# Vanilla has a urinary tract infection !



## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

I posted about I thought Vanilla was showing signs of a uti and then the symptoms went away and I later thought she was just depressed. I did end up taking her to the vet because she had drops of blood in her urine late one night. I got the results today.
There is no crystals but they found her PH to be at 8, blood was 3+ and red/white cells were off. She is now on Clavaseptim and doing very well. She had a UIT 6 months ago. The vet seems to think it is ALL food related. She has been on Grandma Lucy's and Acana. He siad she should be on a Hill's urinary diet because it is low in phosporous and magnesium and that is what is disturbing her PH. Grandma Lucy's is low in both so I will stick with that. She is also overweight..2-3 pounds. I have been giving her good food and try to do the best making sure she get fluids and all and now again another uti. Maybe i should try the Hill's .....I just don't know. I am going to buy some cranberry supplement and I heard celery is good for their PH levels. I hate when vets are so pushy with their food !


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## Gia (Aug 17, 2010)

ohhhhhhhh poor vanilla...i hope she starts feeling better soon. Vanilla make sure you get extra hugs and kisses from mommy :thumbsup:


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

You can buy PH urine test strips at most pharmacies and monitor the Ph at home. She how her diet affects it.
A small amount of cranberry can help lower the oh . You want it at abt 6.5 Ph. Do be sure to talk with vet as to the dose. My Missy was usually in the very acidic range so cranberry normally wasn't good for her. However a couple of times she developed vaginitis and each time that happened her Ph went the other way to the high alky range. I saw with my own eyes ( doing the home Ph testing) how just a little brought it down a lot and quickly. You want to be sure you don't bring it too far into the Acidic range.

IF and this is a big IF!!!! and don't want to scare you but from personal experience...IF the UTI's continue...please get a sonogram! 
Missy had several UTIs relative close together ( cleared but returned) and our vet was diligent and said she advised a sonogram. The sonogram revealed a tumor. She felt the tumor should come out and didn't want to do biopsy because IF malignant, there was a risk of 'seeding". We opted for the surgery. The tumor was indeed malignant.. BUT caught much earlier than most and hadn't penetrated the bladder wall. This early detection via the sonogram saved her life! Her tumor was called transitional cell carcinoma or TCC. It is very 'sneaky' and mimics a UTI ( and indeed bacteria is often ( and was) present and that clears with the antibiotic... but the sneaky beast, meanwhile, continues to grow. 
I say all this and again hate to scare you or anyone as in MOST cases these ARE indeed 'simple' UTIs!!! However, in those very small % of cases of TCC.... early detection is the ONLY real chance a pooch has. TCC is a very aggressive tumor.
I contacted a Dr at NCU as well as oncology consults by us and our vet.
Initially even the early detection gave a dire prognosis. BUT!!! that is much because the statistic show that MOST cases simply aren't detected early enough. Vets have told me owners often don't want to do the testing or they hesitate because owners feel they are 'pushing' tests. Sooo they do the try this antibiotic.. or try that.. the wait and see approach.
Thank God my vet was diligent and suggested the test. The Dr at NCU ( head of Urology/surgical) told me she personally STRESS to students that recurrent UTIs need to be checked via sonogram for the possibility of TCC. IF all is well... and yes most time it is... you have time to do the try this/try that. IF, like my Missy... the pooch falls into that small % with TCC... there is no time to wait.
Normal prognosis in the general population is abt 90-180 days from dx!! "better ( but fewer cases) up to 220 days! Because my Missy's was detected early.. we had it removed...only did Pallative follow up( due to her diabetes etc) with a NSAID called Piroxicam. Missy was at the 1 year ..9 month mark when she passed and NOT from the cancer. It still was not giving her any problems. EARLY DETECTION!! is the reason! That early sonogram!
Again I always have a hesitation to post all this for fear of scaring the bejeebers out of people....yet I know should something come up..I'd never forgive myself for not giving the warning which we learned of the hard way.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

If Vanilla is prone to uti's, I'd get these strips rather than just pH strips. They can detect blood and infection, too:

Amazon.com: Rapid Response 10 Parameter (10SG) Urinalysis Reagent Test Strips, 100 Strips/Bottle: Health & Personal Care


Infection itself will raise the urine pH so I would not add cranberry until the infection has cleared up. The pH may return to normal when it does.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

hope she feels better soon , poor baby !


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