How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

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Dot
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How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

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Hello pet lovers,

This week we're taking a look at struvite crystals and stones - bladder stones that can cause uncomfortable inflammation and urinary blockages. They form when magnesium, ammonia, and phosphate become concentrated in urine and begin to group together. Bladder stones are more common in dogs and cats than humans and struvite stones are the most common type so they're important to look out for and prevent.

Generally speaking, struvite stones / crystals will form when the animal’s urine PH becomes neutral or alkaline (PH 7 or greater) and urine is concentrated. Carnivores (dogs and cats) that eat a fresh red meat based diet naturally produce acidic urine which prevents this crystal formation. So, as with so many conditions we see in dogs and cats, the first stage of prevention and treatment is a raw or air-dried raw, balanced diet.

There a number of symptoms that may indicate your pets are suffering from struvite crystals (below) and they're more common around the age of 6-7 years old:

Frequent urination.
Straining to urinate.
Abnormal urinary flow.
Urination in unusual places, for example in the house.
Cloudy or bloody urine.
Increased thirst.

Find out how else to treat and prevent struvite crystals here V

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Generally speaking, struvite stones / crystals will form when the animal’s urine PH becomes neutral or alkaline (PH 7 or greater) and urine is
concentrated. Carnivores (dogs and cats) that eat a fresh red meat based diet naturally produce acidic urine which prevents this crystal formation. The food itself has a natural water content of 60-70%, which assists in preventing dehydration and excessive concentration of urine (especially in cats).

Diets that are too high in cereal and vegetable levels will result in a more alkaline urine, which is typical of many dry foods and tinned foods. Commercial pet foods commonly contain significantly higher levels of non-meat ingredients, as red meat proteins are the most expensive ingredient used, and are generally kept to a minimum level for economic reasons – meat by-products, and white meats such as chicken, do not have the same acidifying effect as red meat.

The prescription diet your vet may suggest will primarily include artificial acidifiers, but you can achieve this naturally using RAW76, Healthrolls or Complete Mix. I advise using additional vitamin C (make sure it is ascorbic acid, and not a buffered version like sodium ascorbate) and I also suggest using cranberry tablets. Cranberry does contain high levels of vitamin C, but the primary effect of cranberry is to create a mucilaginous lining on the mucosal surface of the bladder wall, which inhibits the attachment of bacteria and assists voiding of any contaminants with normal urination.

I suggest you make sure you feed primarily red meat if you are using Complete Mix (eg Kangaroo meat) but increase the meat to 70% of the diet, and make the soaked Complete Mix only 30% (by weight/volume). You can add about 1-2 g of vitamin C powder per day (1/2 teaspoon) and 2-3 cranberry tablets for a 15kg dog. I would suggest you have your pet’s urine tested for PH every month for the next 3-4 months (or ideally do this weekly at home using a PH test strip), to make sure it is acidic. Ideal PH is about 5-6 for a dog, and 4-6 for a cat. Once the PH is stable, you can cease the cranberry supplement, then check a month later to make sure it has not changed.



This article was written and authorised by:

Dr Bruce Syme BVSc (Hons)
Founder of Vets All Natural
Queen of the Banal & OT chatter and proud of it. If it offends you then tough titty titty bang bang.
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Vik351
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

Post by Vik351 »

Sounds like my bully, the right age
The odd funny leakage in da house
Canned muck and chook bones (soft ones)
Bugger all read meat as such...

Cranberries...??? Bullys dont eat stinkin cranberries...!!!

well she will now... :lol:

Will change her diet, thought it was cos a Mitzi,??? Tries a billy jean king on her... :oops: :o :(

vik... goodie Dot...!!! ;)
Merk 4x4 VF30 519 CDI 2020 LWB V6TD 3 ltr 6 wheeler ,Tenorite Grey ... yep, it's not white ...!!! 8-)
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Lance
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

Post by Lance »

A couple of yr ago our Molly Maltese started piddlin bit at a time, few minutes later, a bit more....
Got her checked out and found 4 stones about the size of ya little finger nail.
We were told we had to change her diet to the canned stuff they just happened to sell @ $4.80/can.....yeah, sure, that's gonna happen... :roll:
Anyway, we started varying her diet quite a bit and no more issues with different cans and dry food.
Haven't tried her on red meat but it won't hurt so we'll see how she handles it.
Lance & Annee
Looking for more Music Festival Dates in Victoria 8-)
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Dot
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

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If you guys are serious about trying the Vets all natural ring Sue on their 1300 # and she will send you a few samples. Tell her Dot from SA told you to ring her.. Then IF you want to continue with that food I can buy it wholesale for you. Right now I buy the large bags of the dry and split it up between other people. I also use the kangaroo for human consumption . My Dobe had to have tripe (green when I could get it) and the dehydrated dry food. Brian is also on this VAN plus his nibblies are Black Hawk (Aust made) As with new food do the transition slowly. Brian refused it at first but now he is goer.
Queen of the Banal & OT chatter and proud of it. If it offends you then tough titty titty bang bang.
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Lance
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

Post by Lance »

I don't think we'll get involved with specialised feeds at this stage Dot.
Molly seems fine now with the variety she gets but we will add some red meat to her diet just for the sake of variance and see how she copes with it.

Thanks for putting this stuff in front of us, it does lay other options on the table. 8-)
Lance & Annee
Looking for more Music Festival Dates in Victoria 8-)
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Vik351
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

Post by Vik351 »

Hey Dotters...

You in Strath today...???

Was lookin for a place to take the Espie for a spin in dem dar hills, put the new gearbox through it's paces...!!!

I'll buy a bag a stuff off ya if ya got one handy...!!!

vik... ;)
Merk 4x4 VF30 519 CDI 2020 LWB V6TD 3 ltr 6 wheeler ,Tenorite Grey ... yep, it's not white ...!!! 8-)
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Dot
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

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Not home yet Vik, let you know when. I don't keep stock but I am ordering stuff next week . Hope your new box is to your liking :lol:
Queen of the Banal & OT chatter and proud of it. If it offends you then tough titty titty bang bang.
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Vik351
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

Post by Vik351 »

Dot wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:44 pm Not home yet Vik, let you know when. I don't keep stock but I am ordering stuff next week . Hope your new box is to your liking :lol:
Eight Speeds , beat that baby, a gear of every rise...!!! :D :o

vik... :mrgreen:
Merk 4x4 VF30 519 CDI 2020 LWB V6TD 3 ltr 6 wheeler ,Tenorite Grey ... yep, it's not white ...!!! 8-)
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

Post by Mrcoolabah1au »

How do you get a puppy 🐶 to go through a doggy’s door or train it 😇😇
Coolabah1au
Wayne nini
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Dot
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Re: How to spot, treat and prevent bladder stones in dogs and cats.

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Mrcoolabah1au wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:12 pm How do you get a puppy 🐶 to go through a doggy’s door or train it 😇😇
Keep the doggie door open for a few days. Gently coax the puppy to go through it with a treat and when it goes through heaps of praise... Next time put a very light bit of material eg net over the space and repeat procedure for a few days. Then let the see through door down and go for it, puppy may need a gentle nudge the first couple of times but remember the treat and heaps of praise..
Queen of the Banal & OT chatter and proud of it. If it offends you then tough titty titty bang bang.
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