So happy to read that Momo doesn't have an infection. Praying the diet will clear this up!

It does sound easy & yummy...but actually doing it is the problem loll! After we see how the Hill's C/D goes, I'll ask my vet if home cooking would be ok for him. Thank you!

From what I've read, infections can lead to stones, so I don't think we need to have an ultrasound done but will ask the vet on his next check up. Thank You!

Cathy, I have so many questions for you! Did Teddy have an infection or just the s.crystals? Did it ever come back? What kind/brand was the defatted chicken broth? All the grocery store chicken broth has some sort of onion in it...I have the low sodium, no fat w/onion juice concentrate. Is that ok to give since onions are a no no? Do I give it straight or dilute it w/filtered water? Do I have to boil it or just give it to him?

Thanks for the tip about cranberry juice & acidifying agents.

Fish formulas have more sodium, so maybe he's drinking more water & it helped clear it up...I'm wondering if we should get Canine Caviar in the fish formula later. Thank You!
I'm such a dork, I didn't realise that we need a prescription from the vet to buy the prescription food from Petsmart loll & I didn't know Hill's was Science Diet! But the receptionist was very nice & she gave us a temp pass to get some. Momo picked out the tiny 2" JW baseball in the blue color.:cool: Thank you Kristin!

Thank you Nancy! He's going to try the prescription food in about an hr, I need to mix in the clindacure...he eats anything & everything!:D

Thank you for the tip! He loves veggies, loves any kind of food, he's not picky...When I eat salad, he'll munch on some lettuce & carrots. Mimi spits it out & he'll eat it loll. Did it ever reoccur for Kaji & what is he eating?

Thank you very much!

It did once, but that was before I started giving him lettuce every chance I had. He hasn't had a recurrence in about a year, maybe a little more. He'll be having a checkup again next month.

My boys had struvite crystals this year too. We found out through a routine health screen. We had them on Royal Canin Urinary SO dry and canned for a couple months, and they went away. I about cried when I opened the food and read the ingredients, since I only gave them high quality food and treats. It did help though, and they were able to go back to their good food after the crystals were gone. We got the food through the vets office, but Petsmart sells it too. It was a lot cheaper through my vet though.

Hope Kaji's check up will go smoothly, keep us posted!

Wow, so it took a couple of months? It seems so common...this struvite crystal...I wonder if it's caused by a certain kind of food? My vet mentioned to feed low ash protein (not sure on this, need to double check). I study the ingredients like you but I also need to pay more attention to the guaranteed analysis from now on.
Hope your guys stay crystal free!

The Honest Kitchen emailed me back & here is their response...I LOVE this company!

Hi Jenny,

Thank you for your inquiry. I’m sorry to hear of your Yorkie’s issue with struvites. These occur in a pH that is too high. A diet that contains more meat and less grains is helpful for some. Some dogs/breeds are genetically predisposed to creating crystals unfortunately, but diet can help to prevent them, too.
The pH of our foods ranges between 5.8-6.4 with a resulting urine output averaging between 6.1-6.8. This is just below neutral or slightly acidic, right where it should be. You can test your dogs’ urine at home with pH test strips that you can buy online.
Our Thrive and Embark offer a higher overall percentage of meat than other recipes, but you may also add in a bit of extra meat or try a urinary acidifier such as Solid Gold’s Berry Balance or the like. The following articles may be of help to you:

The Power of pH: Dog & Cat Urinary Tract Health | The Honest Kitchen

Using Diet and Natural Remedies for Urinary Tract Problems in Pets | The Honest Kitchen

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please let me know.

Happy New Year!

Katherine "Kat" Pennick
love and understanding
the honest kitchen customer care

145 14th street | san diego | ca 92101
d 619.544.0018 x313 / f 619.544.0370
toll free 866.437.9729
www.thehonestkitchen.com
The Honest Kitchen's nutritional products are not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent disease. Our web site, email communications and other correspondence are for informational purposes only and do not replace the expert care and advice provided by your veterinarian. Dietary and other healthcare changes should be made under the guidance of your vet, particularly when underlying health conditions exist.

