My dog's high kidney levels after ecoli. How to lower or maintain?

Yes, as strange as it may sound, it is fairly common for dogs to have a urinary tract (and sometimes kidney) infection where the primary pathogen is E. coli. In humans E. coli usually causing GI disturbances but in animals we see it cause infections in the urinary tract. I would recommend that your vet performs a sensitivity on the E. coli so you can be sure the antibiotics she is on will kill the bacteria. These can be fairly nasty infections and can take several weeks (4-6) on antibiotics to clear. I would also recommend having an X-ray performed to make sure Delilah does not have any bladder stones as this can cause infections to linger as well. Best of luck with Delilah. If you have any additional questions or concerns please let us know!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Linda. I would stop feeding any treats and keep her strictly on the kidney diet. She should have her blood pressure checked and a urinalysis done to look for extra protein in the urine. Both are common with kidney disease. There are medications that she can take that will help both conditions if necessary. This will slow further progression of her disease. Depending on her results, I will add a potassium supplement (if her potassium is low) or a phosphate binder (if her phosphorus is high). These things will help her to feel good for as long as possible. Always ensure she drinks plenty of water. I hope this information helps!

Using antibiotics is generally safe for pets with kidney failure, however Sofiya needs some aggressive treatment for her kidney issues. This could look like more testing, including an abdominal ultrasound, leptospirosis testing, checking for tick diseases, and other tests depending on what is going on with her clinically. It would also include treatment of IV fluids, anti-nausea medications, medications to lower her phosphorous levels, and others (again depending on how she's actually doing). In short, the Cefor isn't going to treat the issues in this bloodwork.

I am very sorry to hear that Bella is suffering from kidney disease. It is unlikely that the fluids she received caused her diarrhea and weakness. She probably would have had the diarrhea regardless of getting the fluids which is why she was feeling bad and not eating in the first place. The fluids actually were probably beneficial in helping her not become dehydrated from the diarrhea. Sometimes when the feces is very dark/black it can indicate a GI bleed. This is concerning to me because severe kidney failure can cause GI ulcerations and bleeding into the intestinal tract. I would recommend talking to your vet about Bella's diarrhea and bringing in a sample if you are able to. Bella may need to be on antibiotics to help with the diarrhea or may need to start some GI protectants. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck with Bella.

I am so sorry Toby is not feeling well. Ehrlichia is a tick born disease that can cause a lot of secondary issues from the infection. Kidney disease acute (suddenly) or chronic(over a long period of time) can be hard to detect. The Ehrlichia can cause dehydration, anemia, acute kidney disease and even low platelets. The kidney disease usually resolves when the Ehrlichia is treated. However with a 14 year old dog I would be concerned that Toby had kidney disease that was undetectable until now. That would make it hard to predict if the kidney values will ever go back to normal. There are no specific drugs to lower the kidney values. The best options are intravenous fluids and antibiotics for the Ehrlichia and close monitoring. I hope Toby makes a full recocery

Hello, and thanks for your question. I’m so glad Henry seems to be doing a bit better! His appetite tells you a lot about how he’s feeling so that’s an important thing to monitor. It’s certainly possible that the antibiotic shot was more effective than the vet expected - and a kidney infection would be good news, since that’s more treatable than a majority of other kidney problems. Is it at all possible that Henry could have been exposed to something toxic and the vet care helped him turn a corner? I would definitely recommend rechecking his kidney values with your vet. Rechecking those values in bloodwork will be the best way to monitor how much improvement he may have made, and this is particularly important since he improved after the antibiotic. Kidney infections sometimes require a longer course of antibiotic therapy than a single shot would provide, so your vet may advise repeating the injection, or adding oral medication, to hopefully help Henry continue to improve. They may also talk about recommendations for continued fluid therapy - fluids are so important to help keep the kidneys happy! Hope this helps and you continue to see improvement in Henry!

If your vet gave you medicine to give to Buddy you should give it until the meduicine is gone according to the instructions on the label. You can feed Buddy a diet for dogs with kidney disease( such as Hill's k/d available from your vet, for a few weeks which will help his kidneys recuperate, but usually it is not necessary. Feed him normally this weekend and make sure he drinks water and give your vet a call on Monday asking whether there are special instructions.