He's okay now, but I wanted to drop in and let you know that this
group probably saved his life... or at least saved him a lot of pain
and suffering. He was straining to urinate in the wee hours this
morning but I didn't really "get it" until he tried to pee in the
sink. Instead of getting upset and putting him in the litter box, I
immediately realized, because of this group, that he was probably
associating the litter box with pain and there was trouble. I slowly
backed out of the bathroom and let him keep trying. He was unable to
pass urine for nearly 20 minutes.

Off to the hospital we went. I didn't even bother with my regular vet
because I envisioned a lengthy hospital stay and I wanted him
someplace where they are staffed with vets 24/7.

They took him in right away (I called on my way and said I thought he
might have a blockage) and thankfully they were able to squeeze some
urine out. They did find blood and struvite crystals. We're waiting
on the culture results, but the xray didn't show any problems, thank
goodness. He was passing urine with no problem after getting SubQ
fluids so he is home with me now. They also gave him an enema to help
him pass some pretty dry stool (side effect of dehydration).

While he was in the hospital (all day), I bought him a water fountain
(which he already loves!) to encourage him to drink more, and did some
very thorough research on food. He has been eating Evo dry and wet,
but lately more dry (I could kick myself), and lately he has been
under a lot of stress due to a home remodel (so probably not drinking
enough). The Evo wet looks good with the exception of a surpisingly
low protein content relative to the prescription foods. I plan to
discuss food with our vet next week when he has his follow-up, but
would greatly appreciate some recommendations from those of you with
experience in this area. I am only considering wet food, and
naturally have a strong preference for a brand that didn't have
problems during the nightmare recalls. Ideally I would like to leave
him on what I know he will eat (Evo wet only now), but not if it's
going to make the problem worse. Suggestions and advice would be
greatly appreciated.

Also, what is your opinion or experience with the supplement for
acidifying the pH, Methioform? His was on the high side and the
emergency vet said I should add it to his diet if we stay on the Evo
wet (or any commercial food).

WOW. The little kitten who swallowed the latex teat is going to be 2
in August and he still clearly cannot handle stress, so we're also
gonna start using Feliway for my little boy.

I hope you and your cats are all doing well!!