I have five (2 males & 3 females) of which 1 male & 1 female both seem to have the same problem. I feed everyone the Science Diet C/D and the two with "the" problem also get the S/D (canned food) in the AM and then again in the PM and NOTHING ELSE. I leave out the C/D all day. I know they aren't crazy about it but, DO NOT feed your little one anything else. When she gets hungry enough, she'll eat it. I went through (am going through) the same thing. I guess its tough love but ya gotta do it. She will not starve to death. I also received a prescription from the Vet (Cephalexin) which is administered x2 daily and helps to desolve the crystals within the bladder and apparently it is doing the job as they don't seem to be in any more pain when they pee.. I am told this is a common problem with ferals and is just one of those things your gonna have to live with. I don't know. My only (?) problem now is I wish I could get the female to squat because when she pee's, she just stands there in the box and ends up squirting it right out the other side and hits the wall. Good grief! Good luck w/your little one. I hope I have helped you out a little. For anyone else reading this, I too am open to comments and/or suggestions.

One other thing you might want to consider. My Vet told me that he has in the past (with great success) cut open the bladder and flushed it out getting rid of all the build up (crystals) which (according to him) produces excellent results. Am considering myself BUT, as you could guess, it'll cost a couple-a-bucks to get it done. Food for thought.

You could try giving your cat Garlic and Fenugreek tablets (from a Holistic Pet Supply company) . They are used for a wide range of pet ailments including cystitis.

Thanks guys! Gives me a few more things to look into. As far as the Science Diet goes, I have heard over and over again that while it alleviates the problem it has nasty side effects in the long run because Hills uses really crappy meats and meat by-products. From what I understand a lot of people try it and get really excited but then their cats develop all these other problems when they get older.

I just talked to one vet who told me to by no means stick her on Science Diet. Our cat actually picked out all the other food for weeks ignoring the Science Diet until we decided to just keep her hungry until she's eat it. Well, 3 days later after putting tuna juice and everything else imaginable on the food and her covering it up with whatever she could find, we gave up again.

One thing I is for sure, if anyone else has this problem: DO NOT use antibiotics, they don't do a thing but reduce the cat's immune system. The episode clears after 5 days with or without the antibiotics.

Finally found something that works. Getting our cat off dry food was absolutely crucial. We switched to a mixture of raw food and organic canned food and she has been doing GREAT! We also give her albaplex supplements and she has not had any problems at all for two months and counting! Pass the info along to other suffering kitties and their owners.