I did end up buying the pH strips (no supplements) & Momo's urine pH went down to 6-6.5, where it should be. He has a recheck today @ 3.30pm, so hoping the struvite crystals are gone. He's been eating only the canned Hill's C/D enthusiastically & I think he's even gained a few ounces. Which is wonderful bc he's been losing weight even tho he's been eating well & always seemed hungry.
This whole kidney thing is still so new to me & I am hoping to learn more about it. It's overwhelming @ times when I don't understand what I'm reading or can't comprehend what the vet is saying...it's not a language barrier, I just need to find that one thing where it will just click in my mind. For now, I'm lost.:p

I hope Momo's test results are good today!

Good to hear Momo is doing better :thumbup::thumbup:

Just a thought if water intake needs increased... My vet loves the Drinkwell fountain and recommends them. Her dogs use them she says. My cat loves hers and Mickey loves to drink from it too!

Momo still has struvite crystals.:( He's getting plenty of water & he's been on the canned Hill's C/D for over a month...vet thinks there could be an infection & prescribed clavamox. I asked her why she didn't do a culture & she said she didn't see any bacteria. Of course I forget to ask her to do a culture on the recheck.:rolleyes: I need to change vet hospitals, Momo has been going there since he was a puppy, but they seem so incompetent in this situation & I feel like I've wasted so much time & $...& my poor baby has an infection maybe (this isn't even verified but a guess or process of elimination!). To make matters worse, Princess also has struvite crystals (a lot of them) & the other vet in the same hospital didn't do a culture (again, I forgot to request it, but I called when I got home & the receptionist said he'll do the culture if he sees any bacteria). Is this the procedure? So I picked up antibiotics for both of them today.

Now after this round of antibiotics, should I do the recheck somewhere else? Please advise, I am so lost & having memory problems.:(

2 of your pups have them at the same time? Does the vet know this since you are seeing 2 different vets in same office? That is really strange 2 have the crystals at the same time.
I don't have any knowledge about this but it does not seem right 2 have it. Is it the food you wee/are feeding? I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be around this post soon.
I know my vet would have done cultures.

Yes, both of them has the same struvite crystals! Princess has a lot of it.:( My reg vet saw me w/Momo & asked how we're doing. He's so nice & caring, but I think we need to go somewhere else...it seems outdated here & IDK why she (the other vet) didn't do a culture & sensitivity when she saw that Momo still had the s/crystals after a month of being on the prescription food...also when I asked her why she didn't do it last time.:confused: But I can't blame her bc I'm the one that didn't request it bc I forgot.

I'm reading conflicting info about food causing s.crystals, but have also read that prescription food doesn't help either.
http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjstruvites.html
Struvite crystals do not require a change in diet. Because struvite crystals do not pose a problem unless the dog has a urinary tract infection, there is no required treatment for crystals, including dietary changes. If the dog does have a urinary tract infection, a prescription dog food will not cure it.

Don't blame yourself! She is the Vet and that is why you pay her. They should have done a culture. You should not have to ask them to or why they did not. Really I think any other vet would have done a culture.

What food are you feeding? Is it food related or bacteria/viral? How did they get them?
Did the vets say anything about how both Princess & Momo could have them at the same time?

Thank you! We are def switching vet hospitals. I too find it strange bc Princess & Momo are not related & s.crystals seem more common than I thought.
It can be genetics, some dogs naturally have them in their urine, but w/out any infection, so it's not harmful for them...but, crystals + infection = stones, if left untreated.
I'm not sure if it has anything to do w/the food I've been feeding them, but depending on the food, it can lower or higher their pH, just like people. If their food is too alkaline (dogs have a slightly acidic urine ph), they can get struvites (Dogs Foods That Cause Oxalate Crystals | eHow.com). Then, there's also the caution of oxalate crystals/ stones (Dogs Foods That Cause Oxalate Crystals | eHow.com).
It's all connected to the magnesium, calcium/ phosphorus produced by the protein/ diet...but it's still all alien language to me!

GOOD!
It is their job to find out what is wrong. I would switch too.
They have been ill too long not to have done testing. Geez! :aimeeyork:aimeeyork
I'm going to read those posts you gave. Sound interesting.

Me too, me too...I want to tell you that I'm very sorry for poor Momo and hope this condition is corrected as soon as possible. Sending warm hugs and prayers!

Sorry to hear about Momo.

I have a yorkie with a history of complicated UTI and urinary bladder stone removal 3 years ago. Following the surgery she had multiple (like 4) UTI's over a 12 M period.

