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Can't shift UTI, any ideas

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piggyme234

piggyme234

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Over two weeks ago, on the Monday, I noticed a lot of blood in one of my hutches. I discovered it was coming from Charlotte and she went to the vets right away. She was given baytril and I thought it was working until I found lots of blood again on the Friday. Off to the vets again, she had an ultrasound where he only found the bladder lining quite inflamed but nothing else. She was given Loxicom which is just like Metacam and told to come back last week on Wednesday. She was much better and the vet said stay on the meds one more week and she should be fine. Yesterday she finished her meds and today she is weeing red again. I know there is another antibiotic that is better for UTIs but I can't remember what it is called. Any ideas that I can take to the vet later would be appreciated :)
 
Hi. I would be inclined to put her straight back on the meds again and contact your vet asap. Keep an eye on her weight as well to check that she is eating ok and not losing too much weight. It would also be worth trying to syringe some water into her regularly to try to help flush it all through. I have had bladder problems with my piggies so try not to be too disheartened - it can take a while for it to sort itself out. My vet changed my piggie Dotty from Baytril to Septrin as this seemed to work better for her.

Hope that this helps. Good luck xx
 
Agree with Belinda, Septrin is better for UTI's.
I have a bladder piggy and he has unsweetened Ocean Spray Cranberry juice daily in his water bottle and a quarter of a Cystease tablet (125mg tablets for cats) Cystease lines the bladder wall and helps resist any bugs that can cause cystitis and the horrid UTI's. Bedding needs to be clean as piggies are so low to the ground and susceptible to bugs.
Always worth having a chat to your vet about long term precautions.
Harley had his bladder stone removed last July after weeks of antibiotics and he has been perfectly healthy since so I'm convinced the little things we do to help with their diet etc. pays off.
Reducing veggies with high calcium is also something else to consider, parsley, spinach are the main culprits. Raw beetroot (no leaves as they are toxic) is reportedly good for breaking calcium down so mine have it possibly twice a week (when I can get it)
 
Charlotte is permanently on a low calcium diet as she gets problems quite often just never this bad before. I always have cranberry juice in for her and she has been having it mixed with her probiotic. I was trying to ring the vets while typing the original message but they were engaged. She is going in at 6 to see the other small animal specialist, the one I have been seeing isn't on today and I will mention septrin to him unless he mentions it first. I will ask about Cystease too.
Thanks :)
 
One of our previous piggies - Putt, had an inflamed Bladder Wall which was diagnosed through an ultrasound and caused her pain when pooing and sometimes weeing.
Our Piggy vet was giving her regular injections of something called 'Cartrophen' it's a supplement thats used for arthritis to lower inflamation in cats and dogs. It did seem to be having some affect as it cut down her squeaking when pooing. It may be worth mentioning this to the vet also.

Putt was also on a long term small dose of metacam daily for pain relief. It may be worth speaking to the vet about a change of Anti-biotic to Septrin as this seems to have a better response on UTI's.

Flintstones has lots of experince of Bladder problems with her piggie Patrick, hoping she'll be on shortly, she gives Patrick Pearl barley Water which I believe helps line the baldder and soothe it.

Hope all goes well at the vets and lots of healing vibes to Charlotte x

P.S

Has the vet tested a sample of urine for bacteria?
 
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Hiya,

I was wondering if perhaps it would be worthwhile doing an Xray, as my vet advised ultrasound isn't as good for identifying bladder stones although I know it can be used.

My Patrick went from a clear Xray, to 2 stones in 3 weeks which is why I believe it is so important to Xray or Ultrasound regularly.

Patrick gets Pearl Barley daily and since his operation he hasn't had any urinary problems.

I would advise trying Septrin first if the blood persists or pain in urination returns I would have her Xrayed, my girls where on Septrin for 3 weeks for very stubborn UTI's.

Pearl Barley is available in the aisle next to the lentils is's known as Barley Pearl. Fill a pan just enough to line it with the barley and add double to three times the amount of water bring the water to boil then simmer for 30 mins be very careful not to burn the barley, also remember to top up the water if needed then drain the barley, leave to cool and finally syringe the liquid to your little one my P absolutely adores it!
 
