For Veterinarians
What is RSS Testing? And Why is It Important?
Adult Health-RSS
The Adult Health-RSS diets have undergone the gold standard in urinary testing (RSS) to ensure that we are helping to prevent, manage, and treat the two most common crystals and stones (struvite and calcium oxalate).
What is a Urolith?
A urolith is a collection of crystals that clump together to form a stone.
Urinary crystals are typically microscopic and are able to dissolve or pass naturally in the urine unnoticed.
Crystals that do not dissolve or pass can clump together, forming a stone. Not only can the stone cause irritation in the bladder, it can presdispose to infection and in some cases cause a urinary obstruction. Obstructions are life-threatening and are a true medical emergency.
Relative Supersaturation (RSS) is...
...a research method used to assess the risk of crystal or urolith formation in the urine in cats and dogs eating a specific diet.
RSS Trials
The diet is fed exclusively for a 5 day acclimation period and then during the trial. After the acclimation period, all of the cat or dog’s urine is collected for the next 5 days. In addition to urine pH and specific gravity, the urine is analyzed for crystal components like magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium.
RSS Trials cont.
The information collected is entered into a computer program that generates a number. This is the RSS number for the dog or cat eating the food. The RSS number of all the dogs and cats in the trial are then averaged to give a final result.
What RSS Values Are We Trying to Achieve?
For struvite dissolution: RSS <1 (undersaturated)
For prevention of struvite stones: RSS <2.5 (metastable)
For calcium oxalate prevention: RSS <12 (metastable)
* Note: Calcium oxalates cannot be dissolved
Sugar Solution
The sugar solution example is a great analogy for risk of stone (urolith) formation due to urine saturation.
If sugar is added to water, the sugar initially dissolves quickly and there is no chance for individual granules to stick together. The solution is undersaturated for sugar.
As more sugar is added, it no longer dissolves and is now oversaturated, making a sticky, messy clump.
Similarly, RSS testing defines the saturation of urine for different crystals, and the subsequent risk of a clump or stone.
The Adult Health-RSS Diets are Excellent Nutritional Options for Adult Maintenance in Dogs and Cats.
The Adult Health-RSS diets are specifically formulated to meet nutritional parameters of concern in many adult pets - those at risk of developing uroliths, and those with uroliths. Made from a unique protein, pork, these diets will be appropriate for some patients with novel protein needs.
View the Adult Health-RSS Collection