My vet has put Charlie on Royal Canin SO 14 presciption food and also added a 1/4 tablet of craninidine which is a cranberry extract. I think the Craninidine extract has made a difference. The vet also recommended that I get litmus paper to evaluate the pH of her urine on a weekly basis. The vet prefers that the urine be in the 5-6 pH range and when it is higher I take a sample in for the vet to determine if there is bacterial growth.

Praying they get better real soon :hands:

My cat dealt with the crystals for his entire adult life. We tried different foods and noticed the only time he had an episode (blocked urea) was when he got dehydrated. We had to make sure his food was always moist to give him as much moisture in his diet. This was especially hard in summer 100 deg weather. Unfortunately, it is just something we had to always watch and never went completely way.

Teddy's are back too. Despite my own regular advice around here I have not been liquefying his diet. $200 in urinalysis and culture later, and a free look with the ultrasound, he has no infection and no stones. Vet advice: liquefy the diet. Good thing he likes chicken broth because he walked away from my attempt at coconut water.

Any updates on Princess & Momo?

Princess & Momo do not get their next check up til March, so need to wait about 3 weeks more. I've been researching online about acidic foods vs. alkaline. As long as they avoid veggies & fruits (alkaline foods), the pH should be back to normal, crossing fingers. Princess hates the Hill's C/D kibble, so I ordered some weruva canned food (also excellent food for cats!). On their site, they claim that their food is low in magnesium, phosphorus (the components of struvite crystals) & is also low in fat (which Princess needs since she had colitis b4). Hill's C/D is too high in fat for her, so I'm glad I found an alternative. They had weruva b4 & they loved it, so hoping it will work out. Meanwhile, I've been giving them brown rice w/beans (black, red, white & pinto- all acidic foods), mixed w/boiled chicken breast & Party animal canned food (so they get the vitamins). Momo is still on the Hill's C/D canned & I mix in the brown rice & beans only for dinner. I've also been trying to get them to drink more, like Kathy mentioned. I just froze the chicken broth (water from boiling the chicken breast) in ice cube tray & melt one, add some water to it & they lap it up.

I've been debating if I should contact a vet nutritionist, but will wait to see how their check up goes 1st. Will keep you all posted, Thanks again!

I'm adding the link to weruva where they talk about maintaining proper pH for cats, since struvites are very common in cats: Weruva - People Food for Pets - Tid Bits

Thank you! So sorry about Charlie's ailment...hope she stays stone free! Sounds like you have a very good vet.:thumbup:
Thank you!

Yes, that's what I'm also reading, to give them canned food or home cooked (recipe made by a vet nutritionist), moisture is key. As long as there's no infection, a little struvite is completely normal, in dogs & cats (but that percentage is very low). Mine are all off kibble for now, don't think we'll go back to it anytime soon loll!

Momo is struvite crystal free!
 

I am so happy to announce that Momo is struvite crystal free! His full panel blood work & complete urinalysis came out perfect. When I called the vet, I was expecting bad news, but hoping it wasn't too bad & to hear that everything's perfect is such a great feeling!
Momo & Princess has been getting weruva canned mixed w/honest kitchen thrive for breakfast & moistened Canine Caviar Wilderness (Venison) grain free kibble for dinner. Then as a b4 bedtime snack, they all get homemade chicken broth mixed w/water, so they're getting a lot of moisture.:thumbup: I've also noticed him drinking a lot more water. I've been giving them filtered water which has a pH of 7.5, so I switched to bottled water which has a pH of 7.
Princess has her recheck next week. Hoping all goes well for her too!
Can you believe the new vet also said culture & sensitivity is not necessary unless they see bacteria?:confused: Told him I read on the internet (& he gave me this look :rolleyes: loll!) & was advised on a forum (didn't tell him which :p) that it needs to be done & he kept shaking his head no.

:thumbup:
How's Teddy doing Cathy? When Momo had his episode, I searched YT & also ran into a vid of Teddy having a seizure.:( Give teddy gentle loving kisses from us!

Teddy's crystals are gone and I'm adding bone broth to his food. He still has seizures, but he is on meds and happy.

Yay! Great news!

I am so relieved and happy for you that Momo's tests returned the best news! Praying for Princess for her checkup to be perfect too. :)