Those of you who follow my posts know that I don’t make a habit of asking for publicity or encouraging reposts, but this journal entry is a special case.  I humbly implore you to read this, and share it wherever possible.
Last week, I was forced to bid farewell to a dear friend and loyal minion - my beloved cat Ninja.  A week before that, he began crying out in distress, and frequently visiting the litterbox, while producing almost no waste.  He was normally a very well cat, only in his seventh year, and seemingly in perfect health - the sort of fellow that people often admired for his glossy coat and perky, intelligent demeanour.  Alarmed at his sudden change in behaviour, we rushed him to the vet, where he was diagnosed with urethral blockage.  After a prolonged struggle (and several thousand dollars in expense), his bladder simply failed under the stress, and we made the hard decision to euthanize, to save him an agonizing death from a burst bladder or buildup of bodily toxins.  
While his loss has been heartbreaking, we all must pass in time, and I can accept that.  However, the thing that truly galls me is that his death was one-hundred percent preventable, if only we had had some information ahead of time.  I am composing this article with the hope that these details might help someone else’s furbaby before it’s too late.
Urinary crystals (also known as struvite or oxalate crystals) are a startlingly common condition in cats.  At the emergency veterinary clinic where Ninja was treated (one of multiple clinics in a medium-sized city), I was informed that it’s not unusual for them to have two or three cats being treated for this affliction at the same time!  Yet, most people know next to nothing about this potentially life-threatening condition.
Cats’ bodies are equipped for arid lands.  Because of this, they require very little water, and wild or feral cats derive most of their moisture from the meat of their prey.  Because they are not big drinkers, their urine tends to be very concentrated - far more than that of humans or dogs.  Unfortunately, this can lead to dangerous complications.  
A quick science lesson, to help illustrate how struvite crystals form:  If you dissolve one substance into another, the dissolved substance is called a solute, the substance it is dissolved into is called the solvent and the resulting mixture is called the solution.  For example, when you put sugar in your tea, the sugar is the solute, the tea is the solvent, and they combine to form a sweet tea solution.
If you’ve ever made rock candy, or have lived in a place with hard water in your plumbing, you have seen what happens when a solution absorbs too much of a solute for it to retain - an effect known as super-saturation.  Eventually, the over-abundance of solute causes the solution to form crystals that settle out of the mixture - sometimes clinging to the edges of whatever holds them - in this case, my poor kitty’s bladder.  Normally, in cats, these urinary crystals (if they occur at all) are microscopic, and are flushed out of the body with the urine - but, as the solution grows more concentrated, the crystals become bigger and more numerous.  In time, they can form stones that are too large to pass, or grow so numerous that they are like sand, blocking up the exit of the bladder and preventing urination.  In either case, the bladder swells as the kidneys continue to fill it with urine.  Left untreated, the bladder can burst, or the kidneys can shut down, causing painful death in as little as a day or two after blockage.  In Ninja’s case, the veterinarian described his swollen bladder as looking “like a snow globe” under the ultrasound, as crystals and blood drifted around within.
Once blockage occurs, the usual treatment involves installing a catheter and flushing with saline, introducing a lot of liquid via IV drip, waiting, and hoping that the extra moisture is enough to get the body to stop producing the crystals in such high quantity.  In Ninja’s case, we also used laser therapy to try and break up the crystals.  In some cases, male cats are also treated by either the removal of the tip of the penis (where the urethra - the tube that leads from the bladder out of the body - is narrowest), or by opening the urethra father up the shaft, in hopes of preventing future blockage - a procedure that’s quite expensive, if the local vet has the training to perform it at all.
So what can be done?  What can you do to ensure this (apparently very common) affliction doesn’t affect your pet?
To coin a phrase:  “The solution to pollution is dilution.”  If a cat can get an ample supply of moisture through its diet, and stay well-hydrated, it drastically reduces the risk of crystals in their urine, since it provides more solvent to dissolve the waste produced by the kidneys.  As mentioned above, wild and feral cats get most of their water from their prey - which are typically more than 60% water.  Likewise, house cats may sample from their water bowls to “wet their whistle,” but they won’t drink large quantities the way a dog or hamster might.  A water fountain that makes the water burble and move might entice a cat’s chase instincts, and get them to drink a little more, but not by a huge margin.  This means that dietary moisture content is essential for your cat’s health!  Most commercial “kibble” (dry food) is only 10% water.  Therefore, canned (“wet”) food is mandatory, as it helps your feline friend get the dietary liquid content needed for their bodily functions.  Cats are notoriously fussy about what they eat, and ours was no different - he preferred a particular brand (and two specific flavours) of dry food, and would lose interest in the wet stuff after a can or two.  Animals are usually pretty good at figuring out what’s good for them, and little did we know that feeding him his favourite food was something like you or I living on a steady diet of Doritos - delicious but eventually deadly.  If your cat doesn’t care for wet food, keep trying different brands and flavours until you find something they like.  Like young children, they may take some convincing - and what they “don’t like” one day might be accepted without issue another.  Keep trying and keep varying it up; their life may depend on it.
Other factors may also contribute to your cat’s likelihood of forming crystals, and how badly they affect him or her:
Gender is one of the biggest factors.  The urethra of male cats is much narrower than that of females.  Because of this, it is easier for blockage to occur in males.  This is especially true for intact (non-neutered) males, as their metabolism tends to “run hot” at times, and produce more waste than neutered males.  More waste means more solute, and more chance for crystals.
I mentioned above that cats are good at finding what’s good for them.  If your cat spends time outdoors, they have a chance to hunt some meat/moisture for themselves - even if it’s just the occasional bug.  They can also find natural remedies and roughage.  Cats can often be seen eating grass and other herbs, and this may play a factor in regulating their body chemistry.  Unfortunately, indoor cats don’t have this opportunity.  Having a large patch of “cat grass” can help a bit - although you can save yourself some money by buying wheat grass from a gardener; it’s the same stuff at much lower cost.  Again, though, providing a good moist diet, with a good nutrient content, is paramount.
Activity has also been found to be a factor.  This seems counter-intuitive; muscle activity burns fuel, and that creates toxins that must be eliminated by the kidneys.  Nevertheless, active cats have been shown to have a lower risk of developing urinary crystals than sedentary cats, and obese cats appear to be especially prone to these problems.

