Karen,

The surgeon said the test results showed her bladder cyst was caused by a
'diverticulum' - which is sort of like a human getting divertiulosis (small
pouch trapping food particles in the lower intestines which requires a
change in diet) or diverticulitis (more serious form of the intestinal
condition often resulting in surgery).

From a web site I found this about this particular food:

"Calcium Oxalate Related Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) FLUTD is
often caused by the formation of crystals in the urinary tract that can
result in numerous and even painful symptoms for your cat. There are two
common types of crystals that form in a cat's urinary tract: oxalate and
struvite. Prescription Diet? Feline [sic] x/d was designed for the
nutritional management of cats with oxalate-related FLUTD. Oxalate crystals
are usually formed in response to urine that is burdened by excess amounts
of calcium and oxalate, often in an acid urine ph."

Persia's body formed a cyst around this to try to heal itself, rather like
an oyster layering mother of pearl over a grain of sand.  But when the
bladder was empty it rubbed the wall of the bladder, which the vet likened
to the inside soft tissue of our mouths.  This caused infections and stones
to form.

Frankly, she appeared to be doing fine on the regular UTI dry food she has
been eating since her first UTI last .  By that I mean, since the surgery on
6/21; that is not a terribly long time and she is still having me shove
pills down her throat every night.  I just don't want to take a chance of a
cyst and stones reccurring.  Poor thing must have been miserable and I
didn't know it until I discovered blood in her urine again right before my
taking her to be boarded this last trip.

I'm still searching.  At this one site it's $5 less and doesn't appear to
require a "real" prescription.  I'll see if I can find other foods now that
I have more of a written description of the condition.

I can tell you this - she must have been getting the calcium and oxalate
from the food she was eating.  She doesn't drink milk and I don't give her
table scraps.  And honestly, I have no idea what oxalate is; I can only
imagine it is some sort of additive that didn't agree with her.

Wish me luck and purr for Persia.  She's doing very well, by the way :)

Jill

"jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> wrote in message