|
Post by Sherry on Sept 9, 2016 0:29:43 GMT -5
Bump
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2016 1:36:58 GMT -5
Hi all; I wanted to share our experiences with cystine bladder stones. We have 4 ferret fur babies, all around 1 yr in age. They are our firsts. We've been feeding them a combination of kibbles: Orijin Cat & Kitten, Gö Fit & Free, and Nutrience Sub Zero (both Fraser Valley and Prairie Red formulas). Initially, we had 1 water bottle and a bowl of water in the quad ferret nation cage. Unfortunately, 3 of my 4 fuzzies are diggers. So, after a few months I got tired constantly cleaning up puddles and replaced the water dish with a second bottle. Fast forward to mid July - Links seemed to be making frequent attempts to urinate. At the time it was unclear if she was straining to poop or what (which she did eventually). We took her to the vet. She was mostly peeing only small amounts at a time. A urinalysis revealed blood and cystine crystals in her urine with an acidic Ph (5 maybe?). We did an X-ray and found one large stone and some other small ones. The only thing to do was surgery to remove them, which we did and it was a success. My vet said cystine stones were tricky and there just wasn't enough research to say what specifically caused them. Whether hereditary, diet, or a combination. She said the kibble we were feeding was amongst the better dry kibbles for ferrets, though they all contained peas which was concerning. She said it was possible switching to raw could be a solution, but that it seemed hydration was also a critical factor. More water would keep her system flushed, not giving crystals enough time to form and also lowering the acidity of her urine to a Ph of about 6-6.5 (I believe). Since none of the other ferrets seemed affected at that time, we considered Links to have a genetic predisposition and plan A would be to up her water intake. If not, plan B would be a diet change - though to what we weren't sure. We bought 2 more water bottles for their cage and ordered a small 'Prestige Road Refresher' no spill water bowl from the UK, which was left outside the cage. (It works awesome by the way - I ended up ordering 2 more). We also started them on what I call their "gruel". It's warm water and kibble mixed - just like when they were kits, but soupier. They get this twice a day. We paid special attention to Links to ensure she was eating at least some of it. It worked. With the increase in water intake, Links has had clear urinalysis' since. We test her at home with the strips and the vet does analysis for crystals. Unfortunately, 2 weeks ago Runter, my other female, began urinating frequently. I hoped it was just a UTI, but we did a test strip on her and it came back positive for blood and protein. We took her to the vet right away. Although her urine tested negative for crystals, her X-ray showed one very large stone in her bladder. The vet guessed that she'd had the stone all along, but the added water intake had stopped the production of crystals. We immediately went home, got the other 3 ferrets and brought them all back for X-rays. Fortunately, both males and Links were clear of anything. Runter's surgery was scheduled for later that week, which was also very successful. At this time we discussed diet again with my vet. We agreed that one or perhaps all the kibbles must be the culprit (given they all contain peas). Obviously the water intake had helped, but it was better to make a change in their diet. I had heard about Wysong Epigen 90 and considered swapping to that, but I didn't want to be feeding only one kibble. Plus, Orijin seems to be a highly recommended kibble, despite the peas. I looked at some raw cat foods in the pet stores around my city. They all contained some veg or other that I felt was really unnecessary. I also looked at some freeze dried raw food - but it didn't seem substantial enough. I was so confused and unsure how to proceed. We realized if we were going to take the health of our babies seriously, we were going to need to switch them to a raw food diet. We have offered them raw before and they were typically not interested. So, we didn't really consider switching an option. That's when I took a serious look at this forum and the recommendations for switching. I'm currently sourcing everything we need and I'm thinking I'll sign up for a mentorship eventually as well. Wish us luck!
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Nov 7, 2016 11:17:39 GMT -5
You will find that a species appropriate diet can also help dissolve smaller crystals/stones over time. It actually changes the pH of the urine, making it more acidic. Between that and being fully hydrated(they are meant to get the vast majority of their fluid intake from their diet) stones simply don't form. So glad you were able to save both your little ones, and that they are on the road to recovery!
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Nov 7, 2016 23:02:32 GMT -5
I'm so glad the little ones are doing better and I'm very glad you are trying to do the best thing for them.
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Feb 7, 2017 21:57:04 GMT -5
Bump for the newbies or anyone that has not read this.
|
|
Lily
Junior Member
Posts: 172
|
Post by Lily on Feb 8, 2017 17:57:20 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for posting this! It's cool to see actual X-rays and the stone itself in the photos. Luckily I haven't had to endure something like this, but I did learn a lot already.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 18, 2017 20:32:48 GMT -5
I'm curious if Frettchen has managed to switch, or current diet, and if you've had any further stone issues?
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Nov 30, 2017 22:24:25 GMT -5
pictures fixed finally!
|
|
|
Post by silentdook on Dec 4, 2018 4:40:43 GMT -5
Hi, I popped into this old thread because I had an adrenal male who developed a large and many small stones blocking his urethra that we almost lost him, New Years Eve 1999 (yeah, it was no party for us that night).
I absolutely gasped at the first xray, before I even saw the actual stone! This is certainly important information, and even especially for cat owners who are being taken in by all the grain-free hype in cat food. Thank you for all that info gathering.
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Dec 4, 2018 9:49:14 GMT -5
It really is. My old cat used to get stones/crystals on a regular basis. Even just switching to a canned diet helped. Raw prevented them from ever forming again. So to age 13 thinking we were going to lose him every year, to age 23 when he passed and never again an issue.
|
|
|
Post by silentdook on Dec 6, 2018 12:08:53 GMT -5
♥ ♥ ♥
I had the very same problems with my Pablo-kitty, almost losing him over and over, vets kept pushing prescription vet food on us, nothing worked. I finally gave up after too much money and heartache, and took him in to another vet I'd seen years before to have him pts, because I was out of money and ashamed to ask the one he'd been seeing to do it.
This guy took one look at me running tears as I told him that Pablo was "near dying over and over, and his life quality is in the gutter and full of pain, I'm strapped and in debt," :blubber, blubber: He looked at Pablo and said "I'm taking him on as a personal challenge, leave him with us for a week, and it won't cost you a penny." He tried a brand new med he had to order, put him on diazepam and Cosequin, and you're right, the key was the meatiest tinned food from the grocers. All this time I'd thought I was doing the right thing giving him grain-free Wellness Core dry. Pablo got to come home for outpatient visits, first thing he begged to go out in the yard, and promptly brought up a small rat that he'd devoured. My sweet panther lived a good more seven years, happily supplementing his wet food with his catches. Kitties know, if we let them.
|
|