I've been giving my pet therapeutic food from R... | VETSCOPE - RHELP

Cat / Mix - Answered 1190 days ago

I've been giving my pet therapeutic food from Royal Canine because we'd been seeing urine crystals and the pH had been high at 7 to 8. However the symptoms didn't improve, so our vet recommended we switch to food from Hills. The problem is that our pet won't eat the new food - all he does is smell it. We don't feed him any other food, but he will only eat 3 pebbles at the most. He won't eat even if we crush or soften the pebbles with water, and I'm concerned that he might have increased risks of developing fatty liver if he keeps this up. The vet is telling me to see how it goes for two days, but will he be okay for that long, even if he's only eating three pebbles of food? Or should we switch back to food from Royal Canine even though it won't be effective, just so he keeps eating? He's full of energy so I think he just doesn't like the food but is there any way that I might be able to make him eat?

Michael

Hinata

Mix, 1 year old castrated male

9 Answers

The doctor knows what's best! So,it's good you follow whatever instructions he gives for yours pet's feed type. Most of the time, patience is always needed in feed selection for pets

Answered 1190 days ago icon1

I'd say that it's better to stick with your vet's prescription. And also, I'd advice you should be patient if you'd have to make any decision on the feeding pattern of your pet outside your vet's prescription.

Answered 1190 days ago icon3

Hello, I'd advice you to just follow your vet's line of treatment. You could just ensure your dog eats something,even if it's just those three pebbles, but ensure she takes water as often as possible. Check her out for two days like your doctor instructed, and return back to your doctor. Thank you!

Answered 1194 days ago icon8

Switching your dog’s food abruptly can cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting, diarrhea, and a decreased appetite. Any time you decide to change your dog’s food, you should transition to the new diet gradually in order to give your dog’s system time to adjust to the change. Ideally, these transitions should happen over 5-7 days. During this transition, you will gradually incorporate more and more of the new food by mixing it with your dog’s current diet. For most dogs, a good diet transition will look like this: Day 1: 25% new diet and 75% old diet. Day 3: 50% new diet and 50% old diet. Day 5: 75% new diet and 25% old diet. Day 7: 100% new diet.

Answered 1199 days ago icon17

Hey dear I will advise you to choose struvite dilutor which is offered by royal canine also. But I will also suggest to avoid for some days these protein rich diets . Go for regular lesser protein rich brands . Crystalluria recurrency is common in dogs. So I will advise to visit vet for a diet plan . Regards Dr pranaw sinha

Answered 1202 days ago icon4

Hey dear I will advise you to choose struvite dilutor which is offered by royal canine also. But I will also suggest to avoid for some days these protein rich diets . Go for regular lesser protein rich brands . Crystalluria recurrency is common in dogs. So I will advise to visit vet for a diet plan . Regards Dr pranaw sinha

