Page 6 February 18, 2016 EL SEGUNDO HERALD Eagles from page 5 Ask the Vet Behavioral Issue or Bladder Stones? By Dr. Greg Perrault Accidents happen. Pets sometimes urinate inappropriately in the house. There are many reasons for this including behavioral issues, lack of training, urinary tract infections and sometimes bladder stones also known as cystic calculi. As you can guess, bladder stones occur in the urinary bladder. They develop in the urinary bladder and may cause irritation, inflammation of the bladder lining or simply take up space where urine is normally held causing the pet to feel pain and urinate more frequently or inappropriately. This differs from kidney stones that are more common in people. Kidney stones form in the kidney and travel to the bladder by a very painful trip down the ureters. Bladder stones may occur spontaneously or for a number of reasons, such as chronic urinary tract infections, liver disease and improper diet. There are several types of stones that can develop and some stones can consist of more than one type. Some stones have a smooth surface and may not cause clinical signs until they are quite large while others are jagged with sharp points and often cause problems much sooner. Stones comprised of struvite usually form in high pH urine and many cases can be dissolved and controlled with diet change. However, most bladder stones will not break down with medicine or diet change and will need to be taken out surgically. Calcium oxalate stones are a type that requires surgical removal and has become one of the most common bladder stones seen in practices today. Because of anatomical differences, male dogs and male cats are more at risk for one of these stones becoming lodged in the urethra causing a urinary outflow blockage. This is a life threatening medical emergency and can occur seemingly without warning. If your pet is straining to urinate (which may be mistaken for constipation), call your veterinarian right away. There are steps that you can take to reduce the risk of your pet developing bladder stones. Encouraging water intake can dilute the urine and reduce the likelihood of stone formation. Feeding canned food will help increase water intake because it will have about 80% water content compared to 10% to 15% in dry kibble. For small dogs and cats, getting a little water fountain bowl will encourage them to drink more water. There are several diets and supplements which claim to promote urinary health. They may help in certain conditions but actually worsen others. For instance, diets promoting urinary health may lower the pH of the urine to discourage one type of stone only resulting in the formation of another. Check with your veterinarian before starting one of these diets or adding supplements. Take your pet out for more walks. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to prolonged urine retention which can contribute to bladder stone formation. Plus, we can all use a little extra walking for our own health. It’s a win-win. Pets with a history of bladder stones should be monitored a few times a year with a simple urinalysis and sometimes a radiograph. Urine pH changes, microscopic crystals and bacteria can be early warning signs that a stone may develop. Intervention at this stage is much easier, less painful for your pet and your pocket book. Contact your veterinary team if your pet is having accidents in the house. It may not be simply a behavioral issue. Dr. Greg Perrault owns and operates Cats & Dogs Animal Hospital in Long Beach and is a Commissioner on the Board of Health and Human Services. • The Eagles closed out their regular season with losses to Lawndale and top ranked Santa Monica. Though the loss to Santa Monica was anticipated the 61-56 defeat to Lawndale was frustrating. It marked the second time this season in Ocean League play that the Eagles came up short after coming close to defeating the Cardinals. El Segundo played with inspirationally against Lawndale. In the first quarter Justin Ostler blocked a shot and passed to Chase Ali-Watkins who led Eli Chaney perfectly who unselfishly passed to Ali-Watkins for a layup. What has been the team’s Achilles heel has been their lack of defensive rebounds and it haunted them against Lawndale. The Cardinals, for the most part, took advantage of second, third and fourth shot attempts. So the Eagles relied on long range jumpers to stay close. Back to back three-pointers by Sebastian Hebert and Ostler gave the Eagles a five point lead but trailed by two points at the half. The Eagles kept their slight advantage throughout most of the third quarter when the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run and took the lead for the first time since the first quarter. Lawndale stretched their lead to as many as 11 points midway through the final period before the Eagles started to chip away. Mike Lynch buried a jumper and Ali-Watkins scored Zach Franco heads off a pass. His defensive effort has helped the Eagles to seven league shutouts. See Eagles, page 16 Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658
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