So, to sum it up:  

If your cat fits any of the following criteria, you should have them checked regularly for urinary crystals.
-Male cats - especially those who have not been neutered
-Indoor cats
-Cats who are less active (due to either age or simply a “lazy” personality) - especially if your cat is overweight or obese.
-Older cats, as their metabolism tends to get less efficient with age, making them more prone to problems.  However, remember that this issue can affect cats of all ages.

If your cat shows any of the following symptoms, take them to the vet as soon as possible:
-Improper urinating (not using the litterbox):  If your cat is experiencing discomfort when urinating, they might begin to associate the place they do it with the trouble, and start trying other places.  As such, peeing in other areas might be a sign of bigger problems.
-Abdominal swelling:  We humans are accustomed to getting a little bloated, when certain foods make us gassy or cause us to retain water.  This is less common in cats, and can point to other issues - especially if combined with other symptoms.

If your cat has the following symptoms, go to the vet IMMEDIATELY!  A few hours can mean the difference between life and death:
-Straining in the litterbox, or visiting frequently while producing small amounts of urine.  A palm-sized puddle is normal; something less than the size of a couple fingers is cause for concern, and a mere trickle (especially combined with straining) should raise alarm bells.
-Vocalizing/crying out during urination.  Cats are “private bathroom people.”  They tend to prefer to do their business unnoticed, and are famous for fleeing their latrine at high speeds afterward, since smells can attract dangers in the wild.  If a cat is drawing attention to itself while urinating (especially if they sound unsure/distressed), this is a sign that something is wrong.

Ensure your cat gets a regular diet of soft food, formulated under proper clinical testing.  I do not wish to libel companies such as Whiskas, Friskies and so on - but these foods should be thought of as the McDonalds and chips of cat food.  They’re fine on occasion, and will do little harm in moderation, but brands such as Iam’s, Science Diet, Royal Canin (they don’t just make dog food) and Eukanuba are much better choices for long-term feeding.  True, they tend to be a bit more expensive - but they’re far less pricey than extended veterinary care and the prescription diets that are needed post-blockage.

Thank you for reading this post.  Once again, I would ask that you remember this information and carry it with you, to pass on to others.  Additionally, please share it across the web - especially with cat owners whose pets fit any of the criteria I mentioned above.  Link, share, pin, copy/paste; I don’t care which, and no credit need be given.  I’m not fond of asking for re-posts - but, in this case, it’s my sincere hope that this article prevents others from learning this information the hard way, and the loss of my own dear cat might help save the life of another.  

