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Could it still be a UTI?

Swissgreys

Swissgreys

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I have an acquaintance in my village who also has guinea pigs. We aren't friends as such, but I occasionally look after her piggies when she is on holiday.
They live indoors in a nice set up and are well cared for.

Yesterday I went over to collect the keys and noticed her female was squeaking loudly while in her hay tray. The other pig was no where near her so I mentioned it, and said maybe she should get her checked for a UTI.
She told me that she had already been checked (over 6 months ago), given a course of antibiotics, had no blood in the urine etc and was fine.
She said that the vet felt if the squeaking was due to a UTI then it would have gotten worse over time, and 6 months on, although the guinea pig squeaks, she clearly isn't ill.

Does this sound right?
Is she just a squeaky pig?
If a UTI was left untreated for months would it keep getting worse?

I don't know what to do, and the vet she sees is good but not a specialist.
But I also don't want to dive in all heavy handed and push her to revisit the vet if it isn't necessary.

Thoughts?
 
Squeaky piggies are a worry. 6 months is a long time between vet visits. If there was no blood at the time, then that’s not necessarily still true. I would at the very least get her to seee the vet and get a urine sample checked for blood and white cells and ask the vet to X-ray to see if there is a stone. It may be that bloods are needed to see if the problem is higher up (eg kidneys). Ultimately I do not think that any animal should be squeaking persistently when it wees as they are obviously in pain. Even if everything is ruled out they need to do something for the pain. I’d try to encourage your acquaintance to go back in case something has changed.
 
Thanks Vicki - I also suspected as much, but I think they see the lack of deterioration in her condition as a sign that nothing is wrong.
It's difficult becasue our local vet is great for regular things (hay pokes, general health controls) but in no way an expert, and the specialist is a fair drive away and obviously costs a lot more. And we both know how costs spiral the minute you start adding in tests, x-rays, etc.
These people are nice but I have a sneaking suspicion that if I suggest taking her to a different vet for further tests, they will take it the wrong way, as in their eyes that have already taken her to a vet and she is totally fine.
I shall think about a way to approach it subtly (not always one of my strengths when it comes to animals...)
 
I agree with @VickiA 6 months is a very long time. My Ellen is currently being treated for a uti and that came suddenly. She also has a history of IC but has had no symptoms for 10 months so we stopped her IC treatment 8 months ago. Ellen is due to have a urine sample checked on 19th November and if she has blood present but no sign of infection, we will have to assume that the IC has returned.

It’s also important to remember that when Ellen did have IC (which lasted 2.5 years) she wouldn’t have blood in her urine at every check up and she didn’t always squeak whilst urinating. It was also a long road and a lot of money getting to that diagnosis as she had urine cultures, scans and xrays to rule out all the nasties first.

I do hope that you will be able to convince her to go back to the vet although I know that’s going to be arkward for you.

As Ellen has a history, my vet is happy for me to pop a urine sample in to her whenever I feel worried without having to make an appointment. She did however see a vet for her uti as I wanted her bladder and ovaries checking over too just to make sure it was a uti. I used to have urine sticks at home but had to stop using them as they made my anxiety worse.
 
Thanks Claire - that's really helpful, and I am glad to hear that you have been able to manage Ellen's condition.

I think in the first instance I might mention I have some urine test strips from when Ruby was ill, and maybe we could just quickly check her piggies urine and see if anything shows up. This wouldn't cost her anything, and could be a good starting point.
Of course the problem would be if nothing does show up, which would further 'prove' that her piggy is fine :hmm:
 
Swissgreys said:
Thanks Claire - that's really helpful, and I am glad to hear that you have been able to manage Ellen's condition.

I think in the first instance I might mention I have some urine test strips from when Ruby was ill, and maybe we could just quickly check her piggies urine and see if anything shows up. This wouldn't cost her anything, and could be a good starting point.
Of course the problem would be if nothing does show up, which would further 'prove' that her piggy is fine :hmm:
Click to expand...

That’s a good idea to quickly check the urine if you can. I guess if nothing does show up, you’ll need to take it from there but piggies don’t squeak whilst urinating / pooing for no reason :(
 
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