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Post by Sherry on Aug 15, 2013 22:29:55 GMT -5
Oh fingers crossed she's now going to be fine!
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Post by Thérèse on Aug 17, 2013 6:18:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the update. Glad the surgery went well and she is doing fine. Hopefully this solves it for you both
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2013 13:59:22 GMT -5
So I got the results back for her stone analysis. Any guesses?
100% cystine. My vet did talk to Dr. Cavell and consulted VIN and didn't come up with a whole lot of info. It was recommended to check her urine pH at home as it is speculated to help prevent stones from forming if the pH is alkaline. It was also recommended to try changing diet to something kidney-friendly, low protein (like k/d, blech) for a week and then check the pH again. If no higher, rinse and repeat with a different food. She also told me that some owners feeding Nature's Variety raw experienced no issues with stones, and in another report Totally Ferret (eh?) also seemed to avoid stone formation. But that could just be luck. A final alternative would be to supplement with potassium citrate to keep the urine pH alkaline. Speculated cause of the stones is a kidney tubular defect, which had already been discussed I believe.
So I'm waiting for pH strips to arrive in our next shipment at work to see where she's at. I'm also tempted to submit another UA just to see how everything else looks. I'm just not keen on feeding her something low protein as her genetic makeup is designed to eat the opposite. I know raw would be the best option but I don't think I will able to attempt that anytime soon. I guess I'm hoping that feeding epigen 90 will be good enough for her.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 10, 2013 18:10:16 GMT -5
Any dry food is going to contribute to stone/crystal formation as they are consistently kept borderline dehydrated.
The only food that will prevent stone formation is a species appropriate one.
Otherwise stay away from peas and feed a soup daily to help try to keep them hydrated.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2013 18:15:18 GMT -5
If you can't do a raw diet, perhaps try wetting the epigen down with water and mashing it into a soupy? Keeping them hydrated and flushing their system regularly is a big step towards preventing the stones.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2013 18:06:24 GMT -5
I've also been giving her chicken baby food which she loves. I have tried to wet down the kibble in the past but she didn't want to go for it.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 11, 2013 18:45:21 GMT -5
That's because she doesn't recognize it as food. Same as any other transition she can be taught.
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