Indeed.  And then, when the poor boy pees on the couch because he can't
help it, still needing to learn sphincter control, she'll be ready with
a rolled up newspaper to smack "proper behavior" into him.

And, of course, feeding him the usual grocery store crap will make the
blockages when they occur even more massive.  There must be some fine
print in the contract to cover that too.
 

In <bb86e6b5.0308222328.3578a013@posting.google.com>,
OrangeFluffyCat@hotmail.com (k) proves once again that top posters
either can't read or don't understand what they're following up to:

What part of the OP's message, which was quoted in Megan's followup and
looked like this:

"i told her that i wanted to give him that operation and she said
she would make arrangements for it when Joey gets better & is no longer
inflamed."

did you fail to read and comprehend?  

You must be new around here.  The OP has an interesting usenet posting
history.  Google for bpeale@lib.nmsu.edu and you may understand.

She already thinks she knows better.

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=a94og9$e27$1@bubba.NMSU.Edu

That isn't what I said.  I said that "low ash" and "urinary health" are
marketing slogans, aimed at keeping *humans* in the cocoons of their own
convenience.

The *facts* are that struvite is a magnesium compound, and magnesium is
part of the "ash" (i.e. mineral) content of food.  However, simply
reducing magnesium intake is not a cure-all, because minerals need to be
in proportion anyway for their proper absorption.

But there's more to it, much more.  

First, struvite crystals form in relatively alkaline conditions only.
Normally, cat urine is quite acidic - this is a natural consequence of a
carnivorous regimen, meat being far more acidic in the byproducts of its
digestion and metabolism than vegetation.  So, you also have to look at
why your cat's urine isn't acidic enough.  

Second, simply acidifying food with supplements is not a general answer,
and in fact a potentially very dangerous thing to do.  This is because
excessive acidity is *also* bad for cats.  Here, the danger is (calcium)
oxalate crystals.  They're worse than struvites, because they can't be
dissolved.

Third, cats concentrate their urine.  Solutes buildup in the bladder is
how crystal precipitation (like leaching or sedimentation) can start in
the first place.  Unfortunately, cats have a very weak instinctive drive
to drink water.  If they didn't, they could drink enough and flush their
bladders more regularly, clearing solutes *before* they have a chance to
accumulate.

So, overall, you have to look at the rate at which the body tries to rid
itself of mineral solutes through the kidneys, and the rate at which the
disposal occurs as a result of adequate water intake.

Feeding dry food with lots of minerals is obviously the absolute worst.
Feeding canned food (which assures adequate hydration in healthy cats)
is unambiguously always better than feeding dry food.  

So, as long as the "ash" content isn't dangerously unhealthy, you have
nothing to worry about as long as the cat pisses it out fast enough.
Barring other medical conditions, this *is* a sufficient answer.