Answered 1202 days ago icon4

Hii see it is not advisable to compare brands here but you have to know the scientific knowledge about kidney stone diet. Stones form in an animal’s urinary tract when minerals are concentrated in the urine, then crystallize. The diet you feed your companion plays a pivotal role in the treatment and prevention of stones. “What you need to do is try to alter the balance that is contributing to the high concentration of certain minerals,” says Dr. Anthony Ishak, a veterinarian with BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Tampa, Florida. The type of stone that forms depends on which minerals are present in high concentrations. “For example, excess magnesium and phosphorus can contribute to struvite formation,” says Dr. Dan Su, a veterinary clinical nutrition resident at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “Another, more complicated example is that while excess calcium can contribute to calcium oxalate stones, insufficient calcium leads to decreased binding of oxalate in the intestines and subsequently more oxalate excreted in urine.” In other words, both too much and too little calcium can lead to the formation of stones. Pets need just the right amount of calcium to prevent stone formation. Diagnosing the precise type of stone afflicting your companion—and tailoring a diet to treat it—should be left to your veterinarian. The following vet-recommended tips can help you better understand your pet’s special nutritional needs—and put you in a better position to provide optimal care. Work Closely with Your Veterinarian Bladder stone management isn’t a one-size-fits-all model. It requires the expertise of someone who understands how food impacts stone development. Your vet is your pet’s first line of defense. “Overall, this is not a condition that a pet owner can reliably fix by changing dog foods,” says Ishak, who is board-certified in internal medicine. “This is one problem that does call for professional help to solve most expeditiously. There are some stones that form with certain medical conditions (infections, liver problems, etc.), complicating diagnosis and management further.” Other factors add to the complexity. “Sometimes the urine may need to become more acidic but other times it may need to become more basic,” he says. “In addition, different stones require different mineral or protein reductions.” Mineral concentration and pH can potentially be manipulated with diet, says Dr. Jonathan Stockman, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. “However, it can be complicated when management of one type of crystal increases the risk for the formation of a different type of crystal.” Focus on Water Intake Keeping an animal well-hydrated is a strategy vets often recommend for keeping bladder stones in check. “Diluting the urine (and thus the concentration of minerals) by increasing water intake is typically the most critical component of dietary management, and the part that seems to be done the least,” says Dr. Cailin Heinze, a veterinarian at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts. If your pet doesn’t readily drink water from his bowl, Stockman has advice to offer. “This may be done by feeding a high moisture diet [canned food], adding flavor to the water, increasing the number of water bowls, and some cats and dogs may like water fountains that provide running water,” he says. Adding water to canned food and making water more enticing by using ice cubes or small amounts of flavoring, like chicken broth, are strategies recommended by Dr. Jennifer Larsen, associate professor of clinical nutrition at the University of California-Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. If you’re concerned about over-hydrating your pet, keep in mind that “it’s hard to give your pet too much water as long as they are voluntarily drinking,” Ishak says. “But don’t force water into a pet.” Feed Your Companion a Therapeutic Diet Commercial therapeutic diets are the best option for reducing the development of most types of stones, says Heinze, who is board-certified in veterinary nutrition. “Home-cooked diets are usually a second choice for dogs that can’t eat a commercial diet, rather than the first choice for stone prevention, because they can’t undergo the kinds of testing that commercial therapeutic diets do to ensure that the urine produced has the greatest chance of reducing stone risk,” she says. Therapeutic diets work by providing less of the substances that form the stones, Su says. “Some of these diets are designed for prevention of stones, and some for dissolution of stones (and are therefore more depleted in stone formation ingredients), so make sure the pet is monitored by a veterinarian while on these diets.” The type of diet your vet prescribes will depend on the stone. For example, “for dogs with urate and cysteine bladder stones, your vet will recommend specific lower protein therapeutic diets that promote alkaline pH and reduce intake of stone precursors,” says Larsen, who is board-certified in veterinary nutrition. To prevent calcium oxalate stones, the prescribed diet will likely have moderate levels of protein, calcium, and phosphorous. “And it may have increased sodium chloride (to induce dilute urine) or higher fiber,” explains Dr. Joe Bartges, professor of medicine and nutrition at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia in Athens. Be Careful with Added Ingredients A cat or dog on a therapeutic diet shouldn’t be allowed to eat other foods without the permission of your vet. Dr. Susan Jeffrey, a veterinarian with Truesdell Animal Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, had a client who had been mixing a therapeutic diet with an over-the-counter diet. “The cat's stones returned and he needed another surgical procedure to remove them,” she recalls. Although your vet has the final say about which foods are appropriate, there are some general guidelines. “Avoid rawhide, pig ears, bully sticks, and other collagen-rich treats,” Larsen says. “They are not only not high enough in moisture but also provide compounds converted to oxalate by the body,” which is an obvious no-no for pets with calcium oxalate stones. Su adds, “For patients with calcium oxalate stones, make sure to avoid excess calcium (avoid dairy products, extra supplementation), and high oxalate ingredients (like spinach).” Animals with urate and cysteine stones should avoid added protein (especially from seafood and organ meat for those with urate), Larsen says. And continued, close monitoring for symptoms of stone recurrence is vital. Dietary manipulation does not work in all cases. “Recurrence of stones, especially calcium oxalates, can occur in some patients even if they are strictly fed the appropriate therapeutic diets,” Su says. Don’t Use DIY Treatments Without Consulting a Vet Some pet parents reach for apple cider vinegar in hopes of acidifying their companion’s urine. But this is not necessarily a good idea. “I wouldn't add anything to increase the acidity of a diet without the supervision of a veterinarian,” says Jeffrey, whose professional interests include preventative care. “If the urine becomes too acidic, calcium oxalate crystals/stones can develop.” Cranberry-based products are touted for urinary tract health. “It may help with recurrent urinary tract infections because of compounds that cranberries contain (called proanthocyanidins, a class of polyphenols found in plants),” says Bartges, who is board-certified in veterinary internal medicine and veterinary nutrition. However, cranberry juice doesn’t acidify urine, he says, so it’s not considered helpful for dissolving stones. Running supplements past your vet is a golden rule, even more so if your pet has a bladder condition. “There are supplements that can be added to food to modify urinary pH like potassium citrate and methionine, but those should only be used as directed by a veterinarian,” Su explains. Some supplements can actually increase the risk of stones in susceptible animals, Heinze says. “Examples include brewer’s yeast for dogs with urate stones, vitamin C or calcium for dogs with calcium oxalate stones, or products that alkalinize the urine for struvite stones.” A specially-formulated diet is a powerful tool that can prevent and treat some types of bladder stones in cats and dogs. The wrong foods, however, have the potential to worsen your pet’s condition. Following your vet’s dietary guidelines, ensuring adequate water intake, and being mindful of added ingredients can restore your companion to optimal health.

