Any ideas?

[JamieP]

I have a question. Has anyone ever heard of a dog having a high ph balance in their urine causing it to smell like cat urine?????? A lady I know that rescued a yorkie from a puppy mill said that the dogs urine smells like cat urine and the vet told her that there was nothing that could be done to lower that. Does this sound right?? She said the pup is on Iams dry food and she gives her about a tsp of blue diamond wet food with the dry. She also drinks plenty of water through the day. I have no answer for her because I've never heard of this. Anyone have an idea? I just can't believe a vet couldn't help her.

[TammyJM]

Originally Posted by JamieP

I have a question. Has anyone ever heard of a dog having a high ph balance in their urine causing it to smell like cat urine?????? A lady I know that rescued a yorkie from a puppy mill said that the dogs urine smells like cat urine and the vet told her that there was nothing that could be done to lower that. Does this sound right?? She said the pup is on Iams dry food and she gives her about a tsp of blue diamond wet food with the dry. She also drinks plenty of water through the day. I have no answer for her because I've never heard of this. Anyone have an idea? I just can't believe a vet couldn't help her.

I am also surprsied that her vet couldn't offer more suggestions...my vet would work with us to help figure it out, if we had any type of problem. Maybe she should try a different, higher quailty diet. Did the vet test for any type of problems at all? I am asking because I was going to suggest ACANA or Orijen, but they are higher in protein and if her Yorkie has a compromised liver she needs to know this first. I would worry about the health of this fur kid since she came from a puppypill and it is disapppointing if the vet did not run tests to double-check for any underlying problems. If there haven't been any tests done, I would actually start with a new vet and then go from there.

[TammyJM]

Originally Posted by JamieP

I have a question. Has anyone ever heard of a dog having a high ph balance in their urine causing it to smell like cat urine?????? A lady I know that rescued a yorkie from a puppy mill said that the dogs urine smells like cat urine and the vet told her that there was nothing that could be done to lower that. Does this sound right?? She said the pup is on Iams dry food and she gives her about a tsp of blue diamond wet food with the dry. She also drinks plenty of water through the day. I have no answer for her because I've never heard of this. Anyone have an idea? I just can't believe a vet couldn't help her.

I just noticed that you live in Missouri...does your friend as well? If so, what part? I live in MO and could recommend an EXCELLENT vet clinic!!

[chachi]

The dog should have been checked for a UTI or even maybe stones

[JamieP]

Originally Posted by chachi

The dog should have been checked for a UTI or even maybe stones

She said she had a bladder infection that cleared up. She has had her to a couple of vets that both said that she had no signs of a uti and they apparently did run tests on her and all they found to answer this was a high ph in her urine. She said the pup has an inverted vagina and that because of that, urine pools in there. (I saw this myself and have never seen that before!!!) I suppose that could answer it.
Her vagina, when I turned her over to look, did have strong smell of cat urine. I just wish I knew what to tell her about that.
And no, she doesn't have stones. They checked that too.

[JamieP]

Originally Posted by TammyJM

I just noticed that you live in Missouri...does your friend as well? If so, what part? I live in MO and could recommend an EXCELLENT vet clinic!!

Yes, we both live at Lake of the Ozarks. Where are you from?????

[TammyJM]

Originally Posted by JamieP

Yes, we both live at Lake of the Ozarks. Where are you from?????

I live right outside of Springfield. I loveeeeee Lake of the Ozarks (my favorite outlet mall is there)

Is it possible to surgically correct this issue?? She could call around and ask some vets (I am happy to call my own vet and ask, if you would like).

[JamieP]

Originally Posted by TammyJM

I live right outside of Springfield. I loveeeeee Lake of the Ozarks (my favorite outlet mall is there)

Is it possible to surgically correct this issue?? She could call around and ask some vets (I am happy to call my own vet and ask, if you would like).

Yeah, they do have a great outlet mall here, altho I rarely get in there to shop!! I have some family in Springfield and Marshfield. Been there many many times. Springfield is great too! You have a lot more than we do here. All that's here is mainly for tourists. I can honestly tell you that I rarely enjoy the 'lake life'. In the summer you can't get from point A to point B without bumper to bumper traffic. In the winter everything is shut down. It's not as enjoyable as one would think that doesn't live here.

As for her issue, I asked her the same question and she said the vets told her no. It's really weird to look at and you have to wonder how good that could be for them. She said she was given a vag cream called Animax that she applies around the peri area. Suppose to help keep the infection down but she was told that the pup would probably have re-occuring bladder infections for the rest of her life. She's 8.
If you wouldn't mind asking your vet, I would certainly appreciate it. I feel bad for both her and the pup and I just don't understand why there isn't something on the market for the ph. That's what she seems most concerned about. The urine smell could be an issue if she had an accident in the house. It would be no different if you had a cat that sprayed some place in the house. It had a really strong odor of cat pee. Pretty bad.

[JamieP]

Originally Posted by TammyJM

I am also surprsied that her vet couldn't offer more suggestions...my vet would work with us to help figure it out, if we had any type of problem. Maybe she should try a different, higher quailty diet. Did the vet test for any type of problems at all? I am asking because I was going to suggest ACANA or Orijen, but they are higher in protein and if her Yorkie has a compromised liver she needs to know this first. I would worry about the health of this fur kid since she came from a puppypill and it is disapppointing if the vet did not run tests to double-check for any underlying problems. If there haven't been any tests done, I would actually start with a new vet and then go from there.

She did have numerous tests run on her the day after she got her. Blood work and the whole gammet of tests. All of her organs were fine except her heart was slightly enlarged they found on one of the xrays. The only thing they found was a bladder infection and she was on Clavimox for that and she said that cleared it up. And they found the inverted vagina and said her urine had a high ph. That was it.