You are what you eat

See the stones in the bladder?  They look like a small cluster of grapes.  Now you see them......

Now you don't!  Where did they go?  They dissolved.  The first picture is the bladder of a cat who presented having urinary problems.  We x-rayed the bladder and found the stones.  By examining the urine under the microscope, we determined these stones were struvite stones.  Struvite stones are often able to be dissolved by feeding a particular food, Hills s/d, which is an anacronym for "struvite diet." This food works by lowering the pH of the urine; an elevated pH is one of several reasons the stones may form.  

This patient presented for frequent visitations to the litter box.  By feeding this diet the patient avoided surgery and her owner avoided a hefty bill by simply changing the diet.  This case is the perfect example of "you are what you eat."