern only deepened as I noticed a reddish tinge in the little spot of urine in the sink. My first thought was that he had another bladder infection, but since male cats are prone to urinary tract blockages, the potential of a life-threatening condition was definitely there. So off to the vet again.

The Quesnel Vetrenary Clinic was very accomodating; I called Monday morning and was able to get an appointment at noon. I brought Tigger in, the vet poked and prodded, and educated me on a number of things:

• At 15lbs (6.8kg), Tigger is overweight. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that he's an inside cat; I may have to put him on some kind of exercise program to get him in shape.
• He has retained canines on both sides. This means he has an additional pair of smaller canine teeth immediately behind the permanent canines. I'll post a photo if I can get one.
• He has some other tooth problems at the back of his upper jaw on one side. I'll have to schedule an operation to fix this.

The vet also provided me a lot of information on the condition of his urinary tract. Even though I'm already feeding him food designed to reduce his urinary Ph, there are other factors that can cause a urethral blockage. She prescribed antibiotics and food designed to dissolve crystals in the urethra. She instructed me to keep an eye on his bladder and his litterbox habits, and if he stops urinating, to bring him into the vet immediately. Some research on Wikipedia tells me that a complete urethral blockage will cause renal failure within 48 hours, and death within 72.

The vet asked me to provide a urine sample, which may prove difficult. Tigger won't use the litterbox if I replace the litter with plastic beads, and he's usually only spotting a small amount of urine otherwise. I'm reluctant to try the beads again, because if it makes him hold his urine, it will only make his condition worse.

Moving forward, I'm going to endeavour to make some changes so reduce the risk of this happening again. These changes include the following:

• Exercise: This should bring his weight down and get him in better shape
• Diet: He'll be on special food the rest of his life to reduce the precipitation of struvite crystals.
• Hydration: I've read on Wikipedia that dry food can be a risk factor in blockage formation. I may switch to wet food, or a combination of wet and dry, to ensure he's properly hydrated. This assumes of course, that he'll eat the wet food at all.

So for the moment, his condition is holding, and I'm keeping an eye on him. He seems to be sore, but I haven't yet found a full bladder, and he's still using the litterbox. More info as it becomes available.