Urinary tract infection Jonah has had possibly 2 UTI's in last 9 months. Antibiotics cured infection, but vet said still has crystals so must feed prescription food for rest of life (not a very nutritious food) and necessary to feed nothing else to make crystals go away. Any thoughts! |
What kind of crystals was it? Struvite? |
Don't believe the hype about dog foods not being nutritious especially the prescription ones. Those foods work and dogs do very well on them. I have a foster who came to me a few years ago. He was going blind and had bladder stones. He is 13 now and has been on RC Urinary SO since he was 8 years old. He is fine .. and he has not had stones again! |
Yes crystals are struvite. |
My first yorkie, Gina, had crystals. She was put on a low protein kibble - California Natural. It worked great. Zoey, my current girl has to be on Royal Canin Gastro low fat canned food. The ingredients are not something I would give her but she loves it and is doing well. |
Struvite crystals & stones can be dissolved. Canned food is good bc of the moisture or moisten his kibble w/hot water. Make sure Jonah gets lots of liquids. If he doesn't drink a lot of water, you can make some homemade broth (no seasonings or salt) w/chicken or beef bones (w/all the fat removed). If he's trained to go outdoors only, walk him more often so he can flush out his bladder. My 2 had struvite crystals b4 & liquefying their diet helped get rid of it. Canine Kidney Stone and Bladder Stone Prevention - Whole Dog Journal Article 2. 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. |
Struvites crystals are almost always related to infection in dogs (98+% of the time). If crystals are still present, esp. after feeding a urinary diet for a couple weeks, there is probably still bacteria present. How many times has the urine been cultured and has any imaging been done? |
From what I have read having these crystals is not unusual and they are not a problem unless they cause on going UTI's. As there were just 2 episodes, I felt this was a drastic measure to change food for rest of life. I have been feeding RC urinary SO along with with another food sprinkled with powdered cranberry extract. I check PH in urine making sure is staying acidic. He will go for another check up next week. I think UTI result of stress (had been boarded prior to developing infection). |
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And, even if there is no infection, struvites CAN and DO cause stones. I'm dealing w/ it now. It's not fun. |
Vet recommendation was only RC (absolutely no other food ) for 3 months, recheck; if checks OK then continue forever with food. The food does promote drinking and peeing, but broth like suggested also does. And agree walks help because empties bladder. Had xray when had first bladder symptoms and I brought him into vet. Xray fine in fact he was treated for bladder infection though specimen did not confirm. He was doing fine for next 3 months then had to board him and when came home symptoms recurred and that is when diagnosed UTI and presence of crystals after antibiotics. |
The urine specifically needs to be cultured. Xrays are good to rule out stones, but not as accurate as ultrasound. |
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So do struvites cause infection or infection cause struvites? I am confused! Are crystals stones, or a precursor to stones? |
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Struvites are a problem. |
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Infection causes struvite crystals. Kill the bug and you should eliminate the crystals (and the need for a special diet). |
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