Hi Critters
This is my first message after a long time away...!
Sorry about Buddy having a problem... is he home yet?
My wheelie dog Bombón has had a big problem with struvite crystals, coupled with chronic UTIs etc. Anyway, although we are still struggling with the UTIs (she has tried just about every antibiotic that exists), we at least managed to get the struvite under control with Hill's S/D and Royal Canin Urinary, the tinned S/D really does seem to help especially, although in dogs at least it can only be used for a certain length of time.
The other thing is that struvite crystals form when the urine is alkaline. In Spain we have a medication called "Urgenin", actually it's a plant extract but used in conventional medicine for people/kids with urinary problems. Right now I can't remember the plant name; something like echinacea but don't quote me on that, I can check it for you. Anyway it helps acidify the urine (better than Cranberry does, as far as I know, Cranberry's acidifying properties are only transient, though it has a different mechanism that does appear to help fight against infection). You can just add drops to their water. I had used it with Kat a long time ago too, when she had struvite (hmm, seems to be paralysis = UTI and crystals, but I'm never sure which comes first, the UTI or the crystals) and she never showed any side effects (it was recommended to me by 2 different vets).
With Bombón, I found it extremely useful to have some of those dip strip testers to check her urine pH (as well as leukocytes, blood in urine, etc), so when it started getting high I would add S/D back to her diet and give her Urgenin drops, and get the pH back down again. Obviously you don't want it too low, because then oxalate crystals can form, which is pretty frustrating. I find that in her case, between 6 and 7 seems to keep her struvite-free... The dip strip testers are not the most accurate test you can do but are really useful as a guide, sometimes you can see a problem on them before you notice it in the urine (e.g. blood in urine can't always be seen, but if it tests positive there could be a problem, same goes for rising leukocytes).
Of course, being a kitty Buddy is probably smaller than Bombón and being male, his opening is going to be much smaller, so presumably less crystal formation is needed to cause a problem like an obstruction.
I hope he gets well fast and that you find that it is controllable with diet.
Debbie
PS: I express three of my animals and two of them have very thickened bladder walls, only Foxy doesn't, presumably because he hasn't been paralysed for long enough yet
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