Answered 1208 days ago icon19

Hii see, You can continue with anything. The only thing is you have to wait a little bit. Dietary dissolution of the stone is possible with struvite bladder stones. A special food called S/D Diet® is made by Hills for the specific purpose of dissolving struvite stones; Royal Canin makes a stone dissolution diet called Urinary SO®® and Hills C/D Diet® has now been formulated to dissolve struvite stones. The therapeutic diet must be the only food fed until the stone is dissolved. Antibiotics are needed as long as stones are present in the bladder (bacteria are encrusted within the stone and as the stone dissolves, they are released). On the average, 2-3 months are needed to dissolve the stone but the diet should be continued for a full month after the stones are no longer visible on radiographs because small stones may be present but not large enough to see. Stones may be dissolved in as short a time as a few weeks if they are small and the infection is controlled. Radiographs are taken monthly to monitor progress. S/D Diet is not meant to be continued as a regular diet after the stone has been dissolved; Hills recommends not feeding S/D diet any longer than 6 months. Royal Canin SO and Hills C/D, however, are fine for unlimited use. If a dry food is used, ideally water should be added to it; the extra water helps keep the urinary crystals diluted and able to dissolve. Aside from the long treatment time, an important disadvantage of this approach is the possibility of urinary tract obstruction as the stone gets smaller and an unsuccessful attempt to pass the stone occurs. This is potentially a life-threatening hazard for male dogs as they possess the narrow urethra. S/D diet is very high in fat and high in salt. It should not be fed to patients with a past or current history of pancreatitis, patients with heart disease, kidney insufficiency, or high blood pressure.

