Tobey has a UTI and struvites

I am so sad!! And, feeling like a terrible pug mom.

Tobey has struvites and a UTI. She has not been peeing more than usual, no spotting or dripping. All her peeing has been normal, a good stream and no indications of pain at all. The only hint I got that something was not right was that my two boy pugs have been quite interested in her girly parts.

Ichiro has always been a sniffer of her girl parts, but then the other day I saw Skeeter taking a good sniff. I thought to myself, hmm, what is he sniffing. So, I checked her out, and sure enough, her poor little hooha is all red and sore looking. I took in a urine sample and the vet said it was loaded with struvites and bacteria. Not rod shaped bacteria though, so not sure what that means right now.

I am feeling so bad because this may have been going on for quite some time. I am debating if I want to x-ray, or just treat with anti-biotics and retest in a few weeks.

Wondering if I did anything that may have caused this?

She is on The Honest Kitchen, so I know she is getting optimal hydration. I am flooding it even more, it is practically soup. I don't give any grains or low quality treats. I cannot think of what has changed?

It's so easy to miss Renee, don't beat yourself up!

Did the vet send a sample off for a culture and sensitivity/susceptability? I always think it is worthwhile getting this done to ensure you are giving the right antibiotics for the bugs causing the problem. If you haven't it's not a huge drama, but a week after the meds are finished you could have one done to make sure there's nothing festering there waiting to multiply. Best wishes for your girl!

My hospice pug Peachy has been battling UTIs since she came into rescue (over 2 years). I thought we had it under control after her last round of staph. When the results came back from her senior panel, it showed that she had a staph UTI again. She hadn't been showing the normal signs of infection, so maybe I caught it at the beginning. She still had to go through three weeks of Baytril before she kicked it. The only signs she showed was some panting, but the weather is getting warmer and she insists on being under the blanket on the couch. She hadn't had any other symptoms. My vet started her on daily antibiotics for the rest of her life.

Don't feel bad, it's hard to tell. When Sophie had hers, I never would have noticed but she used her puppy pad and I saw blood. But other than that, she didn't show any symptoms, and her UTI was bad. I felt awful, but, the good thing is you caught it!

I'm sorry to hear this! Glad you went with your gut and got her checked out. I can email you the info on struvites that Blanche and Rachel sent me when I was dealing with them with Tyson.
You might remember he had no infection, so I went the route of collecting his urine and adding cranberries until his pH was back in check. Another thing you might want to do for Tobey is after potty breaks using an unscented baby wipe to wipe off her girly parts. Just to make she's extra clean down there.

Becky,

I got your two emails. Thank you, thank you! Honestly, I just can't believe she got struvites, let alone an infection!!

I could not sleep thinking about it last night, so I dropped her off today for x-rays. I worry that because she was asymptomatic, that this may have been going on for quite some time.

She is on clavamox right now, and we shall see what the C&S says. However, the vet said that the infection did not look bad (low grade), but that there was A LOT of crystals.

After her antibiotics run their course, I will do like you said Becky, and just monitor pH. I am not putting her on that S/D food, no matter what the vet says. My foster is on the S/D food, and I feel terrible giving it to her. But... since she is a foster, I need to follow doctor's orders.

Rods have a tendency to be the more "severe" and resistant bacteria, so that should be a good sign.

Don't beat yourself up. It's so easy to miss things, and you're making sure she gets taken care of now. I'm sure you didn't do anything to cause it. Urinary issues can happen seemingly without any true cause. I'll keep your girl in my thoughts that it clears up quickly.

Yippee! No stones!! Just bacteria and crystals!! X-rays are clear!

So, we treat with antibiotics, flood her food (more than normal), and recheck in a few weeks.

whew...hopefully she'll be all fine in no time!!

Renee wrote:Becky,

I got your two emails. Thank you, thank you! Honestly, I just can't believe she got struvites, let alone an infection!!

I could not sleep thinking about it last night, so I dropped her off today for x-rays. I worry that because she was asymptomatic, that this may have been going on for quite some time.

She is on clavamox right now, and we shall see what the C&S says. However, the vet said that the infection did not look bad (low grade), but that there was A LOT of crystals.

After her antibiotics run their course, I will do like you said Becky, and just monitor pH. I am not putting her on that S/D food, no matter what the vet says. My foster is on the S/D food, and I feel terrible giving it to her. But... since she is a foster, I need to follow doctor's orders.

Just a couple of comments about the above:

1) The struvites aren't always a precursor to an infection. Often the UTI throws off the pH and other chemistry and that's what causes the struvites to form. So don't beat yourself up over missing it as if it was a straight timeline.

2) Although s/d food sucks when you read the ingredients and look in the can, a 1-2 week course of it every 2 months or so is the only thing that keeps Jackson struvite-free for me. Like Becky's Tyson, though, he naturally has struvites, even in the absence of infection. The only time he's gotten a UTI since I started this was the one time that I got cocky and thought he might not need it. I was wrong.
Hopefully, this is just a one-time thing for Tobey, but if not, I wouldn't completely write off s/d for her.

I hope she's feeling better!

Sorry Ginger. I wasn't judging people that have successfully used the S/D food... I'm just saying, personally, I won't use it for this. I think too many vets turn to the food without being properly educated on nutrition. And, this is the very, very first time for Tobey to have any sort of infection. She's 7 1/2, so I hope this is a one time thing.

I knew the struvites were caused by an infection... I'm just sad that it all appeared to have happened so quickly. It sort of hit me out of no where, just like when Becky's Tyson got struvites.

Just a word of caution - don't feed the cranberries while she's on antibiotics. They are contraindicated.

pugpillow wrote:Just a word of caution - don't feed the cranberries while she's on antibiotics. They are contraindicated.

Yep, I knew that one! Thanks to this discussion months ago. we aren't doing cranberries. Just the antibiotics and lots of water for now.

I'm not a fan of the prescription foods either, but I always remember that the pet nutritionist I have studied with has a cat with struvites and NOTHING worked for him except switching to a prescription food on a permanent basis.