Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Diet and water changes to manage urinary stones in dogs and cats
By Queau, Yann·Published in The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice·2019·Research & Development Center, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Nutritional Management of Urolithiasis.
Plain-English summary
A dog or cat with urinary stones (urolithiasis) may show signs like straining to urinate, blood in the urine, or frequent trips to the litter box. To help manage this condition, veterinarians often recommend a special diet that can dissolve the stones or prevent them from coming back. Increasing the pet's water intake is crucial, as it helps dilute the urine and reduce the chance of crystals forming. Adjusting the diet to control the types of minerals and the acidity of the urine can be effective, especially for certain types of stones. Regular check-ups are also important to monitor pets at risk for urinary stones.
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Abstract
Dietary management of urolithiasis in dogs and cats is designed to dissolve calculi when possible and/or reduce the risk of recurrence. The diet must reduce urine relative supersaturation for the particular salt in order to prevent crystallization. To decrease urinary concentrations of crystal precursors, increasing water intake is essential regardless of the stone type. Altering the amounts of dietary precursors of the stone and controlling urine pH is mostly effective for struvite, urate, xanthine, and cystine, but still subject to controversy for calcium oxalate. The investigation of underlying metabolic disorders and close monitoring of animals at risk is recommended.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30583809/