‘Jade' is a seven year old Shih Tzu Maltese cross who was recently enjoying a stay at her local kennel whilst her owners were on holidays. During her stay, the kennel owner noticed an unusual discharge which was reddish brown in colour and thought to possibly be urine.

Concerned, Jade was brought in to see us for a check-up.  It was noted she had been eating, drinking normally and was not straining or having any difficulty going to the toilet. On physical examination, she was found to be in good health however one abnormality that our veterinarian detected was an odd ‘mass' that could be felt on palpation of Jade's abdomen (tummy).

Jade was admitted to hospital for abdominal radiographs and urine tests.

Urine was collected, and appeared dark reddish brown in colour. On urinalysis (testing of the urine sample), there were high levels of blood, protein and white blood cells, indicating inflammation and potential infection of the urinary tract. A radiograph of her abdomen revealed six large opaque lesions within her bladder (see x-ray image).

A diagnosis of uroliths (or bladderstones) was made. Uroliths are composed of minerals, forming stones of varying size, usually found in the bladder but occasionally also in the kidneys.  Dietary and metabolic conditions may predispose to urolith formation, as well as urinary tract infections.

Some uroliths can only be treated by surgery, others can be dissolved over many months by changing to a specific prescription diet. Due to the size and number of uroliths in Jade's bladder, surgery to remove them was advised.

The next day Jade was placed on intravenous fluids (a ‘drip') in preparation for surgery. Our veterinarian performed a cystotomy, which involved surgically removing the uroliths from Jades bladder under general anaesthesia.

The stones were then sent for analysis and identification at an external laboratory and have been confirmed to be struvite stones. 

Jade started on a special diet to prevent further urolith formation. The great news is she has since returned for rechecks and has recovered well from surgery. She will need to remain on a prescription diet for the rest of her life, but this should mean a long life without further urolith development. However, as a precautionary step, we will monitor Jade each year for any recurrence.