Momo has Struvite Crystals

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by _Chrissy_

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!

[_Chrissy_]

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!
I'm going to read those posts you gave. Sound interesting.

[Ldyrev1]

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!

[jimmy85]

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.

[marlenemaria]

Praying they get better real soon

[Hrossen11]

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.

[107barney]

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.

[_Chrissy_]

Any updates on Princess & Momo?

[mimimomo]

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

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by jimmy85

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.

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

Originally Posted by marlenemaria

Praying they get better real soon

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Hrossen11

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.

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!

[mimimomo]

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. 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? Told him I read on the internet (& he gave me this look loll!) & was advised on a forum (didn't tell him which ) that it needs to be done & he kept shaking his head no.

Originally Posted by 107barney

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.

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!

[107barney]

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.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

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. 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? Told him I read on the internet (& he gave me this look loll!) & was advised on a forum (didn't tell him which ) that it needs to be done & he kept shaking his head no.


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!

Yay! Great news!

[Maximo]

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.