[GPDD] HEALTH: distilled water/ bladder sludge

[Renee Roszkowski]

	From what I understand, distilled water should not regularly be
given to pets to drink. It can mess up their internal osmosis because it
doesn't have any of the minerals or salts to help with osmotic flow.
Also, my piggie Mary has had urinary tract problems before. She has been
on antibiotics twice (the same one). This last time we did a full
urinalysis and x-rays to make sure she doesn't have any stones. She
doesn't, much to my relief. She still "talks" when she urinates. She has
done that ever since we got her over a year ago. Does anyone else have a
piggie that talks when they potty? Any suggestions? I was thinking about
asking to try 1 course of a different antibiotic to ensure that she
doesn't have an underlying infection still. I don't want to overmedicate
though. Also, when we did her urinalysis, she didn't even have crystals,
which can form stones. Her urine is still incredibly sludgy. I asked my
vet about it and she said that urine sludge is not necessarily calcium.
It can be many other things like proteins and other stuff. In Mary's
case, I don't need to worry about her urine sludge because she has no
crystals. I just wanted to let everyone know that about sludge.
Sometimes it's calcium, sometimes it isn't.

Renee, Mary and Molly, Patches, Kate and Dora, Flash