I wrote:
>Some ferrets have trouble with just cystine, others have trouble with
>what is termed the "COLA" group"
 
SIGH.  We don't know at this point whether ferrets just have trouble
with cystine or with the other amino acids in that grouping.  I MEANT
to write MAMMALS instead of "ferrets".
 
BTW, many people don't think of urinary blockage with constipation but
it's not unusual for that to be an early sign or the first sign.
 
Oh, and if you go to the crit. refs in
http://www.ferretcongress.org
you will be able to link to information on surgery to by-pass the penis
when a male's urethra is plugged.  Our vet had been told that doing
repeated cystos would not work but they were needed to save him until
we could get his penis by-passed.  Luckily for Hilbert the cystos DID
dislodge the small material which blocked him and gave his urethra
time to lose its inflammation so he never needed to be rerouted.  So,
sometimes what people say won't work really will.  I later learned from a
friend who is a pediatric urologist that the same technique is sometimes
used for humans.  (A cysto is draining the bladder using a needle.  I
have also been told of a vet who used a catheter for drainage until the
problem resolved -- also avoiding penile by-pass sugery.)
 
Hope that all of this helps.
[Posted in FML issue 4755]