Dear viewers,
Lately, I have found myself fortunate enough to be gaining a lot of attention in the dA community.  I'm not sure if it's because I've been posting more regularly (even when I haven't drawn anything, I've been trying to put up a photo every week or two) or what, but there have been a lot of people noticing my work, faving and making polite and helpful comments.
I find all of this immensely flattering!  As many of you know, it has been my policy so far to visit the gallery of anyone who faves my work, to check out their own submissions, and to offer a personal "thank you."  It's been my way of showing appreciation for the positive input.
Unfortunately, my personal time has been a bit short since 2014, when I took my current day job - and it has severely limited the amount of time I have for leisure.  This has caused me to scrutinize what I do with that time pretty intensively.  With regard to dA, I've noticed that I have been spending more time thanking people and replying to comments than I have on actual art.  As my Watcher base grows, and my work gets viewed more heavily, this trend only increases - and, on many evenings, this means that I don't get around to drawing at all.
I would like to reiterate that I dearly love the dA community, and those of you who watch or visit my gallery have been nothing but wonderful!  If I had all the time in the world (or even an extra four or five hours a week) I would happily go on as I always have, giving each of you the specific thanks that I feel in my heart.   Your critiques fuel my ambition, and your comments stoke the flames of creativity.  For that, I thank you all!
That said, I suspect that most of you would prefer more interesting (I hope) images from my gallery to a bunch of "thank yous" - especially as I try to avoid coming off as spammy, and limit myself to thanking each person a time or two before tapering off.   As such, I'll be focusing more on creation and output in the coming months, and seeing what happens.  I hope that you'll find the result acceptable.

With humble gratitude and continued ambition,
-Djake

Hey there, viewers!  I have a question for all of you.
This evening, I received some interesting critique from , regarding my artistic technique and this image:  

Mature Content

He was under the impression that this image was a paint-over of a digital render (the sort of thing one might create in Blender, Poser, DAZStudio and so on), due to the fact that the character was far more detailed than the environment in which I placed her.  Even upon realizing the mistake, Tornquist stated that he found the difference jarring - or, at least, incongruous.
Believe it or not, I'm very happy to hear this sort of thing.  I appreciate every positive comment and bit of praise my work receives, but a bit of helpful and well-thought criticism is a rare treasure for us artists!  Often, we are too close to our work to see where the flaws lie - especially a flaw as tied to one's technique as this is to mine.  It has given me food for thought regarding my approach/presentation, and made me curious what you, my viewers, think.
As the technically curious among you know, it's not unusual for my images to take 18-20 hours to draw.  This has been a bit of a thorn in my side, as I rarely have more than an hour or two to commit to a picture - apart from occasional weekends.  I decided that a solution would be to simplify the background - something between expressionism and a photo with a shallow depth of field.  With little to hold interest in the background, the character is then allowed to "pop," and becomes the focal point of the piece almost by default.  In a way, this has been a success - the simplistic backgrounds (or my other "cheat":  the impenetrable blackness of shadow as a backdrop) have indeed pared down my drawing time (this pic took "only" six hours), but does it leave the image looking too unfinished?  Does the sketchy background simply come off as lazy, instead of simplistic?
I would love to hear your opinions!  I will also be researching some techniques this weekend, so you'll probably be seeing some experimentation in my upcoming images.  If you have the time and an opinion, please feel free to weigh in!

Hey all,
    I just thought I would post a short blurb for my Watchers, to let you know I'm not dead.  My router died (the third in four years), and instead of buying a new one for a service I wasn't 100% happy with, I decided to simply switch internet service providers.  Unfortunately, it took them a couple of weeks to come in and set everything up, but everything seems to be back on track now.
    For those of you waiting on commissions, I apologize for the delay.  I've got a number of sketches in the works, and now that I have access to an internet full of reference materials again, I can get back to fleshing them out.  In the meantime, I thank you for your patience.
    I must say that sitting on the curb of the Information Superhighway has been a bit of a wake-up call for me.  I consider myself a bit of a rustic, and my decrying of social media has even caused me to be labelled a luddite on occasion.  I enjoy some of the benefits technology brings, though, and it surprised me to discover just how ingrained the computer has become in my daily habits.  Typically, I like to put up a documentary on YouTube while I draw, for example; but I didn't get much of a chance to miss it, since I also use the internet for finding references when I'm depicting new textures, lighting styles and so on.  Since most of my projects right now involve new subject matter, my drawing more-or-less ground to a halt.
    I think I may repeat this experience as a challenge to myself - perhaps once a year or so:  simply shut off the internet (with reasonable advance warning to people this time), walk away for a week, and see how I function without it.  Too much reliance on one thing is never good, and perhaps it will remind me to diversify.