My dog had urolith stones. Are his new cystine stones from same cause?

Not that I am aware of. The exact cause of calcium oxalate bladder stones is poorly understood at this time. Normal dog urine is slightly acidic and contains waste products from metabolism including dissolved mineral salts and other compounds. These mineral salts will remain dissolved in the urine as long as the pH stays within a narrow range, and as long as the urine does not become too concentrated. Some diets that cause a persistently alkaline urine pH may also cause this. This link may help you more. ( https://www.vetmed.umn.edu/sites/vetmed.umn.edu/files/canine_calcium_oxalate_uroliths.pdf )

The recommendation is to feed your pet a low protein, low sodium diet to help alkalinize the urine and reduce cystine urine excretion. You can achieve this with the Rx brands Hill's U/D or Royal Canin UC Low Purine. Although it is suggested that feeding a canned diet or increasing water intake will help to dilute the urine as well, and therefore reduce cystine urine excretion. Dissolving stones is possible with the diet, but this can take an extended period of time and there is always the risk of stone blockage along the urinary tract. If blockage occurs then your only option for resolution is to have the stones surgically removed. From a medical standpoint, the drug 2-MPG is used to dissolve stones that are currently in the bladder. You will have more success riding stones if you implement both MPG treatment and a urinary diet simultaneously.

The cysteine crystals are very difficult to dissolve in my opinion. If there are stones, I would consider having those surgically removed and then putting him on the special diet. There are also studies that show neutering them may or may not help. I have one patient that has had this type of stone and they returned despite the surgery and food. We put him on the medicine instead of repeating the surgery and we periodically check the stones. They have maintained size, haven't multiplied, but also haven't dissolved. For that patient, this is a win. I think you need to make sure you have discussed all options with your vet to see what best works for your finances and for Milo. I hope this helps!

Hello, it is hard to interpret what your veterinarian meant by mineralized kidneys without reviewing Sam's medical records. However, things that can cause mineral debris in the kidney such as kidney stones can be associated with diet content and the pH of the urine (either too acidic or too alkaline). Other less common causes include abnormalities with the regulation of calcium and phosphorus such as with hyperparathyroidism. In a 10 year old dog, paraneoplastic hypercalcemia due to anal gland cancer or lymphoma can also be possible. Based on his bladder stones, I would assume that whatever may have caused stone formation in his bladder may also be causing the changes you are seeing in his kidneys. Cushings disease commonly involves changes in the adrenal glands and the excess production of cortisol hormone. It can cause a secondary increase in calcium, however you typically do not see en elevated calcium alone without an increased in cortisol levels. Ultimately, it will be difficult to assess what may be causing Sam's kidney changes without the being able to review his records. I would recommend consulting with your veterinarian again to clarify his previous assessment to you, or even getting a second opinion from a internist at a specialty hospital. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hello. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, some of these dogs keep developing stones, & we just do not know the total reason & mechanism for this. So you are perfectly right to feel confused, & frustrated with this. The Royal Canin S/O has been one of the best options in terms of preventing stones through the diet, & of course, the more water he takes in, the more water there is to flush the oxalate elements out of his bladder before stones reoccur. Sometimes we do recommend potassium citrate, if urine pH is consistently lower than 6.5, & some newer thinking is to add hydrochlorothiazide if he does seem to be redeveloping urolithiasis frequently & he does not have high blood calcium levels. You could monitor his urine for blood with urine dip strips manufactured for this purpose ( your vet can help with this ). A full urinalysis should be done every 3-6 months to keep pH between 6.5 & 8 & to maintain urine specific gravity to 1.020 or lower. Imaging, with either ultrasound or x-rays every 6-12 months is useful to identify very small stones that can generally be removed without surgery.removed . Hopefully, Casper will remain stone free for a very long time. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would recommend seeing your veterinarian for a recheck. Struvite stones often form secondary to a urinary tract infection so your vet may want to test Beemo’s urine to make sure there is not currently an infection present. If you’re able to save a stone for your vet they might want to send it out for analysis - occasionally dogs can have multiple types of bladder stones and it’s possible your vet may want to change the diet or add a supplement if this is the case.

Bladder stones are collections of mineral crystals that combine together in the urinary tract. Excess minerals can encourage the formation of crystals in the urine, leading to the creation of bladder stones. Urinary diets have the correct balance of minerals to maintain bladder health. In addition, they have low protein and calcium, which results in decreased urinary concentrations of stone-forming constituents. To get the biggest benefit, I recommend choosing a urinary specific food for Liir, as regular diets will not be formulated to help with bladder health. I recommend Hill's Science Diet u/d. I hope this helps!