Another tear stain Q and a Q about UTI prescribed food
Submitted by Maggie and Sadi... on September 27, 2011 - 2:16pmI feed both the girls Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish. We use a Brita pitcher w/filter for their water, and stainless steal bowls. They both have tear stains. Sadie's weren't very bad until recently when she went to the vet for a UTI and they said her ph was too high and gave us the Royal Canin Urinary SO food that's supposed to help balance her bladder ph.
So, my first question is - any other thoughts on what could be causing the tear stains for Maggie? Allergies maybe? She's had two distichia procedures but the last one was back near the first of the year.
My second question - will Sadie have to stay on that Royal Canin food for good based on her chemical make up? She was doing good keeping the tear stains at bay until we started her on this food.
I have an appointment a week from Friday for both of them to see the vet - Maggie for a routine exam and Sadie as a follow up on the UTI.
Thanks!
Tear Stains
I have always found tear stains to be food related or sometimes seasonal allergy related. After ofcourse ruling out medical issues first.
I think Royal Canine is a crappy food just like Science Diet. I'm sure with some research you can find another better quality food for her.
I agree about the RC food
The Royal Canin SO smells like corn flakes, so I'm hoping Sadie doesn't have to be on it much longer. I thought the NB was a decent food though, so I'm surprised it might be causing the tear stains.
I'm going to see if they'll check Maggie's eyes once again when we're there next week.
If you kept the tear stains away prior to the food....
and now can't keep them under control, then it is the food.
My boy had no tear stains when I got him but I put him on Wellness Core Low Fat when I fostered/adopted him. His tear stains were so bad and I tried everything! Finally I switched to Taste of the Wild pacific stream and they are totally gone.
So, if the only thing that changed was food and they got worse after that, then it is the food.
Agree!
n/m
With Sadie's, I'm almost positive it's the food
which is why I'm hoping this isn't something they wanter her on forever. I will do some research this weekend to see if there's something else she can take that's better for her.
With Maggie's, I'm not so sure. As I mentioned she's had distichia surgery twice and allergy issues to the point that she used to get hives, but hasn't had hives in over a year *knock on wood*. She's almost two now, but it seems her tear stains have gotten worse this year - her last surgery was January. I haven't had her on allergy meds since last year, but it does appear her eyes water more at some times then other times, so I'm wondering if the allergies could still be a problem. I don't want to give her the meds if that's not the issue - guess that's something to check out next week at the vet.
I tried to switch to TOTW at one point, but the smell of the food made me gag every time I fed her, so I ditched that idea. I went with the NB Sweet Potato & Fish because it doesn't have as much of the fishy odor.
Thanks for your input ladies!
Our Cleo had
horrible tear stains on NB then she started getting itchy. My sister switched her to Acana and that worked great, tear stains went away. But she has put her on to prepackaged raw now, with great success.
I have a friend that is using Acana and also having great success with it on a white bullie that had some tear stains that went away quickly when she switched to Acana.
Thanks Deb - one more question -
Do you think the protein amount in Acana is too high for Sadie? She just turned 1 a couple weeks ago.