Answered 1210 days ago icon18

Bladder stones are common in dogs. They are the result of one or more underlying abnormalities, making stone analysis a critical step in the diagnostic process. It is also be important to evaluate what the dog was fed before the bladder stone diagnosis and analyze blood and urine for clues as to how nutrition may aid in preventing bladder stone recurrence. Bladder stones set the stage for chronic urinary tract infection, and some bladder stones (struvites) grow more quickly if the dog already has a urinary tract infection. Consequently, urinary tract infection and bladder stones commonly occur together. Therefore, your veterinarian will recommend long-term antibiotics to kill bacteria on an ongoing basis while the bladder heals from surgery and the bladder lining returns to normal. Resolving or controlling bladder infection is one important way to prevent recurrence of bladder stones. Is there any chance that bladder stones can be dissolved rather than resorting to surgery?image 12 The opportunity to dissolve bladder stones in dogs, called dissolution, depends on the composition of the stones. Unfortunately, the most effective way to know the composition of a canine bladder stone is to remove one and have it analyzed. That said, it may be possible to draw some conclusions about the composition of a bladder stone based on crystals identified during the urinalysis. Also, it may be possible to retrieve a small bladder stone for analysis via a urethral catheter. Your veterinarian will work closely with you to determine if attempting medical dissolution is a reasonable option for your dog. In most cases, surgical removal of bladder stones is the treatment of choice. Surgery provides the following benefits: prevents blockage of urine outflow, which is a true emergency. relieves the dog of the discomfort of stones in the bladder. allows bladder healing to begin. allows for definitive analysis of the stone(s), which provides the best opportunity to prevent recurrence. How will I know what steps I need to take and what I need to feed my dog in order to prevent his bladder stones from recurring? The nutritional focus for a particular dog will depend on the specific diagnosis that dog receives, and your veterinarian is a key partner in creating an overall plan that best fits your dog's bladder stone composition. There are, however, some general statements that can be made about the nutritional management of bladder stones that occur in dogs: Purine stones. Dissolution may be possible with appropriate protein-restricted therapeutic nutrition combined with measures to increase urine production (diuresis), creating an alkaline urine pH, controlling/eliminating any existing urinary tract infection, and giving a medication called allopurinol (brand name Zyloprim®). This is the same plan to prevent recurrence. Calcium oxalate stones. Dissolution has not proven to be effective, so the nutritional focus is designed to prevent recurrence. Goals include reducing dietary calcium in order to reduce the calcium excreted in the urine, reducing oxalic acid in the urine, inhibiting calcium oxalate crystal growth, and reducing urine specific gravity (concentration). Diets that may help include Royal Canin® Urinary SO, Purina® ProPlan® Veterinary Diet UR Ox™/St™, Hill's Prescription Diet® w/d® Multi-Benefit, or Rayne Clinical Nutrition Adult Health-RSS™. Table food may be a problem for these dogs. Calcium phosphate stones. Dissolution has not proven to be effective. Prevention is complicated because these stones are uncommon and may result from several different underlying causes at once. Nutritional prevention of recurrence involves feeding wet versus dry food, limiting sodium intake, and managing urine pH (depending on the dog's metabolic profile). There are no specific diet recommendations. The dog may also need additional medication. Cystine stones. Dissolution may be possible using a protein-restricted therapeutic food with a controlled sodium level, and one that supports an alkaline urine pH (examples include Hill's Prescription Diet® u/d® or Royal Canin® UC Low Purine). Any existing urinary tract infection must be resolved. This is also the nutrient profile that would be used following surgery. Potassium citrate (brand names NutriVed, Urocit-K®) can be used to alkalinize the urine. Tiopronin (brand name Thiola®) may be used to bind to the excess cystine and remove it from the body. Struvite stones. Dissolution may by possible by resolving an existing urinary tract infection and utilizing an appropriate nutrient profile. The appropriate nutrient profile for dissolution is relatively high in fat, potentially providing worry about pancreatitis, which means close monitoring is necessary. The food will also cause increased thirst and more dilute urine. Diets include Hills Prescription Diet® s/d® or c/d®, Royal Canin Urinary SO™, Purina® Pro Plan® Veterinary UR Urinary™, and Rayne Clinical Nutrition Adult Health-RSS™. The complete prevention plan will depend on the individual dog, but will generally focus on creating a slightly acidic urine while monitoring to prevent formation of calcium oxalate crystals and/or stones, which can form in urine that is very acidic. Silica stones. These bladder stones are very rare. Dissolution has not yet been documented. Post-surgery, there is limited data to provide a clear path to prevention. General guidelines include feeding a nutrient profile with reduced vegetable protein and other plant-based ingredients, higher animal protein, feeding moist food versus dry, and feeding a food that supports an alkaline urine pH. A urine alkalinizing agent (such as the potassium citrate) may also be needed. Regardless of the ultimate treatment of canine bladder stones - surgical removal or dissolution - nutrition will play a critical role in preventing recurrence. Once a nutritional profile has been chosen, it is important to feed only what has been prescribed, so speak to your veterinarian before offering any additional food or treats. The add-ons may undermine what the prescribed nutrient profile is able to do to prevent bladder stones from recurring.

Answered 1210 days ago icon8

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