[crazy4cats]

Jeanenne-
Sorry to hear about your situation. I have only experienced crystals with one of my cats and it was a frightening experience. He had a blockage and spent three days at an emergency clinic. Luckily he survived. I did feed him the Rx food afterwards and slowly weaned him off over an eight month period. I was so worried it would happen again.

Sounds like the vet is recommending the Royal Canin SO partly due to the fact that they are not sure if they are struvite, oxalate, or another type of stones yet. Royal Canin helps prevent both as it is lower in magnesium and has ingredients that promote urination. If they are struvite crystals, most often Hill’s c/d or s/d is recommended due to it’s ability to dissolve the crystals by making the pH more acidic. Oxalate type cannot be dissolved. They need to either be flushed out or surgically removed. Either way, more moisture and opportunities to urinate are very important to keep the crystals flushed out of the urinary tract.

Honestly, reading that you regularly feed Beneful, I think that the Royal Canin is a step up anyway. In my opinion, you can still give your dog the fruit and vegetable treats as long as you keep them to 20% or less of his diet. I have read a ton about crystals, but admittedly mostly the feline variety. But, one of the biggest factors that they are learning is that they are often brought on by stress or anxiety for cats. I would venture to guess that there could be some correlation in dogs as well. You mentioned that you just moved and that could have brought on some stress. Our pets don’t like too many changes in their routines. My cat had his emergency right after we got back from vacation. I don’t think my son was very good at keeping him on his routine and he had some separation anxiety.

After the stones are analyzed and you know what you are dealing with, maybe you could talk to your vet about being referred to a vet nutritionist. There is also a website called Balance IT, that helps people with pets that have health conditions formulate a specialized diet. Your vet might not know that you are willing to take on that task.

In the mean time, I would try to get your dog to eat the Royal Canin. Preferably the canned if you can. Increase the water intake and potty breaks. And, if possible, maybe you could increase to feeding three times per day. That is another change that I made that seems to be helping. Three smaller meals rather than two. That helps to keep their pH levels more consistent.

I wish you well!