I wanted to update everyone on my Maltese Annie and the issues around her food and the crystals. Thanks *so* much to all of you who have given such great advice and help.
I still need to make an appointment with her Vet and have a good talk with him. I think he put her on the RC-SO14 (for life) as a preventive, and also did a round of antibiotics. Flipgirl, I have a feeling he's the kind of Vet who will tell me to do whatever I think is best---he's not the kind to push things, but I'm just getting to know him. My adult kids all take their animals to him. When I go in for her checkup I will definitely be discussing all of this with him! Thanks for reminding me
!
To remind---when I got her she came with an envelope with an egg sized stone that had been removed from her bladder last October. I think my Vet could tell she wasn't fully treated, because he commented he could feel the incision and it was rough. I became concerned because her poops were so dry and hard on the RC. That's when I found all of you and began to learn about the differences in foods.
After looking at all of them I decided to try her on Wellness Core. She refused to eat it for the first day. I was trying to mix it with her RC to wean her onto it slowly. She would just pick out the RC and leave the Wellness! Finally I just gave her the Wellness Core and she ate a bit of it. My husband pointed out that the kibbles are very hard and maybe she was having trouble chewing it. She is missing quite a few teeth. I started adding hot water to the kibbles (thanks Elenajas
) and now she is eating them with no problem---plus, she gets added water!
I did check her urine pH before I started and it was NEUTRAL! This was after a month and a half on the RC! I have been adding a cranberry capsule each day to her new food and will check the pH in a few days to see if there is any change.
I do have a question I think someone else asked about the form/dosage of the cranberry. I picked up the gelcaps thinking they would be liquid and I could just pierce them and squeeze the juice out. But, it makes a royal mess! The ones I have are filled with a thick, almost pasty substance. Is there a brand (cheap) on the market that is a tablet I can crush or a liquid? Also, I noticed several different doses. How many "mg" a day should she be getting as a preventive to just keep her urine on the acidic side---and how acidic should the pH be? I don't want her to end up with the other type of crystals!
Anneh---I didn't get Annie until 2 months after her surgery, but she has had no problems with leaking. In fact had I not been told, and seen that she had been shaved I wouldn't have even known she had a problem. I don't know anything about the leaking problem, but I'd want to get it checked.
I will keep everyone posted as we adjust to the new food and cranberry. I can't tell you how much it has helped to have such great support and input from you all. This was all new to me and really scary. Please let me know about the cranberry dose and acid issue if you know, this is all
VERY useful information!
With much gratitude
,
Linda L