The vets are ordering in some septrin for her. I can get it tomorrow hopefully. She has had some cranberry juice and will stay on the meds as before until we get the septrin. She is fine in herself, eating, pooping, bouncing around like normal. I will try the pearl barley, is there a specific length of time that it keeps for?
 
So on Friday I got a call from the vet I saw on Thursday telling me she had spoken with the vet that had seen Charlotte the other times, Paul, and he thought it would be best to keep her on the baytril as it had been having some effect but it was a bad infection and probably just needed some more time. I wasn't overly happy with this and went in and talked to the practice manager who is very nice and he explained everything that Paul had said because I only got it second hand over the phone and wasn't sure and he said the second I think the baytril isn't working ring up and they will get septrin for me no problems.

This morning I went out to find four puddles of blood on the fleece and blood on Charlotte. She was hunched up and looking very uncomfy. We went straight to the vets and saw Paul who wanted to x-ray her for bladder stones. He gave her a whiff of gas to keep her still and so her could get some wee without hurting her. He didn't find any stones but when she was relaxed he could feel a hard lump that he thought might be attached to her bladder. We decided to let him do surgery there and then to discover what it was.

When he rang up later it turned out that the hard lump was actually her bladder, it was so swollen and inflamed that he couldn't identify it just by touch. He had a look inside for stones that were in the lining and found that the mucosal lining had totally been eaten away and the bladder wall was covered in ulcers. He said that explained the irregularity of the bleeding, she was bleeding when the ulcers popped *shudder* poor baby.

A sample of her urine has been sent for testing and he is fairly certain that the bacteria is resistant to baytril and she should be getting the septrin. She is spending tonight in hospital and he is going to ring me tomorrow to let me know how she is getting on.
 
Oh Poor you and Charlotte, I bet all this has been such a worry!

I have a foster piggy that is battling with UTI (squeeking on urinating) He was on Septrin for 3 weeks, then a x-ray which came back OK (and a £165 bill for the rescue) and the vet wanted to try Baytril instead although she never took a wee sample to test. We are 2 more weeks in and he's still the same mallethead

Thank you for sharing this, its food for thought.

I hope Charlotte is feeling much better soon, and she is soon out of the hospital.
 
She is home. She is eating and doesn't look too unhappy, but she is not with her friends. I think I will bring Kizzy to visit her later, she's calm and friendly and won't bounce on Charlotte.
 
I'm glad she's home and I'm glad she's eating. Not out of the woods yet though, still fingers and paws crossed here. Thank you for the update.
 
Kizzy has been up to see Charlotte, they had about half an hour together. I took out Charlottes hidey box as she was being territorial over it and they had a nice potter round the cage and shared some hay. I decided to take Kizzy back out when Charlotte started to get grumpy and tired, it was clear she had enough and wanted to go to sleep. She is all tucked up in her box with some hay and fleece to sleep on. Charlotte has also gobbled down some cucumber, sweetcorn and my own mix of cranberry juice, pellet powder from the bottom of the bag and probiotic powder.
 
She is doing ok, Not eating as much as I would like and has lost some weight. I suspect some of the weight loss is from not drinking as she hadn't used the bottle until today. I had been giving her plenty of cucumber and syringe goo but she has gone off that at the moment. She had a little bit of lettuce, pepper and grass for tea and ate it all and she had been eating from the grain bowl which she had hardly touched till today so I think she is getting better.
 
Hello
Sending lots of love to you and Charlotte.I have been through your anguish too.
Septrin is a must now as is cystaid and all the other things you are doing.
I really hope things settle soon
xxxxxxxxxxx Helen and piggies
 
Hi love i've been going thru the same thing......it's heart breaking seeing them hunch and in so much pain :{:...:(

You're doing brilliantly........ keep up the meds and yes the barley water is fab too, it flushes out and keeps a good lining on their tummy!
I am finding some rolled oats (not the quick cook ones) are good for boosting weight, they like the taste and it encourages them to eat!
There is a light at the end of the tunnel....... believe me many of us have been down this road, some UTI's can be horrid to shift UGH

Sending you both loads of loves and healing wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeks for Charlotte XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
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