Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Cat With Oxalate Stones and Chronic UTIs

Q: About this topic, I am having a similar problem with my 8 year old male cat, but he had oxalate stones earlier this year, and surgery to remove them, and is now on Hills C/D and has had chronic UTI's only since being on this food. I want to switch him off to a grain free quality food (like Wellness) but am concerned if this would cause new oxalate stones to form. The effectiveness of Hills C/D has not been proven to me yet - although he has not had additional oxalate stones. Any advice?

A: Diet is an extremely important factor when a pet is developing stones or chronic UTIs. Grains and food allergies can greatly contribute. Once a pet has required surgery for stones however, this is a very serious matter that should be handled by a veterinary professional. Most likely it is the corn and grains contained in the Hills C/D that is causing your kitty to get the UTIs and I would highly recommend ordering our PET UTI Prevention Kit for starters. In addition, we have had proven success using Renelix to help pets with crystals and stones. Many clients with crystals use our diet protocols along with Renelix and retest with the crystals no longer present. As far as diet, I would need to work with you in the context of a telephone or inperson appointment to help you develop the appropriate diet for your kitty. To help you select the best diet, a comprehensive discussion regarding his medical history, food preferences and laboratory tests would need to be done so that you could be sure the diet selected is the right one for your kitty.
Sunday, November 1, 2009

Bleu--One Year Anniversary of His Adoption

Today is November 1st and is the one year anniversary of our adoption of Bleu, our white Siberian Husky. I remember vividly how hard it was to get another dog and how initially it was so tough to bond with him. But, in looking back now, I realize it was a great decision to adopt when we did. We had just lost our Tessie to hemangiosarcoma and watched her waste away in those final days. We decided to adopt Bleu just a few weeks after Tessie died when we learned he had been waiting for a family to adopt him for over 2 1/2 years.

When Ariel had died, we waited a long time to get another dog and it wasn't until Tessie was in such desperate need as a foster dog, that we decided to take in another pet months later. It is a personal choice whether to get another pet sooner or later following the death of a beloved family member. I remember that I felt so disloyal to Ariel in thinking about another pet and that somehow it would take away from her memory. That did not end up being the case at all--I loved each of them so much and they both made a profound impact on our lives.

The one thing I do know was that both times we lost a pet, it was so empty and sad in our home without one. The loneliness was so profound and I dwelled on the last few weeks prior to their death obsessing and wondering if there might have been something else I could have done. This is a natural feeling and all good pet owners feel this way. But, now, after seeing wonderful pet owners lose treasured pets every day in my profession, I have to say, that it is the circle of life and we each have a certain amount of time to live and then sadly it is over. And so....there are so many homeless, abandoned, needy pets out there, if you have love in your heart but are still mourning the loss of your pet, you may want to reconsider helping make the life of one of these pets better while you can.

When Tessie died, I was devastated because we had only three short years. She had suffered such a hard life prior to our rescuing her, there was no escaping her past. I felt as though I were ripped off, but then after getting Bleu, I did realize what a noble gift it was for Tessie to make room for Bleu who also desperately needed a loving home. Bleu was advertised on http://www.petfinder.com/ as a "special needs" dog who suffered from an unusual pancreatic disorder and the rescuer stated that the "time and expense giving him a special diet and supplements would be well worth it because his exceptional temperament would outweigh the extra effort". The rescuer could not have been more right. We fell in love with our Bleu and he has brought so much joy into our lives. He really did need a pet nutritionist to help him with his health care and he has been nothing but a gift to us. He is a happy, fun loving dog that makes us laugh each and every day. He howls with delight when we take him to Doggie Care--so much so that my husband and I leave each other messages with his howling antics. He helped us forget the pain and loss with Tessie and move on with our lives. This year, we made beautiful photo frames, one for each of my special girls memorializing all that they had meant to us. We will never forget them and no other dog will ever replace them. They will go on in our hearts forever but with the help of Bleu, we were able to move forward and feel the joy of having a beloved pet with whom to share a beautiful life.