Our cat Spooky is in the animal hospital!

Yesterday when my husband and I came home from work, our daughter informed us that our cat Spooky, a neutered male, was spraying on walls and doors and there was blood in his urine.  Spooky never sprays unless he has a urinary tract infection, so I called the vet immediately and asked if I could rush him over there before the office closed.  They agreed to fit him in. 

Although Spooky is a very sweet and mellow cat at home, he has a strong fear and dislike for the vet and he has temper tantrums when he sees her.  So, when the vet examines him, she uses welding gloves, puts a muzzle on him, and throws a bath towel over his head!  Luckily, his front feet are declawed.  The vet examined Spooky and found that he had crystals in his urinary tract. She showed us one and it was a clear colored, nasty looking, jagged little stone.  We had to leave Spooky at the vet overnight so they could run tests on him.  I talked to the vet today and she said that Spooky has inflamation in the urinary tract in addition to crystals.  He can come home later today but we have to give him some medicine and keep him on a special (expensive) prescription diet that is supposed to help dissolve the crystals.  With 12 cats at our house, I am trying to figure out how we will get him to eat only his special food and not eat any of the food we have out for the other cats.  The vet said it's important that he eat only his food and nothing else.  He's a big eater too, and weighed in at over 14 pounds.  The vet said Spooky will always be at risk for a urinary blockage, which is a serious emergency and can be quickly fatal if not treated right away, besides being very painful.  So, she said to watch him to make sure he's urinating in his litter box every day.  Sometimes we go for a long time with no vet bills except ones for routine checkups and shots, etc.  But over the past few months, we have had numerous emergency trips to the vet for treatment with several of our pets.  The bills have already added up to a few thousand dollars.  I hope we will have no more emergencies for a long time!  And we have 2 cats now on the special prescription diet.  Whew, rescueing animals isn't cheap!