Obstruent Obstruent An obstruent is a speech sound such as , , or that is formed by "obstructing" airflow. Obstruents contrast with sonorants, which have no such obstruction and so resonate. All obstruents are consonants, but sonorants include both vowels and consonants. Obstruents are subdivided into plosives (oral stops), such as , with complete occlusion of the vocal tract, often followed by a release burst; fricatives, such as , with limited closure, not stopping airflow but making it turbulent; and affricates, which begin with complete occlusion but then release into a fricative-like release, such as . Obstruents are prototypically voiceless, but
Feline lower urinary tract disease Feline lower urinary tract disease Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) is a broad term that is used to cover a number of conditions associated with the feline lower urinary tract. It may present as any of a variety of problems such as, inflammation of the bladder (cystitis) or urethra, formation of urinary crystals (stones) in the bladder (crystalluria/urolithiasis), and partial or total obstruction of the urethra. Complete urethral obstruction is fatal if left untreated. FLUTD is a common disease in adult cats, affecting from 0.5% to 1% of the population. FLUTD affects cats of both sexes, but tends to