Once diagnosed, lifelong dietary management for your pet may be required to help reduce the risk of stone formation and recurrence of lower urinary tract disease (LUTD).

Royal Canin Urinary S/O diet should be your pet's sole source of food unless otherwise indicated by your Veterinary Surgeon. The diets are formulated for pets with particular nutritional needs and we recommend veterinary consultation is sought before use.

Lower Urinary Tract Disease (LUTD) is the term for a number of urinary tract conditions of dogs and cats with similar clinical signs. These signs can include increased frequency of urination, pain on urination, blood in the urine and straining to pass urine.

Dietary support is an important part of the management of cats and dogs with LUTD. Royal Canin Urinary S/O Diet has been specially formulated for the nutritional management of cats and dogs with LUTD. It is available in dry, canned and pouch formats.

Royal Canin Urinary S/O diet is enriched in antioxidants (vitamin E, vitamin C, taurine and lutein) to help maintain health and vitality. 'Antioxidant' is a general term for nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and other components naturally present in many foods. Antioxidants neutralise free radicals produced during normal body metabolism that can cause damage to body cells. Free radical production increases when your pet is ill.

The key features of the Royal Canin Urinary S/O diet are:

n Encourages a moderately acidic urine

n Promotes an increased urine volume

n Restricted magnesium content

n Controlled levels of calcium and oxalate

Royal Canin Urinary S/O diet maintains urine pH within the optimum range to dissolve struvite stones. It makes all the nutritional modifications necessary to reduce the risk of further struvite and calcium oxalate stones from occurring. Ultimately it aims to reduce the frequency and severity of clinical signs associated with LUTD and Feline idiopathic cystitis (cystitis of unknown origin).

Changing your pet s diet should always be carried out over several days. It is not uncommon for pets to refuse a new diet or to suffer from stomach upsets if the change is not gradual. On day 1, begin by adding a small amount of the new diet to your pet s existing food. As each day passes, add more of the new diet to less of the original food, until eventually you are only feeding the new diet. This change should take around 5-7 days.

Royal Canin are leaders in palatability. So confident are we that your pet will enjoy their food that we offer a no quibble, money-back guarantee. Simply return the food to your veterinary practice for a full refund*.

* Terms and conditions apply

ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

What is struvite?

Struvite is formed from a combination of magnesium, ammonium and phosphate and is the most common mineral found in urinary stones (uroliths) of cats and dogs. Royal Canin Urinary S/O diet ensures that the pet s urine is moderately acidic and so dissolves any struvite crystals or stones, by this method it also reduces risk of new ones from forming.

Dogs with struvite stones often also have a urinary tract infection for which your Veterinary Surgeon will prescribe antibiotics.

What is calcium oxalate?

Calcium oxalate is the second most common crystal type leading to

dog and cat urinary stones. Royal Canin Urinary S/O diet is designed to maintain a dilute urine which in turn reduces the risk of crystals forming in the urine. By this method the diet is also designed to reduce the risk of recurrence of calcium oxalate stones following removal.

My cat has idiopathic cystitis. What is this?

In most cases of Feline LUTD (over 64%) there is no apparent cause for the various clinical signs seen. This is classified as idiopathic cystitis. Royal Canin Feline Urinary S/O in pouch format helps dilute your cat s urine and helps alleviate clinical signs and discomfort. This also helps reduce the frequency with which your cat has bouts of cystitis.

What is RSS and what is RSS used for?

Relative Supersaturation (RSS) is a measure of the crystal (and stone) forming potential of the urine. Each diet can be given an RSS rating according to the urine sample which is produced after the diet is eaten and this rating is specific to each type of urinary stone. By measuring a diet's RSS 'rating' we are able to assess it's ability to reduce the risk of crystal and stone formation.

How do you measure RSS?

The concentrations of 10 different minerals plus urine pH and volume are measured and then a computer programme calculates the RSS value for a urine sample (which corresponds to the diet being fed). Certain RSS values indicate that the urine is undersaturated for crystals, which is key to the successful management of urinary stone formation. Higher RSS values indicate a greater chance for growth of crystals and stones in the urine.

Why not just measure pH of the urine?

Urinary pH is just one of the many key factors in controlling struvite stone formation. The concentration of minerals in urine (which includes consideration of urine volume) is also important. RSS measures these multiple factors.

Can a diet dissolve calcium oxalate stones?

No: the best treatment for your pet may be an operation to remove calcium oxalate stones. This can then be followed by dietary management of your pet to reduce the risk of new stones forming.

Why must the urine volume be increased?

Increasing urine volume effectively dilutes the minerals in the bladder so they are less likely to form into crystals and then stones. It also helps to increase the frequency of urination, allowing less opportunity for the urine to pool within the bladder and less time for crystals and stones to form.

What happens when a pet's urinary tract is blocked?

Some pets (particularly male cats) develop urethral plugs which block the urethra (the tube transporting urine from the bladder). Urethral plugs are caused by accumulation of material in the urinary tract, usually a combination of waste cells from the bladder plus struvite. Following surgery to remove the plug, Royal Canin Urinary S/O diets may be used to reduce the risk of any further blockages forming.

The recommended diet

Changing your pet s diet

Key features

Antioxidants

A specific diet for your pet

Struvite crystals